Intrepid Potash, Inc. Announces Preliminary First Quarter 2011 Sales and Production Results, the Recognition of Income Associated with Deferred Insurance Proceeds, and a Capital Project Update

Intrepid Potash, Inc. ('Intrepid?) (NYSE:IPI) announced today
preliminary sales and production results for the first quarter 2011,
highlighted the recognition of income associated with deferred insurance
proceeds and provided an update on certain capital projects.

Preliminary Sales and Production Results

On an unaudited basis, during the first quarter of 2011, Intrepid
estimates that it produced between 230,000 and 240,000 tons of potash
and sold between 190,000 and 200,000 tons of potash. Potash production
during the first quarter includes the seasonal production from the
harvest of our Moab solar evaporation ponds. Intrepid estimates its
average net realized sales price for potash during the quarter was
approximately $435 ? $445 per ton.

Intrepid estimates that it produced approximately 25,000 ? 35,000 tons
of Trio ^® and sold approximately 45,000 ? 55,000 tons of Trio ^®,
with approximately half the sales being standard sized product. Intrepid
estimates that its average net realized sales price for Trio ^®
during the quarter was approximately $195 ? $205 per ton.

Intrepid reports 'average net realized sales price? which is an
operating performance measure commonly used in the potash mining
industry. Average net realized sales prices are derived by subtracting
freight costs from gross sales revenue and then dividing this result by
sales tons.

Intrepid expects to release its first quarter 2011 financial results
after market close on Wednesday, May 4, 2011.

Recognition of Income Associated with Deferred Insurance Proceeds

During the first quarter of 2011, Intrepid completed the construction
and commissioning of its product warehouses at its East mine surface
facility and placed these assets into service. Further, Intrepid
finalized insurance settlement amounts related to its previous East
product inventory warehouse, which was the result of an insurance claim
from a wind event that occurred in 2006. As a result, the amount of the
Deferred Insurance Proceeds that were recorded as a deferred item on the
Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2010, of $11.7 million, plus
approximately $0.8 million of additional insurance proceeds, are
expected to be recognized as income in the first quarter of 2011. The
total of approximately $12.5 million will be recorded as Insurance
Settlements in Excess of Property Losses as income in the Other Income
section of our Income Statement, in a manner consistent with the
presentation in prior periods. There is no cash impact associated with
this event in the first quarter, as the previously deferred item was
paid to the company prior to December 31, 2010, and the additional
payment of approximately $0.8 million was paid to Intrepid in April 2011.

Langbeinite Recovery Improvement Project

In March 2011, Intrepid received its air quality-related construction
permit for the dense media separation plant of its approximately $85 -
$90 million Langbeinite Recovery Improvement Project, and subsequently
commenced plant construction. We currently expect the dense media
separation plant to be in operation during the fourth quarter of 2011.
Intrepid is in the permitting process for the granulation plant of this
project and is prepared to commence construction on this facility as
soon as the permit is issued. Prior to completion of this project,
Intrepid continues to focus on increasing recoveries of Trio ^®
back to historical levels and began to see an improvement in product
recoveries beginning in March.

Intrepid is the largest producer of potash in the U.S. and is dedicated
to the production and marketing of potash and Trio ^®, 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 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
Trio ^®; operational difficulties at our facilities; the
ability to hire and retain qualified employees; changes in demand and/or
production of potash or Trio ^®/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 Solar Solution Mine as a solution mine and the further development of
our langbeinite recovery assets; weather risks affecting net evaporation
rates at our solar solution mining operations; availability of water to
our operations; changes in the prices of our raw materials, including
but not limited to the price of chemicals, 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; obtaining permitting from applicable
Federal and state agencies related to the construction and operation of
assets; 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; our ability to secure additional federal and state
potash leases to expand our existing mining operations; 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 I. Kent, 303-296-3006