Israel Chemicals Ltd. will close down its potash project in Ethiopia and take a $170 million write off, the company said Oct. 6. It said it may take additional write offs at a later stage. The $170 million figure is the book value of the investment in the Ethiopian potash project.
In recent weeks, ICL has been indicating that it has been winding down activities with respect to the project. ICL said in its announcement that the Ethiopian government’s actions were behind the decision to close down operations in the country.
In 2015, ICL acquired all outstanding shares of Allana Potash that it did not already own for C$137 million which gave it control of the Danakhil mine in northeastern Ethiopia. At the time plans called for mining 1 million mt of potash. The planned investment in the mine and related infrastructure was put at $600 million.