A feasibility study showed it had potential to produce 735,000 tonnes of muriate of potash and 1 million tonnes of de-icing salt a year.
“With the low capital cost and high margins the company will generate the payback period is three-five years depending on the potash price,” Clarke said in an email to Reuters.
The Khemisset project benefits from low production costs and easy access to main markets for potash, an ingredient in fertiliser production, he added.
A study Emmerson released in August said that once fully operational, the project would create 760 direct jobs.
Emmerson has identified pre-production capital cost savings of over $1.2 billion relative to the average Canadian potash mine development.
(With Files from Reuters)
