WHAT IS POTASH Potash is an evaporite mineral (water-soluble mineral sediments) that results from the evaporation of bodies of surficial water.
What is Potash Used For?
Potash is used primarily as an agricultural fertilizer (plant nutrient) and is a source of soluble potassium an essential plant nutrient. Demand for potash is closely linked to the demand for agricultural products.
The Potash Market
Only 12 countries produce potash, but it is essential wherever crops are grown. Potash is produced by a variety of methods and from a number of sources including:
?Through the mining of sylvinite ore mostly in deep underground mines at depths of over 800m; and
?From solar evaporation pans (e.g. in the Dead Sea) to produce carnallite from which potassium chloride is produced.
Three countries control roughly 85% of the total world reserves of Potash: Canada (38%), Russia (~ 33%) and Belarus (9%).
Asia remains the largest consumer of potash and is almost entirely reliant on imports whilst Eastern Europe (mostly Russia and Belarus) and North America (Canada) remain the largest producers.
