Lake wells potash

The Lake Wells Potash Project is located approximately 189 kilometres northeast of Laverton and 80 kilometres north of the Great Central Road, in the Eastern Goldfields region, of Western Australia. The project area consists of three applications over the Lake Wells playa (flat desert) and three exploration licences, that extends over an area of 1,126 square kilometres. The Lake Wells Basin is the 10th largest salt lake basin in Australia as it covers an area of 19,000 square kilometres in total. The Lake Wells basin is therefore approximately 30 times larger than that of the playa lake area, a feature that points to the high potential for future expansion.

Lake Wells Potash Project Being Developed by Salt Lake Potash Limited

The Lake Wells Potash project is being developed by Salt Lake Potash Limited, a company formerly known as, Wildhorse Energy Limited, until its name change in early December, 2015. Wildhorse Energy had acquired Australia Salt Lake Potash Pty Ltd, in April, 2015, a company that held tenements over two large high grade sulphate of potash brine prospects in Western Australia, one of which was the Lake Wells Potash project.

Lake Wells Potash has the Potential to Become a Large Scale Project

In January, 2016, Salt Lake Potash Limited announced that trials undertaken on the Lake Wells Potash project, confirmed the project has the potential to be developed into a large scale salt lake brine project. The announcement was made after deeper air core drilling and shallow core drilling has been completed at the site. The next step is for a Scoping Study to be undertaken on the project's potential. Arrangements are currently being made with various engineering firms that are capable of moving this step forward in 2016.

Salt Lake Potash Limited is undertaking isothermal evaporation trials on brine samples from the lake which will allow them to estimate the better salting points, as well as equip them with enough data to enable them to predict the conditions required for the production of schoenite salt. Initial results have proven to be encouraging and in agreeance with the company's expectations for the project's potential to produce quality sulphate of potash.

Lake Wells Potash project exploration has indicated the project hosts up to 29 million tonnes of sulphate of potash which is readily available for extraction. Drilling has confirmed the presence of brine at depth, as well as identifying permeable rocks that could act as aquifers for brine extraction. The drilling showed the brine pool across the lake area is at least 20 metres deep.

Heritage Consultants Conducted Lake Wells Clearance Survey

During 2015, anthropological consultants, De Grande and Associates Pty Ltd, carried out a heritage clearance survey at Lake Wells, in conjunction with six Aboriginal Heritage Consultants. An initial heritage clearance is to be granted when the drilling and resource evaluation program is completed.

It has been stated that Lake Wells would be able to generate considerable amounts of highly enriched brine that would be able to supply a solar evaporation facility, along with its processing plant, as the lake has an annual evaporation rate of about three metres, an amount that is much higher than that of overseas brine, potash projects.