TRANSIT ACHIEVES CRITICAL PERMITTING STEP FOR POTASH PROJECT IN UTAH
Highlights: „h First stage of potash permitting process successfully completed „h Major step forward for the Paradox Basin Potash Project
Transit Holdings Limited (¡§Transit¡¨ or the ¡§Company¡¨) is pleased to announce that the first stage of the permitting process for its Paradox Basin Potash Project (¡§Project¡¨) has been successfully completed. Transit and its joint venture partner have now received a written determination from the Bureau of Land Management (¡§BLM¡¨) that prospecting of potash is required within the joint venture¡¦s prospecting permit application area.
This effectively secures exclusive rights to potash within the prospecting permit application areas, subject to BLM approval of exploration and environmental plans.
The Project, which hosts an exploration target of 2.5 to 3.8 billion tonnes of potash ore at 20% to 30% KCl, is located approximately 15 kilometres south of Intrepid Potash¡¦s (NYSE: IPI) Cane Creek potash mine near Moab in Utah.
This is a major step forward for the Project and Transit understands that this is the first such determination by the BLM on new potash prospecting permit applications in the Paradox Basin for over 25 years.
Transit will now proceed with filing the necessary exploration and environmental plans with BLM to progress the prospecting permit applications to final permit approval.
Transit is in the final stages of completing a scoping study on the Project with the assistance of potash consultants Agapito Associates Inc. who have extensive experience throughout the US and Canada with solution mining for potash.
Application Process Applications for potash permits in areas designated by the BLM as ¡§Known Potash Leasing Areas¡¨ are subject to competitive bidding and cannot be leased directly with the BLM. The BLM¡¦s determination that prospecting is necessary confirms that the joint venture prospect permit application area will not be subject to competitive bidding.
The BLM is the US federal agency responsible for permitting on federal land.
About the Project Transit has entered into an agreement giving it the right to earn up to 90% in the Project.
The Project covers applications for 89,000 acres of highly prospective potash permits in the Paradox Basin in south eastern Utah.
The Paradox Basin Potash Project is located close to the key agricultural regions of the United States and as such is ideally situated to supply fertiliser manufacturers and agricultural cooperatives in the western and south-western United States. The Project also has substantial export potential given its excellent proximity to key US rail infrastructure.
An exploration target of 2.5 to 3.8 billion tonnes of potash ore at 20% to 30% KCl has been delineated within the Project by independent consultants Agapito Associates Inc. and Transit and its joint venture partner are currently completing a scoping study on the Project led by ProMet Engineering.
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