POTASH

[Data in thousand metric tons of potassium oxide (K2O) equivalent unless otherwise noted]

Domestic Production and Use: In 2021, the estimated sales value of marketable potash, free on board (f.o.b.) mine,
was $520 million, which was 24% higher than that in 2020. Potash denotes a variety of mined and manufactured salts
that contain the element potassium in water-soluble form. In agriculture, the term potash refers to potassic fertilizers,
which are potassium chloride (KCl), potassium sulfate or sulfate of potash (SOP), and potassium magnesium sulfate
(SOPM) or langbeinite. Muriate of potash (MOP) is an agriculturally acceptable mix of KCl (95% pure or greater) and
sodium chloride for fertilizer use. The majority of U.S. production was from southeastern New Mexico, where two
companies operated two underground mines and one deep-well solution mine. Sylvinite and langbeinite ores in New
Mexico were beneficiated by flotation, dissolution-recrystallization, heavy-media separation, solar evaporation, and
(or) combinations of these processes. In Utah, two companies operated three facilities. One company extracted
underground sylvinite ore by deep-well solution mining. Solar evaporation crystallized the sylvinite ore from the brine
solution, and a flotation process separated the MOP from byproduct sodium chloride. The firm also processed
subsurface brines by solar evaporation and flotation to produce MOP at its other facility. Another company processed
brine from the Great Salt Lake by solar evaporation to produce SOP and other byproducts.

The fertilizer industry used about 85% of U.S. potash sales, and the remainder was used for chemical and industrial
applications. About 60% of the potash produced was SOPM and SOP, which are required to fertilize certain chloride-
sensitive crops. The remainder of production was MOP and was used for agricultural and chemical applications.

Salient Statistics—United States: 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021e

Production, marketable1 480 520 510 460 480
Sales by producers, marketable1 490 520 480 500 530
Imports for consumption 5,860 5,710 5,150 5,370 7,000
Exports 128 105 145 147 100
Consumption, apparent1, 2 6,200 6,100 5,500 5,700 7,400
Price, average, all products,3 f.o.b. mine, dollars per ton of K2O 770 750 820 850 980
Price, average, muriate, f.o.b. mine, dollars per ton of K2O 410 440 480 450 550
Employment, mine and mill, number 900 900 900 900 900
Net import reliance4 as a percentage of apparent consumption 92 92 91 92 93

Recycling: None.

Import Sources (2017–20): Canada, 75%; Russia, 10%; Belarus, 8%; and other, 7%.

Tariff: Item Number Normal Trade Relations

12–31–21
Potassium nitrate 2834.21.0000 Free.
Potassium chloride 3104.20.0000 Free.
Potassium sulfate 3104.30.0000 Free.
Potassic fertilizers, other 3104.90.0100 Free.

Depletion Allowance: 14% (domestic and foreign).

Government Stockpile: None.

Events, Trends, and Issues: In 2021, U.S. potash consumption and trade reached record levels driven by high crop
prices, increased planted crop area, and increased crop exports. This was a continuation of the trend that began late
in 2020, as markets rebounded from poor weather conditions in the growing season and high potash stocks. The
North American price of potash also increased substantially owing to increased consumption and tighter supplies.
Industrial potash consumption continued to be lower, primarily for oil- and gas-well-drilling additives. The number of
active oil- and gas-well-drilling rigs gradually increased throughout the year but was still well below the level before
the COVID-19 pandemic.

On November 9, 2021, a proposed revised U.S. critical minerals list was published in the Federal Register (86 FR
62199). The new list contained 50 individual mineral commodities; proposed changes were the addition of nickel and
zinc and the removal of helium, potash, rhenium, strontium, and uranium, which were included in the 2018 critical
minerals list.

Prepared by Stephen M. Jasinski [(703) 648–7711, sjasinsk@usgs.gov]

 POTASH
World potash consumption in 2021 for fertilizers was estimated to have increased to 45 million tons from 44 million
tons in 2020, as demand peaked in the first half of the year in major consuming regions. Asia and South America
continued to be the leading consuming regions. North America and South America and southeast Asia had the largest
increases in consumption over that of 2020. World potash production increased, owing primarily to increased output
in the major exporting countries of Belarus, Canada, and Russia to meet high demand in the first half of the year.

In August 2021, the United States imposed economic sanctions on Belarus for violations of international law, which
included the state-run potash producer. The sanctions did not include the state-run exporting company for Belarus,
and potash imports from Belarus continued, but at a lower volume because many buyers used other sources owing to
uncertainty of future sanctions.

A new potash mine was in the development stage and pending operating permits in Osceola County, MI. The
proposed solution mine would have an initial production capacity of 650,000 tons per year of MOP and was planned
to increase to 1 million tons per year.

World annual potash capacity was projected to increase to near 69 million tons in 2025 from 62.3 million tons in 2021.
Most of the increase would be MOP from new mines and expansion projects in Belarus, Canada, and Russia. New
SOP mines were planned in Australia and Eritrea, and a polyhalite mine in the United Kingdom would also contribute
to the capacity growth. New MOP mines in Brazil, Canada, Ethiopia, Morocco, Spain, and the United States were
planned to begin operation past 2025 but could be delayed because of future unfavorable economic conditions or lack
of funding.

World Mine Production and Reserves: Reserves for Russia were updated with the Australasian Joint Ore Reserves
Committee (JORC)-compliant reserves reported by the producing companies.

Mine production Reserves5

2020 2021e Recoverable ore K2O equivalent
United States1 460 480 970,000 220,000
Belarus 7,400 8,000 3,300,000 750,000
Brazil 254 210 10,000 2,300
Canada 13,800 14,000 4,500,000 1,100,000
Chile 900 900 NA 100,000
China 6,000 6,000 NA 350,000
Germany 2,200 2,300 NA 150,000
Israel 2,280 2,300 NA 6Large

Jordan 1,590 1,600 NA 6Large

Laos 270 300 500,000 75,000

Russia 8,110 9,000 NA 400,000
Spain 420 400 NA 68,000
Other countries 360 370 1,500,000 300,000
World total (rounded) 44,000 46,000 >11,000,000 >3,500,000

World Resources:5 Estimated domestic potash resources total about 7 billion tons. Most of these lie at depths
between 1,800 and 3,100 meters in a 3,110-square-kilometer area of Montana and North Dakota as an extension of
the Williston Basin deposits in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Canada. The Paradox Basin in Utah contains resources
of about 2 billion tons, mostly at depths of more than 1,200 meters. The Holbrook Basin of Arizona contains resources
of about 0.7 to 2.5 billion tons. A large potash resource lies about 2,100 meters under central Michigan and contains
more than 75 million tons. Estimated world resources total about 250 billion tons.

Substitutes: No substitutes exist for potassium as an essential plant nutrient and as an essential nutritional requirement
for animals and humans. Manure and glauconite (greensand) are low-potassium-content materials that can be
profitably transported only short distances to crop fields. Glauconite is used as a potassium source for organic farming.

e
Estimated. NA Not available.
1
Data are rounded to no more than two significant digits to avoid disclosing company proprietary data.
2
Defined as sales + imports – exports.
3
Includes MOP, SOP, and SOPM. Does not include other chemical compounds that contain potassium.
4
Defined as imports – exports.
5
See Appendix C for resource and reserve definitions and information concerning data sources.
6
Israel and Jordan recover potash from the Dead Sea, which contains nearly 2 billion tons of potassium chloride.

U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2022