Ogden, Utah-Great Salt Lake Mineral’s (GLSM) plan to reduce the amount of water needed to extract sulfate of potash from the Great Salt Lake and at the same time make the workings more environmentally friendly (GM Nov. 15, p. 12) won’t delay the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers environment impact analysis on the company’s expansion plans. “We’re still in the very preliminary stages of assessing the information,” Jason Gipson, chief of the Corps’ Utah/Nevada regulatory branch, told Green Markets. “It won’t delay it at all. It’s just additional information we’re inserting now.” Gipson said he understands that GSLM’s new technology involves putting a concrete or bentonite wall down the center of the diking system, which will keep water from seeping back into the lake. Bentonite is a chemically processed clay that is readily available in Utah. “This will reduce the leakage rates of the existing dikes and reduce the water loss, which will reduce the amounts of water being used and retain product and increase their efficiency,” Gipson explained. He said it could be a double benefit in reducing the size of the ponds because of the higher efficiency, which creates more product while taking up that much less lake area.
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