1.5 bn tons of potash ore extracted in Soligorsk

30 июня 2017

By Veronika Buta: 1.5 bn tons of potash ore was extracted in Soligorsk today. This is a landmark both for the company and for the country. Today, Belarus is one of the five largest producers and exporters of potash fertilizers.

At Berezovsky mine, about 150 people who work here extract about 60,000 tons of rock, and the rock contains about 25% of potassium (the red stripes in the rock), which is a good indicator – the average share is about 20%.

The Starobin potash salt deposit is one of the largest in the world. Extraction works began about 60 years ago, and the deposit has been depleted by only a half, and works will continue for at least another 150 years.

The history of the company – JSC Belaruskali – is far from simple. In the early 1980s, Belaruskali had 17% of the world market (5 million tons annually, 40% of which went into exports). But a few years later, strikes began due to the company struggling to pay salaries to its workers. A turning-point in the fate of the company was the mid-1990s, when the new leadership of the country provided the much needed support to the enterprise. At this time, new mines were developed, too. The first billion ton of potash ore was extracted in Soligorsk in 2003. It took the company almost half a century to reach the milestone.

Today, after only 14 years, in Soligorsk they celebrate another achivement. The management of the enterprise is sure that 2 bn will be extracted in the coming 12 to 14 years.

1.5 billion tons of ore produced over the years is almost 335 million tons of potassium fertilizers in 129 countries around the world. Today, JSC Belaruskali sells more than 9 million a year. In a couple of years, they are planning to increase their exports by another 4%.

A new ore mining and processing enterprise, which is being built in Petrikov, will increase the capacities of JSC Belaruskali. The enterprise will provide about 2,000 jobs, and a new stage of development of the entire district will begin, and Soligorsk will share the proud title of the city of Belarusian miners.