WITH first production set to launch Australia's own Sulphate of Potash (SoP) fertiliser industry in less than five months, the main local players have scrambled to appoint experts to their teams.
Latest is Agrimin Ltd (AMN), although it does not anticipate a final go-ahead decision on its Mackay Potash Project - based at Lake Mackay on the Western Australia and Northern Territory border and WA's largest salt lake - until after the third quarter next year and with possible production not until the first half of 2024.
Last week AMN notified the Australian Securities Exchange it had appointed Charles Carriere, who has "extensive global agricultural experience" and more than 30 years' involvement in the fertiliser industry, as its SoP marketing adviser to help finalise its marketing plan and off-take agreements.
According to AMN, Mr Carriere is recognised worldwide for his experience across global agricultural marketing, soft commodity trading, product handling and bulk blending.
He has deep experience in negotiating product off-take and sales agreements across the global fertiliser industry, it said.
"We are delighted to appoint Charles as our marketing adviser, he brings a depth of experience from across the international fertiliser industry at a pivotal time as we look to finalise our marketing and off-take agreements," said AMN chief executive officer Mark Savich.
Frontrunner in the race to be the first Australian commercial salt lake SoP fertiliser producer and exporter, Salt Lake Potash (SO4 on ASX listings) last month appointed two new board members with extensive potash and project development and operations experience.
Phil Montgomery and Peter Thomas were appointed as independent non-executive directors, while non-executive director since SO4's move into SoP, Mark Pearce, has stepped down from the board, with all moves effective immediately.
Mr Montgomery was most recently vice-president projects at BHP, responsible for the development of BHP's potash business through its Jansen project in Saskatchewan, Canada.
He has significant experience in project development and operations, having held senior positions at BHP and Billiton for more than 20 years, working across commodities and locations, including leadership of BHP's iron ore growth program 2002-12, SO4 told the ASX.
Like many of the SO4 team, Mr Thomas has held senior positions with Fortescue Metals Group, including project director in charge of its $4.7 billion port and rail infrastructure investment and director of corporate services.
He has worked for McKinsey and Lehman Brothers in the United States and is chief financial officer of Decmil construction and engineering group.
"The appointment of Phil and Peter to the board reflects the next evolution in SO4's development as we finalise construction at Lake Way and look ahead to steady state operations and future development of other lakes," said SO4 managing director and chief executive officer Tony Swiericzuk.
"I believe their significant combined experience in project development, operations, strategy and finance within Tier 1 organisations will serve SO4 shareholders well."
In a regular online update Mr Swiericzuk said construction of the processing plant at Lake Way, near Wiluna, was "flying along" and was more than 70 per cent completed.
SO4 expects to "dry commission" its production plant by the end of the year, "wet commission" the system early in the new year and begin production of a standard water soluble SoP powder fertiliser by the end of the first quarter next year, to be bulk exported from Geraldton port and containerised via Fremantle port by the end of the second quarter.
It plans to quickly follow up with a fertigation grade water soluble SoP fertiliser.
Earlier last month SO4's nearest rival, Kalium Lakes Ltd (KLL), which expects to start production of a granular fertiliser at its Beyondie SoP project in September next year, appointed 42-year career veteran of the fertiliser industry, Sam Lancuba, to its board.
In its latest update, KLL said the Beyondie project, based on a chain of salt lakes 260 kilometres south east of Newman, was 68pc completed, including laying of 70km of gas pipeline from beside the Great Northern Highway to the remote production site.
KLL had appeared likely to be the first SoP company into production until June when it announced an extra $61m was required to be raised by share and entitlement issues to compete the project to production stage.
Difficulties in getting German-designed and built processing equipment onto the site in the Little Sandy Desert also allowed SO4 to overtake KLL in the race to be first into production.
Being first in Australia to produce a high performance, low salt residue SoP fertiliser is seen as giving the company achieving that milestone the pick of global export markets.
Those export markets are estimated to total about seven million tonnes a year , but are expected to grow as feeding the world's population becomes more difficult with increasing impacts of climate change on traditional agriculture methods and areas and tightening environmental regulation eventually prohibits the conversion of Muriate of Potash to SoP by using extreme heat and sulphuric acid, as currently happens in some markets.
At least six WA companies are looking to produce SoP fertiliser by solar evaporating salt lake brine and processing the harvest salts.
