Great Quest to Develop Botswana's Sua Pan Brownfield Potash Project
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Dec 18, 2013) - Great Quest Metals Ltd. (the "Company" or "Great Quest") (TSX VENTURE:GQ)(FRANKFURT:GQM) is pleased to report it has entered into an exclusive arrangement with Botswana Ash (Pty) Ltd ("BotAsh"), to develop the potash brine potential of Sua Pan salar (salt pan) in Botswana, southern Africa. BotAsh operates a brine recovery operation for sodium carbonate (soda ash) and sodium chloride (table salt) on the salar, a facility that started operation in 1991. Significant concentrations of potash (potassium chloride (KCl) and potassium sulfate (K2SO4)) have been recorded in the brines of Sua Pan, but have never been recovered commercially. Great Quest will begin a program to evaluate the economic potential of potash recovery from the native brines, the BotAsh mine effluent and the historical mine tailings.
About the Agreement
The memorandum of understanding signed with Botswana Ash (Pty) Ltd grants Great Quest one-year exclusivity with an option to extend for another year, provided Great Quest has incurred a minimum of $100,000 in expenditure to explore and develop the potash potential of the Sua Pan. As Great Quest learns more about the nature of potash in the Sua Pan salar, it intends to enter into a definitive long term agreement with BotAsh, outlining compensation for infrastructure and potassium bearing material with the economic benefit from possible potash products belonging to Great Quest.
About the Sua Pan Salar
The Sua Pan Salar is the largest and lowest of three salt pans in the Makgadikgadi Pans region of northeastern Botswana. It is considered one of the largest salt flats in the world and has a surface area of approximately 4,900 km2 at an elevation of 890 m above sea level. Historical work published by the World Bank suggests that the Sua Pan salar was capable of producing 163,000 tons per year ("tpy") of potash mainly KCl (Wold Bank/SADC, 1993 Fertilizer Supply Options Model), including potential to produce 21,000 tpy of K2SO4 (World Bank/SADC, 1991, An Action Plan for the Development of Fertilizer Industry).
The reader is cautioned that historical data is not confirmed, and such historical data has not been verified. There is no known potash resource on the Sua Pan salar, and there can be no assurance that any potash resource will be discovered on the property and, if discovered, there is no assurance that any potash mineralization may be economically extracted.
The technical information of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Jed Diner (P. Geol), a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.
About Botswana Ash (Pty) Ltd
Botswana Ash (Pty) Ltd began operating in April 1991. The mine is located at Sua Pan, which is approximately 180 kilometers from Francistown in northern Botswana. BotAsh produces Soda Ash and Salt. The primary market for soda ash is South Africa, where most of the product is used in the glass industry. The nameplate production capacity of the soda ash plant is 300,000 tonnes per annum. The facility also produces fine and coarse salt with a production capacity of 650,000 tonnes per annum. The mine is connected to South Africa by rail operated by Botswana Railways. BotAsh is 50/50 joint venture between the Botswana Government and managing partner Chlor Alkali Holdings (CAH) Group of South Africa.
About Great Quest
Great Quest Metals Ltd. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the development of African agricultural mineral projects for local production of farm ready fertilizers. The Company's flagship asset is the Tilemsi Phosphate Project, encompassing 1,206 km2 in northeastern Mali, containing high quality phosphate resources amenable to use as direct application fertilizer. Great Quest is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol GQ, and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol GQM.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF Great Quest Metals Ltd.
"Jed Richardson"
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The statements that are not historical facts and are forward-looking statements involving known and unknown risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to vary materially from the targeted results. We seek safe harbor.