Karnalyte Resources Announces Results of Optimization Program

Karnalyte Resources (TSX:KRN) has announced the completion of the optimization program, at its potash mine in Wynyard, Saskatchewan.
As quoted in the press release:

Optimization Background
The Company’s economic projections for the first phase of its planned 625,000 tonnes per year (tpy) potash mine at Wynyard (“Phase 1”) used a conservative estimate of KCl content in the production brine that was based on laboratory dissolution tests and computer modelling. Given the challenging environment for potash, Karnalyte sought to improve the economics for Phase 1 with a program designed to optimize the potash production process and reduce projected operating and capital costs.
Karnalyte retained industry-leading experts in potash solution mining, Ercosplan Ingenieurgesellschaft Geotechnik und Bergbau mBH from Erfurt, Germany (“Ercosplan”) to design, monitor and independently verify the results of the Optimization Program. The Optimization Program was designed to provide information about KCl brine concentrations that can be achieved at particular flow rates in a controlled cavern operation. The goal of the Optimization Program was to show that controlled carnallitite solution mining of the Belle Plaine Member is technically feasible and to obtain data to calibrate the thermal model for the cavern.
The Optimization Program was conducted in three phases from May, 2016 until November, 2016:

• Sump leaching – to provide space to capture non-dissolved material from the next leaching stages;
• Undercut leaching – to provide a dissolution area required to obtain concentrated brine at relatively high flow rates during production leaching; and
• Production leaching – the cavern and surrounding rocks are heated by the injection of 85°C solvent, and hot brine with high KCl content is extracted from the cavern.

Click here to read the full press release.