The bed of Utah’s dewatered Sevier Lake soon will become a sprawling network of trenches and evaporative ponds producing a valuable form of potash under a decision signed Tuesday by the Bureau of Land Management
After 11 years of environmental analysis, the Sevier Playa Potash Project still needs to secure some state permits and water rights, but Crystal Peak Minerals is poised to begin construction as soon as next year on its 125,000-acre lease, according to Kevin Oliver, the BLM’s West Desert district manager.
Over the 30-year life of the project, potash production could be as high as 372,000 tons a year, worth $232 million at the current price of $625 a ton, according to Crystal Peak CEO John Mansanti.