WA-based Kalium Lakes has won the race to become Australia’s...

WA-based Kalium Lakes has won the race to become Australia’s first sulphate of potash producer.The ASX-listed company, founded by Pilbara pastoralist and helicopter pilot Brent Smoothy in 2014, announced today it had produced its first high grade batch of the fertiliser during commissioning of its Beyondie project near Newman, achieving the required product specification.Kalium shares rallied by 3¢, or almost 15 per cent, to close at 23¢ on the news after it emerged from a trading halt, giving the company a market capitalisation of $172 million.The production marks an important milestone, with Kalium becoming the first of a handful of WA companies looking to produce the SoP, a high value fertiliser used for crops such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, tobacco, tea and coffee.It comes after the company was forced to raise an extra $60m in May last year following a cost blow-out on the project.Developing the nation’s first SoP project has also proved a headache for rival Salt Lake Potash, which is facing an uphill battle to raise an extra $90m to fix major problems associated with the commissioning of its Lake Way project near Wiluna.Other aspiring producers include Agrimin’s Lake Mackay project in the East Pilbara, Australian Potash’s Lake Wells project near Laverton and BCI Minerals’ Mardie salt and potash project near Karratha.Kalium Lakes chief executive Rudolph van Niekerk said it had been a remarkable journey to reach this stage.“We have always said that it was not a race and we were focused on getting it right rather than being first, but in the end we have been fortunate to achieve both,” he said.The scheduled commercial production ramp-up remains on track and the company expects to produce 100,000tpa by the middle of next year.

Mr Smoothy said the production would “keep coming”, with much of it being available to WA farmers for their next season.He said the start of Australia’s SOP production could not have come at a better time for local farmers given tight fertiliser supplies globally and soaring prices.Mr Smoothy identified the opportunity to produce SoP fertiliser from hypersaline brine beneath outback salt lakes while taking geologists out to Gina Reinhart’s Roy Hill mine site in his helicopter.