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(Alliance News) - Emmerson PLC on Monday said it has eliminated port infrastructure capital cost for the Khemisset potash project in Morocco by choosing the Port of Casablanca for export.
Shares in Emmerson were up 2.3% at 3.81 pence in London in late morning trade.
The potash developer said that the go-forward feasibility study logistics strategy has chosen the Port of Casablanca based on the fact that it already has enough capacity for Emmerson's potash and salt production and comes pre-equipped to deal with larger vessels and higher loading rates.
Consequently, the port infrastructure pro-production capital cost for Khemisset has been cut to zero from a previously estimated USD7.5 million. The port is already equipped to handle both potash and salt - exporting more than 1 million tonnes of salt a year - so no further investment is needed.
Emmerson said the fully quoted product transport and logistics costs to the port are USD11.39 per tonne, USD1.39 more than the original scoping study because the Port of Casablanca is further away.
The possible change to the Port of Casablanca from the Port of Mohammedia was announced back in March, though was not confirmed. As the Port of Mohammedia is still available as an option, Emmerson is not totally excluding it from development plans as a "risk mitigation measure".
Chief Executive Hayden Locke said: "The Emmerson team has visited the Port of Casablanca a number of times and have been extremely impressed with the facilities available. It was positive to note that the Port already exports a significant quantity of de-icing salt, which has very similar storage and handling characteristics to potash. In addition, the port handles large quantities of bulk commodities including phosphate, clinker, and fluorine.
Locke added: "This is the first workstream item from the ongoing feasibility study, which is progressing well and is on schedule. We look forward to continuing to keep the market updated with various parts of the study as we progress towards its final release during the first half of 2020."
By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com
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