Ethiopia’s Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas gave license for Circum Mineral Potash Private Limited Company for the extraction and development of potash in Dalol, Afar State.

The license given for Circum is said to be effective for 20 years with the possibility of renewal for 10 years.

Potash development complex to be built in the area would be constructed on 365 square kilometers at an outlay of 2.5 billion USD. Production is scheduled to be started 5 years’ time. Upon starting production, the establishment is expected to manufacture more than 2 million tons of potash and also create job opportunities for more than 1700 people.

Commenting on the development, Motuma Mekasa Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas said, road linking the project site with Port of Djibouti is under construction to speed up the production. The support from the government will not halt until the project is completed, the Minister noted.

According to preliminary studies, there is more than 1.3 billion tons of potash available in the Afar State. Potash is said to be used for the production of chemicals, matches, grenades, medicaments, fertilizers, disinfectants, textiles, paints, soaps, glasses and ceramics.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency