OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Sep 23, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP), through its Great Salt Lake Minerals Corp. (GSLM) subsidiary, today announced plans to further expand its sulfate of potash (SOP) specialty fertilizer production capacity at the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Using new, patent-pending solar-pond technology, the company expects to improve the efficiency of its existing pond system by 60 percent to produce approximately 220,000 additional tons of its all-natural SOP annually without changing its current solar-pond footprint. Upon completion, the company's total pond-based SOP capacity will be approximately 570,000 tons per year.
Work will begin immediately to increase production incrementally through 2015, with some new capacity available starting in 2012. The announcement comes as the company celebrates the fortieth anniversary of its operations at the Great Salt Lake.
"Demand for SOP is expected to rise significantly over the next five years as fruit and vegetable consumption increases around the globe," said Angelo Brisimitzakis, president and CEO. "We believe our unique ability to increase our low-cost, pond-based SOP capacity in a cost-efficient, environmentally friendly manner makes this an extremely compelling opportunity."
Compass Minerals expects to invest approximately $160 million to implement the new pond technology and increase the size of its processing plant. An initial $10 million investment will be made in the second half of 2010, with the remaining investments occurring through 2013.
The new pond-barrier technology will allow Compass Minerals to reduce sub-surface brine loss. Without barriers, concentrated brine naturally migrates from the solar ponds. By better containing the ponds, the company will retain more of the lake's brine, in turn increasing the amount of SOP produced. The technology was proven effective through laboratory and field tests at the Great Salt Lake, and the company has applied for a patent on the application of the technology.
This is the second phase of Compass Minerals' multi-phased plan to increase its low-cost, pond-based SOP production capacity at the Great Salt Lake. In 2008, the company began Phase I by improving the efficiency of its processing plant to increase its pond-based SOP production from 250,000 tons per year to approximately 350,000 tons per year by the end of 2010 when the project will be completed. Compass Minerals' third expansion phase could more than double annual SOP capacity by building new solar ponds on the Great Salt Lake. This phase requires permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and is not expected to provide additional SOP production for at least five years.
Growers of fruits, vegetables, nuts and other high-value crops use sulfate of potash to restore nutrients to the soil, increase crop yield, improve crop quality, and increase resistance to disease and drought. Compass Minerals uses all-natural processes to produce organic-approved fertilizer from the brine of the Great Salt Lake.
For more information, please see the company's Phase II Expansion presentation.
About Great Salt Lake Minerals
Great Salt Lake Minerals Corporation has been operating on the shores of the Great Salt Lake near Ogden, Utah since 1970. The company produces salt, potassium sulfate (also known as sulfate of potash or SOP) and magnesium chloride, using solar evaporation. Great Salt Lake Minerals is a wholly owned subsidiary of Compass Minerals.
About Compass Minerals
Based in the Kansas City metropolitan area, Compass Minerals is a leading producer of minerals, including salt, sulfate of potash specialty fertilizer and magnesium chloride. The company provides highway deicing salt to customers in North America and the United Kingdom and specialty fertilizer to growers worldwide. Compass Minerals also produces consumer deicing and water conditioning products, ingredients used in consumer and commercial foods, and other mineral-based products for consumer, agricultural and industrial applications. Compass Minerals also provides records management services to businesses throughout the U.K.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.These statements are based on the Company's current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially. The differences could be caused by a number of factors including those factors identified in the "Risk Factors" sections of our Annual and Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect future events or developments.
SOURCE: Compass Minerals
Compass Minerals
Peggy Landon, 913-344-9315
Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications