News Articles for APC Minerals

Australian Potash has remarkably penned its second offtake deal during turbulent times, securing another “take-or-pay” partner for nearly half of all its “K-Brite” premium Sulphate of Potash fertilizer to be produced annually from its WA Lake Wells project. The exceptional and binding ten-year term sheet has been agreed with Singaporean tier one, Migao International, who produced over one million tonnes of specialty fertiliser during 2019 from seven facilities across China.

Australian Potash is moving to the due diligence phase of its application for federal funding through the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to support the DFS for its Lake Wells SOP fertilizer project near Laverton in WA. Whilst there are no guarantees, the company said the transition from the strategic assessment phase to due diligence was a positive step in its plans for funding support at Lake Wells.

Australian Potash has secured its first “take-or-pay” term sheet for the supply of 20,000 tonnes of “K-Brite” premium Sulphate of Potash fertiliser per annum from its Lake Wells project to massive Sydney-based chemicals and ingredients distributor, Redox who boasts sales of over A$700 million per annum. The binding term sheet runs for ten years and gives Redox exclusive distribution rights through Australia and New Zealand.

Australian Potash has received positive feedback from the EPA who found no material issues or fatal flaws with its over-arching environmental review document for the Lake Wells sulphate of potash project near Laverton. The ASX-listed company will now address issues raised under the staged assessment process and resubmit its environmental document for the final approval stage with a view to clearing one of the largest project hurdles.

ASX-listed Australian Potash has hit a major milestone at its Lake Wells gold project in WA, with the Perth-based company announcing the completion by St Barbara, of its expenditure commitments under the first earn-in stage of a joint venture between the two companies. St Barbara will now proceed to the second earn-in stage which requires a further $3.5 million spend.

Australian Potash has revealed that a scaled-down version of its brine concentration and potash salt crystallisation pond system has underlined the expected low-cost of the pond construction at its Lake Wells SOP project near Laverton, WA. The company recently constructed a pre-concentration brine pond and declared the trial a success, saying it performed as expected with seepage rates that will result in higher salt crystallisation.

Australian Potash's Lake Wells sulphate of potash project is edging closer to production, after the company struck a joint cooperation agreement with Geraldton port owner Mid West Ports Authority.

Australian Potash has ticked off another box for its Lake Wells SOP project near Laverton, WA, signing an import-export agreement with the Port of Geraldton in the Mid West region, that underpins the FEED study underway for the project. The company's recent DFS for Lake Wells was modelled on a road freight solution to the Geraldton port and export of its SOP product from that site.

Australian Potash has slashed the capex for the development of its Lake Wells project from $338 million to $208 million, after it removed the second stage of the project, amid an increasingly competitive sulphate of potash market.

Australian Potash's Lake Wells SOP project near Laverton, WA, could churn out annual pre-tax free cash flows of $100 million via the production of 150,000 tonnes of SOP per year according to its much-anticipated definitive feasibility study. Capex for the project has been estimated at $208 million including a $20 million contingency, while pre-tax net present value was estimated at $665 million.

Australian Potash has cranked up the JORC mineral resource of its Lake Wells sulphate of potash, or “SOP”, project near Laverton, WA, by 23% to 18.1 million tonnes of drainable SOP. This resource is entirely within the measured category, which gives the company a high degree of confidence that it can support its initial planned 150,000 tonne per annum project for a long, sustained period.

Australian Potash has flagged that it will soon upgrade mineral resources and define a maiden ore reserve at its Lake Wells sulphate of potash project near Laverton, WA, following the milestone completion of final field programs. The programs were carried out in support of the company's ongoing definitive feasibility study, for which final documentation is currently underway.

Australian Potash has received recognition for the test work activities that will feed into the ongoing definitive feasibility study at its Lake Wells sulphate of potash, or “SOP”, project near Laverton, WA, with the receipt of a $1.3 million research and development tax rebate. Proceeds from the tax refund will be used to complete the work streams feeding into the study, which is scheduled to be completed before the end of this year.

Australian Potash has made its thickest intersection of productive basal sands whilst drilling two production bores at its Lake Wells sulphate of potash, or “SOP”, project near Laverton, WA. The second bore intersected 62m of high-yielding sands in the target palaeochannel and has flowed brine at indicative rates above the project requirement of 15 litres per second.

SPECIAL REPORT: As land and population pressures drive the need for more productive farming, WA finds itself at the centre of a new mining race.

Australian Potash is constructing evaporation ponds to assess the most cost-efficient technique for commercial-scale ponds at its Lake Wells SOP project near Laverton, WA. The company is also drilling up to three large diameter production bores that could support a resource expansion at the project and is carrying out additional long-term pump testing to help finalise the ore reserves estimate.

Australian Potash has started a major study into the benefits of using its sulphate of potash product over the more typically used “muriate of potash” for the growing of crops in WA. The two-year study will be a collaboration with the Western Australian No-Tillage Farmers Association and The University of Western Australia. It will compare the effects of both potassium sources on crop yield, quality, safety and value.

Kalium Lakes has secured around $102 million of debt funding for the development of its Beyondie sulphate of potash (SOP) project, less than a month after receiving commitments for $74 million from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility for the project.

ASX-listed Australian Potash has started final field programs in the Definitive Feasibility Study for its Lake Wells sulphate of potash project near Laverton, WA. The company will drill up to three production wells for long term pump testing to confirm flow rates and construct trial evaporation ponds to establish the optimal commercial-scale pond design, in terms of cost of construction and effectiveness of the design.

Australian Potash is seeking to raise up to $5.23 million via a rights issue, with the funds set to primarily go towards its Lake Wells potash project, located approximately 200 kilometres north of Laverton.

Australian Potash has hit a major milestone with the manufacture of high grade sulphate of potash at its pilot processing plant in Perth that exceeded its previous expectations of product quality. The 98% purity SOP product was generated from the first raw salt products from the pilot pond network at the company's Lake Wells SOP project, located about 180km northeast of Laverton in the Goldfields region of WA.

Australian Potash has successfully transported its first raw salt products from the pilot pond network at the Lake Wells sulphate of potash project near Laverton in WA, for the processing and production of trade samples for its Chinese off-take partners. This processing work will commence immediately in the lead up to the company's DFS for Lake Wells, which is expected in the latter half of 2019.

Australian Potash is set to benefit from a hefty reduction in WA State Government rental rates for potash brine projects as part of an initiative to help develop a new industry in the state. From the new year, rental rates for brine mining leases will be slashed from $18.70 per hectare to just $2.32 per hectare for the first five years before rising to $4.64 per hectare from the sixth year onwards.

Australian Potash has harvested 11 tonnes of potassium rich salts in its first harvest pond at the Lake Wells sulphate of potash project in the Goldfields region of WA. Once the third and final evaporation step is completed, a blend of salts from all three harvest ponds will be processed to a refined a sulphate of potash product at the company's pilot processing plant.

Australian Potash has successfully intersected brines in recent deep aircore drilling at its Lake Wells sulphate of potash project located near Laverton in WA. All new drill holes ended in permeable deep sand aquifers suitable for abstracting the drainable mineral commodity. The new data should allow an upgrade of the existing resources into the measured status of classification, ahead of the company's highly anticipated DFS.

Australian Potash has successfully produced its first salt products from the pilot pond network at the Lake Wells sulphate of potash project, located 180km northeast of Laverton in the Goldfields region of WA. About 20 tonnes of potassium and sulphate bearing salts are expected to be produced from the ponds once the process runs its course. These salts will be further processed to a refined sulphate of potash.

Gold miner St Barbara has entered into a joint venture agreement with Australian Potash at the Lake Wells gold project near Laverton.

Australian Potash is farming out 70% of its Lake Wells gold project near Laverton, WA, to St Barbara under a $7m joint venture agreement to focus on its sulphate of potash project in the same area. St Barbara will pay the company an initial $1.25m in cash and spend at least $1.75m in exploration during the first 12 months of the deal.

Australian Potash could enjoy better freight costs at its Lake Wells potash project thanks to a government funded upgrade of up to 100km of the Great Central Road to the east of the town of Laverton. The company will work with the Shire of Laverton to consider the feasibility of sealing the Lake Wells access road, which would give the project a 300km all-weather bitumen sealed road to the Leonora rail-head.

Kalium Lakes has released a bankable feasibility study for its Beyondie sulphate of potash (SOP) project in the Pilbara, which the company says has compelling technical and economic outcomes.

Australian Potash and Salt Lake Potash have signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation agreement to study the potential cost savings from sharing infrastructure at their respective Lake Wells projects in the Goldfields region of W.A. The joint study will initially focus on joint infrastructure developments and will also study the potential for cost sharing on common evaporation and salt processing facilities.

ASX listed Australian Potash has been granted the mining leases it requires to develop and operate the Lake Wells sulphate of potash project that is located 180km northeast of Laverton in the Goldfields region of W.A. The company's field work over the next quarter will include its geotechnical program and additional work required for a reserve estimate. It plans to report the results of its DFS in 2019.

Australian Potash has announced it has successfully transferred brine from a pre-concentration pond into a salt harvesting pond at its Lake Wells sulphate of potash project, located near Laverton in W.A. The company will produce 250kg of refined trade samples for delivery to its MoU off-take partners during the 4th quarter of 2018. The ongoing test work will feed into the company's DFS.

ASX listed Australian Potash has appointed former WesTrac Managing Director and well known Perth businessman Jim Walker as its Non-Executive Chairman to help develop marketing and financing relationships. Former Executive Chairman Matt Shackleton has been appointed the company's Managing Director. Australian Potash expects to release a definitive feasibility study for its Lake Wells potash project in 2019.

Australian Potash has appointed experienced mining industry executive and director Jim Walker as non-executive chair.

Australian Potash's Yamarna gold project could host a northern extension of Gold Road Resources' high grade gold targets to the south. This includes an anomaly similar in scale to Gold Road's Ibanez prospect. The company is now finalising a second stage drill program that will include reverse circulation drilling to test the depth and primary mineralised structures.

Australian Potash remains on track for development of its Lake Wells potash project as it progresses the approvals and permitting processes with two key areas of environmental fieldwork now complete. A final field program is planned for the third quarter of 2018 with an all encompassing Environmental Review Document to be submitted shortly thereafter.

Australian Potash has announced the appointment of Jay Hussey to the position of Chief Commercial Officer to take charge of the company's DFS for its Lake Wells potash project near Laverton. Mr Hussey is a fertiliser industry executive, having served 10 years as VP of China's Migao Corporation. He has an extensive background in potash marketing, supply contracting, off-take and JV negotiations.

West Perth-based Australian Potash has completed native title work for its Lake Wells project in the Goldfields, and is expected to commence work on a feasibility study in coming months.

ANALYSIS: WA potash hopefuls may have the backing of some high-profile local mining entrepreneurs, but startup costs and a worldwide product glut are major barriers.