Kalium Lakes (ASX:KLL) has had another win this week with a German government-backed export credit agency agreeing to guarantee $50m of its $176m loan for its Beyondie sulphate of potash (SOP) project in Western Australia.

Securing the guarantee from Euler Hermes was one of the conditions of its deal with German government-owned financier KfW IPEX-Bank.

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KfW IPEX has helped other Aussie miners with funding, including high purity alumina plays Altech Chemicals (ASX:ATC) and Hastings Tech Metals (ASX:HAS), as well as graphite explorer Kibaran Resources (ASX:KNL).

“The completion of this significant funding requirement brings us closer to a final investment decision, which remains on track for this quarter and progresses our goal of becoming Australia’s first SOP producer,” managing director Brett Hazelden said.

The final pieces appear to be falling into place for Kalium, with the company also recently locking in $74m worth of funding from the Australian government’s Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.

Potash comes from salts that contain potassium in water soluble form. It is used as a fertiliser.

There are two commonly used fertilisers – muriate of potash (MOP) and sulphate of potash (SOP).

MOP is the most common (around 90 per cent of the world’s potash) and is used on a variety of crops. However, the more chloride-sensitive crops like avocados, coffee beans and cocoa require SOP.

The global potash market is estimated to be around 75 million tonnes.

But demand is set to increase as the global population grows to around 8 billion by 2023. This population growth is expected to drive the need for an extra 100,000 to 150,000 tonnes of potash each year.

Right now, Australia imports all its potash from Canada, the Middle East and Europe. Australia’s MOP and SOP consumption is around 250,000 tonnes each year.

 

In other ASX bulk metals news:

MRG Metals (ASX:MRQ) says it has “high-quality and robust” mineral sands assemblage of up to 57.35 per cent valuable heavy mineral. This was determined from three samples sent to a Canadian laboratory. MRG says it has up to 54.72 per cent ilmenite and up to 2.64 per cent combined rutile and zircon.

Pacific Bauxite (ASX:PBX) has agreed to extend the deadline for the $1.5m sale of its royalties from the Mt Richardson, Rogetta and Golden Camel projects. Buyer Cylinder Cove now has a further 30 days to carry out its due diligence.

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