Final planning approval issued

“We welcome the final planning approval decision,” says Alexa Hergenröther, managing director of K+S KALI GmbH, “which confirms that the use of our local raw materials complies with the high German environmental standards. Siegfried-Giesen is an important option for our strategic orientation and the strengthening of our market position as a producer of specialties.”

K+S intends to implement the project if profitability is assured and the project supports the goals set out in the Group strategy "Shaping 2030". A decisive prerequisite is also the development of the potash market.

From today’s perspective, the investment required to implement the project is in the upper three-digit million range. The resumption of operations would mean the creation of approximately 500 qualified jobs as well as a significant economic boost for the region.

The Sarstedt salt deposit has proven reserves of more than 100 million tonnes of sylvinite and hard salt, sufficient for at least 40 years of potash production. K+S has established a concept for the resumption of crude salt processing at this site, which was temporarily closed in 1987, with which above all the unavoidable environmental effects can be reduced to an extent that has not been possible up to now.  Focus will be the wastewater-free crude salt processing as well as the reutilization of tailings pile wastewater in production. This means that the discharging of wastewater into the Innerste river would no longer be necessary. Moreover, the tailings pile operations would be reduced to a minimum, because of the steep deposits, about two thirds of the residues can be processed underground.

About K+S KALI GmbH

Based in Kassel, K+S KALI GmbH extracts crude salts containing potassium, magnesium and sulphur from its six mines in Germany. These are used to produce a wide range of fertilizer specialties and preliminary products for many different technical, industrial and pharmaceutical applications. K+S KALI GmbH is one of the world’s leading suppliers of potash and magnesium products. This company, which is a part of the K+S Group, employs more than 8,000 people. You can find more information about K+S KALI GmbH on the company website at www.kali-gmbh.com.