Denver-Intrepid Potash Inc. said Sept. 15 that it is adjusting its full-year production guidance for potash downward by 20,000 st, or approximately two percent. The adjustment is a result of two items. First, the company has made the decision to extend its turnaround schedule to include approximately three-to-five additional days of planned downtime during the turnaround cycle. The decision to invest in additional reliability enhancement projects associated with its electrical systems at its Carlsbad, N.M., operations is expected to enhance overall reliability and reduce future unscheduled downtime. Work that will be performed during the turnaround period has been expanded to include coordinated improvements performed by the local power provider, after mutual agreement with the company, to upgrade the regional system that serves the Carlsbad facilities, and the hiring of three major electrical firms to work concurrently during the extended turnaround to renovate and upgrade the electrical systems in surface plants and underground mine operations. The second item was lower than expected recovery rates experienced at the company’s West Mine during the third quarter, due primarily to the decreased performance of a binding chemical purchased for use in the flotation circuit. The company is actively working to address this item. “The decision to take proactive steps to upgrade the electrical systems is designed to benefit the company for the long-term and enhance overall reliability of production at our Carlsbad operations,” noted Bob Jornayvaz, chairman and CEO. The impact of these items is an adjusted full-year production range of 850,000 – 870,000 st of potash, with the effect of increasing the full-year potash production cost of goods sold forecast by $15 per short ton to $155-$165/st. The company is also reporting that it expects its net realized price per ton of potash for the third quarter to be approximately $620-$640/st.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain