Michigan Potash & Salt Co. LLC (MPSC), Evart, Mich., said on March 8 that American farmers could replace Russian fertilizer imports with long-term domestic supply produced in Michigan within the next 3.5 years. “In the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. must recognize its dependency on Russian and Belarusian potash, which is a critical fertilizer with no known substitutes,” said Ted Pagano, MPSC Founder and CEO. “Without potash we can’t feed the world.”
At full build-out, MPSC said its project stands ready to respond one-to-one for those Russian imports of potash that are lost in the most critical time of need, with domestic production from Michigan.
Late last year, Pagano spoke out about U.S. Department of Interior’s proposal to remove potash from the critical minerals list, saying it appeared short-sighted and is coming at a time when product is unavailable, inflation is pressing, and food security is threatened globally (GM Nov. 24, 2021).
MPSC said it is currently in advanced stages of capital raising, with all permits in hand, while developing the necessary infrastructure to extract it safely, in an environmentally responsible and sustainable way. Full production of domestic potash from the facility is expected for 2025.
Michigan Potash plans to use solution mining to initially produce 650,000 mt/y of potash and 780,000 mt/y of salt, eventually ramping up to 1 million mt/y and 1.2 million mt/y, respectively.