PROJECT UPDATE: Allana Potash Receives Mining Licence for Danakhil

Potash hopeful Allana Potash (TSX:AAA) has just had another stop pulled from its path as it winds down the road to becoming a potash producer. The company was just issued a mining licence for its Danakhil potash project by the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines. Prior to issuance, the licence was approved by the Ethiopian Council of Ministers in May.

Now that Allana has received the mining licence, a major milestone in its operations, it is positioned as one of the leading mining companies in Ethiopia — it has obtained all the necessary regulatory approvals that it needs to complete the development phase of the Danakhil project, and can now begin on the contracting and construction phase of its operations.

Farhad Abasov, Allana’s president and CEO, told investors in a statement that the company is “committed to working with the Ethiopian government, our communities, investors, lenders and contractors to deliver on the significant potential of Ethiopia’s potash resources.”

Allana released a steady stream of news during the summer, including the filing of its NI 43-101 in early August, a follow up to the company’s updated resource estimate for Danakhil. In late June, Allana announced an update to its mineral resource estimate that showed an increase of over 85 percent in the project’s indicated mineral resource category, to 2.4 billion tonnes of KCl at an average grade of 17.9 percent. That represents approximately 438 million tonnes of KCl.

Allana is continuing to work with various parties to complete final development aspects, including the contracting, financing and infrastructure for the project; it expects to provide updates on these initiatives in the near future.

Since the release of the news today, Allana has seen its stock price climb 10 percent. The company is currently trading at $0.475.

Securities Disclosure: I, Vivien Diniz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.