PETRIKOV, 29 April (BelTA) – The Petrikovsky mine administration will reach the designed output capacity of the investment project for the commercial exploitation of the potash salt deposit by early 2022. There are no doubts it will be done, BelTA learned from Director of the Petrikovsky Mine Administration Yuri Petrovsky on 29 April.
The executive said: “We intend to commission longwall No.2 in July. We started working on it in early March 2021. We will commission longwall No.3 in late August and longwall No.4 in late December. It will allow us to reach the designed capacity to make mineral fertilizers in 2022. It is a serious and ambitious task. We have no doubts it will be done on time.”
The Petrikovsky mine administration commissioned the first longwall in February 2021.
The launch of the concentration plant triggered the operation of the entire manufacturing chain of the Petrikovsky Mine Administration in June 2020. The first few tonnes of high-quality small potassium chloride were made back then. Deliveries of potassium chloride to the home market continue. Over 50,000 tonnes of the concentrated product was shipped to customers in 2020 and since early 2021.
The construction of the Petrikovsky mining and processing factory is Belaruskali's largest investment project. It provided for building a mine and a sylvinite concentration plant. The Petrikovsky mining and processing factory will be able to make 1.5 million tonnes of potash fertilizers per annum. The output may be raised to 3 million tonnes later on.
The formation depth starts at 500 meters in the northern direction and exceeds 1,000 meters in the southern direction of the deposit. The potassium reserves – about 2.2 billion tonnes – are expected to keep the mine operational for 120 years. It is believed to be the most promising deposit. It will support Belaruskali's reserves and will allow Belarus to reinforce its presence on the global potassium market.
Reporters were made familiar with the operation of the enterprise on 29 April. They went 700 meters below the surface.
The public joint-stock company (OAO) Belaruskali is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of potash fertilizers. It exports about 90% of the output. In 2020 Belaruskali shipped its products to 107 countries across the globe.
