Billions of Metric Tons of Potash Discovered in Central Asia
The U.S. Geological Survey recently released results of its latest global mineral resource assessment, reporting that the Central Asia Salt Basin of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan has the potential to contain between 39 and 54 billion metric tons of undiscovered potash resources. Known potash resources in the central Asia Salt Basin already consist of 1.63 billion metric tons. Potash is produced worldwide at amounts exceeding 30 million metric tons per year, mostly for use in fertilizers. This newly found glut means that number could rise even further. As of 2010, Canada was the largest producer of potash (9.5 million metric tons), followed by Russia, Belarus, China, Germany, Israel and Jordan. Potash is produced in many countries throughout the world, but production is concentrated in North America and Eurasia. Each of the 12 major potash-producing countries produced 1 million metric tons or more in 2010. The latest potash find in the Central Asia Salt Basin means central Asia now has ​enough ​known resources to possibly become the world's number one producer of potash within the coming years. ​Interestingly, t​he basin’s significant potash resources originated in an inland sea during Late Jurassic time. Seawater flowed into the Basin, mostly from its extreme northwestern margin near the modern Caspian Sea, during several evaporation episodes that deposited at least five different packages of evaporites, with virtually all potash in the second and fourth packages. For more about this discovery, you can check out the USGS report HERE. (Source: US Geological Survey)
The U.S. Geological Survey recently released results of its latest global mineral resource assessment, reporting that the Central Asia Salt Basin of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan has the potential to contain between 39 and 54 billion metric tons of undiscovered potash resources. Known potash resources in the central Asia Salt Basin already consist of 1.63 billion metric tons. Potash is produced worldwide at amounts exceeding 30 million metric tons per year, mostly for use in fertilizers. This newly found glut means that number could rise even further. As of 2010, Canada was the largest producer of potash (9.5 million metric tons), followed by Russia, Belarus, China, Germany, Israel and Jordan. Potash is produced in many countries throughout the world, but production is concentrated in North America and Eurasia. Each of the 12 major potash-producing countries produced 1 million metric tons or more in 2010. The latest potash find in the Central Asia Salt Basin means central Asia now has ​enough ​known resources to possibly become the world's number one producer of potash within the coming years. ​Interestingly, t​he basin’s significant potash resources originated in an inland sea during Late Jurassic time. Seawater flowed into the Basin, mostly from its extreme northwestern margin near the modern Caspian Sea, during several evaporation episodes that deposited at least five different packages of evaporites, with virtually all potash in the second and fourth packages. For more about this discovery, you can check out the USGS report HERE. (Source: US Geological Survey)
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