KAZAKHSTAN TO DEVELOP RARE POLYHALITE MINE PRODUCING NATURAL FERTILIZER TO FIGHT SOIL DEPLETION
1. Introduction of the Orkendeu Mine Project
Orkendeu Mine LLP has announced an ambitious project to produce a groundbreaking natural fertilizer—crushed polyhalite. Currently, polyhalite is produced on an industrial scale only in the UK, but this project aims to bring Kazakhstan to the forefront of polyhalite production.
Polyhalite is a sulphate-class mineral composed of potassium sulphate, magnesium sulphate, calcium sulphate, and water. It contains four of the six key macronutrients essential for plant nutrition: potassium, magnesium, calcium, and sulphur.
Polyhalite, as a natural fertilizer, not only prevents soil depletion but also restores its mineral balance and offers a long-term nutrient release.
2. The Global Challenge of Soil Infertility
The widespread use of industrial fertilizers has significantly contributed to the global decline in soil fertility. While chemical fertilizers boost crop yields in the short term, their long-term effects are harmful to soil health. Approximately 25% of the world's agricultural land is now degraded, largely due to the overuse of synthetic fertilizers, which disrupt natural nutrient cycles.
Nitrogen-based fertilizers cause soil acidification, with 50% of global agricultural soils, particularly in China and India, affected by acidity. Phosphorus fertilizers, on the other hand, accumulate over time and reduce the availability of essential micronutrients like zinc and iron.
In regions like sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Europe, overuse of fertilizers has degraded between 45% and 65% of arable land. This trend threatens food security and long-term soil sustainability.
3. Soil Depletion in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is also grappling with soil depletion. The country has up to 90 million hectares of eroded or erosion-prone land, with over 75% of agricultural land facing degradation. The share of arable soils with low humus content reaches 62%, largely due to inefficient Soviet-era agricultural practices. This has resulted in significant financial losses, with the degradation of Kazakhstan's land accounting for over 3% of the country's GDP.
Despite stable growth in sown areas, Kazakhstan lags behind similar countries in crop yields. For instance, grain yields in 2021 barely exceeded 10 centners per hectare, compared to 24-58 centners per hectare in other countries with similar climates.
4. Polyhalite: A Natural Solution
To address these challenges, major players in the fertilizer market have turned to polyhalite as a natural alternative to synthetic fertilizers. Polyhalite not only prevents soil depletion but also restores its mineral balance.
Over the past decade, private companies and the International Potash Institute of Switzerland have conducted over 1,000 successful trials worldwide, leading to three major conclusions:
1. Polyhalite contains four essential macronutrients: potassium, magnesium, calcium, and sulphur.
2. Its low mineralization makes it suitable for a wide variety of crops.
3. Polyhalite offers a long-term nutrient release, lasting up to 50 days compared to just 7 days for sodium chloride.
These findings indicate that polyhalite increases crop yields, reduces costs for farmers, and improves soil pH across all soil types.
5. Extraction and Marketing of Polyhalite
In late 1900s the Israeli company ICL, when its mine in England began to run out of sylvinite reserves, began the first in the world (after a series of industrial tests) to produce complex mineral fertilizer from polyhalite. Their know-how consisted in using only one crushing phase. This method has proven to be extremely effective, and today crushed English polyhalite is shipped to consumers in 22 countries on five continents.
ICL, whose shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, mines polyhalite at its Bowlby mine in England at a depth of 1,000 meters. Polyhalite ore is mechanically extracted from the face, delivered by belt conveyors to the shaft, along which it rises to the surface, then crushed, classified, packaged in various containers and shipped to consumers.
Currently, another public mining company, Anglo American, is implementing a project to create an underground mine at the Woodsmith deposit to extract polyhalite and produce fertilizer similar to ICL's product. At peak production, Anglo American is expected to ship 20 million tonnes of polyhalite to consumers per year.
Building on this success of these companies, Orkendeu Mine LLP intends to repeat their experience in Kazakhstan.
6. Kazakhstan’s Unique Polyhalite Reserves
Globally, there are only three large polyhalite deposits: one in the USA, another in the UK, and the third in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan’s Zhilyan deposit is the largest, with proven reserves of 839 million tons of polyhalite. The deposit is easily accessible and strategically located near key fertilizer markets, positioning Kazakhstan as a future leader in polyhalite production.