British Firm Secures $46.75 Million for Morocco’s Largest Potash Plant Project

With the arrival of two new shareholders, namely Gold Quay Capital (GQC) and Global Sustainable Minerals (GSM), the British company Emmerson plc has some resources to continue the construction of the potash plant in Khemisset. The two new shareholders have agreed to support the project up to $46.75 million, the company reports.

In the form of convertible bonds, these funds will be made available to the British company and will be repaid with an interest rate of 9% after a period of two years. They will be used to "immediately" launch the design and basic engineering of the project in order to start the construction work of the mine in 2022. Ultimately, the two new investors will hold a maximum of 29.9% in Emmerson.

According to the British company, this financing will allow it to convince other investors, including banks and sovereign wealth funds, to join the project. "Potash markets have strengthened considerably since we published our feasibility study, with prices in Brazil now exceeding $800/tonne, double the base case assumptions of our previous studies," says Graham Clarke, CEO of Emmerson.

"The project is expected to be Africa’s largest potash plant and has the potential to be one of the world’s lowest capital investment potash projects," he added, noting that his company can produce up to 735,000 tonnes of muriate of potash and one million tonnes of de-icing salt per year. The project will also create 760 direct jobs, increase Moroccan mineral exports by 8% and generate $63 million per year in tax revenue.