Intrepid Announces Achievement of Milestone in Development of the HB Solar Solution Mine
Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE:IPI), announced today that the New Mexico
Environmental Department (NMED) has issued a ground water discharge
permit for Intrepid′s HB Solar Solution Mine near Carlsbad, New Mexico.
Obtaining this state regulatory approval is a key milestone in
Intrepid′s development of its HB Solar Solution Mine project.
Intrepid produces potash and langbeinite from its mines and production
facilities in southeast New Mexico near Carlsbad, and is the largest
producer of potash in the United States. Potash, or potassium, is one of
several key fertilizer inputs used in agriculture and langbeinite is a
specialty nutrient that contains potassium, sulfur and magnesium.
Intrepid′s total productive capacity of approximately 910,000 tons of
potash supplies approximately ten percent of the United States′ potash
needs. With nearly eighty-five percent of all potash used in the United
States imported, Intrepid is working diligently to expand its production
to further support the United States′ agricultural industry and to
continue to provide jobs for Intrepid′s nearly 700 New Mexico employees.
Intrepid has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into its New
Mexico operations in the last six years and has plans for significant
additional capital investment in the coming years.
'With the receipt of the ground water discharge permit, the HB Solar
Solution Mine project is one step closer to realization,? commented Bob
Jornayvaz, Intrepid′s Executive Chairman of the Board. 'The benefits
that this project will bring to Intrepid and to the State of New Mexico
are numerous. Through the development of the project, Intrepid will take
an inactive potash mine and apply proven solution mining and solar
evaporation technologies to recover the remaining potash deposits.
Further, Intrepid expects the new tons produced at HB to lower per ton
operating costs. The state of New Mexico and the Carlsbad community will
benefit economically from the project though the additional royalty
stream the mine will provide and through the addition of the permanent
and construction jobs that a major capital project like HB requires.
Intrepid is ready and financially able to fund one hundred percent of
the HB project through its available capital resources the moment
Intrepid receives all required permits and approvals.?
To develop and produce potash from the HB Solar Solution Mine, Intrepid
intends to inject salt saturated brine into the previously mined
underground works of its HB Mine to preferentially dissolve the
remaining potash into a solution. The potassium rich brine will be
pumped from the underground mine works into solar evaporation ponds
where the potash will precipitate out of the solution and then be
processed at a new flotation plant adjacent to Intrepid′s West plant in
Carlsbad, New Mexico.
The project still needs federal regulatory approval from the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM). In January 2009, the BLM informed Intrepid that
an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) would be required to evaluate the
project. The BLM has issued its scoping summary report for the EIS and
is moving forward on preparation of the EIS on schedule. The EIS process
and a decision on regulatory approval is anticipated, according to the
BLM′s schedule, to be completed in the third or fourth quarter of 2011.
Construction of the HB project is expected to commence promptly after
all regulatory approvals needed for the project have been obtained, with
first production approximately twelve to eighteen months later, and full
production anticipated approximately two years after construction
begins. Intrepid expects to invest between $120 and $130 million to
construct the HB Solar Solution Mine. Additionally, Intrepid anticipates
that, when fully operational, the HB Solar Solution Mine will add
between 150,000 to 200,000 tons of additional low-cost potash production
to Intrepid′s annual production capacity from the 28 years of estimated
reserve life of the HB Solar Solution Mine.
Intrepid is the largest producer of potash in the U.S. and is dedicated
to the production and marketing of potash and TrioTM, a
product produced from langbeinite ore. Intrepid owns five active potash
production facilities -- three in New Mexico and two in Utah.
Intrepid routinely posts important information about its business on its
website under the Investor Relations tab. The website address for
Intrepid is http://www.intrepidpotash.com.
Certain statements in this press release, and other written or oral
statements made by or on behalf of us, are 'forward-looking statements?
within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Statements regarding
future events and developments and our future performance, as well as
management′s expectations, beliefs, plans, estimates or projections
relating to the future, including statements regarding guidance, are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of these laws. Although we
believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking
statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, there can be no
assurance that the expectations will be realized. These forward-looking
statements are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and
uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control that could cause
actual results to differ materially and adversely from such statements.
These risks and uncertainties include: changes in the price of potash or
langbeinite; operational difficulties at our facilities; the ability to
hire and retain qualified employees; changes in demand and/or supply for
potash or langbeinite; changes in our reserve estimates; our ability to
achieve the initiatives of our business strategy, including but not
limited to the development of the HB Mine as a solution mine and the
further development of our langbeinite recovery assets; changes in the
prices of our raw materials, including but not limited to the price of
natural gas and power; fluctuations in the costs of transporting our
products to customers; changes in labor costs and availability of labor
with mining expertise; the impact of federal, state or local government
regulations, including but not limited to environmental and mining
regulations, and the enforcement of such regulations; competition in the
fertilizer industry; declines in U.S. or world agricultural production;
declines in oil and gas drilling; changes in economic conditions;
adverse weather events at our facilities; our ability to comply with
covenants inherent in our current and future debt obligations to avoid
defaulting under those agreements; disruptions in credit markets;
governmental policy changes that may adversely affect our business and
the risk factors detailed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission. Please refer to those filings for more information
on these risk factors. These forward-looking statements speak only as of
the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as the
result of future events, new information or otherwise.
Intrepid Potash, Inc.
William Kent
303-296-3006