Kassel — K+S Group reports that the Hattorf site of the Werra plant started up again Jan. 2, and as of Jan. 3 resumed full production. Repairs at the fire-damaged site (GM Dec. 2, 2016) were completed in December, and the company was also granted deep-well injection approval. K+S says all sites of the Werra plant are now producing to their full extent. It says the company is making use of all available means of disposal – deep-well injection, discharge into the Werra River, and interim storage of saline solutions below ground, as well as reutilization of tailing pile runoff to flood the Bergmannssegen-Hugo mine. K+S noted that the water levels on the Werra have recently improved, and full production will still depend on those water levels. This is despite the Dec. 23, 2016, approval by the Kassel Regional Council of deep-well injection of wastewater. The long-awaited permit will be valid from Jan. 1, 2017, until Dec. 31, 2021, and enables an annual volume of 1.5 million cubic meters to be injected; 2 million cubic meters had been applied for on average for the years 2016-2021. K+S said assuming a hydrological normal year, full production at the Werra plant should almost be possible in 2017. As of 2018, the commissioning of the new KCF processing plant will have a positive impact on the situation regarding disposal, as wastewater volumes are expected to be reduced 20 percent. K+S says additional measures for wastewater disposal are in the works, including temporary storage at the Springen mining field (Merkers mine), the expansion of on-site basin capacities, and planning for a long-distance pipeline to the Upper Weser region.
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