South Atlantic Potash is studying an offshore potash operation in Brazil’s Sergipe-Alagoas basin, where mineral-bearing layers lie about 2. 5 kilometers beneath the seabed.
The targets were identified using geological information gathered during decades of oil and gas exploration. More than 200 historical wells and seismic surveys helped map the basin’s underground formations, while four wells crossed the Ibura Member of the Muribeca Formation and confirmed the presence of sylvinite, a potassium-bearing rock.
The company’s preliminary estimates indicate potential exceeding 3 billion tonnes of potassium chloride, but the nine targets are not confirmed mineral reserves. SAP is considering annual production of up to 2 million tonnes of potassium chloride, which the company estimates could equal about 14% of Brazil’s current demand. Brazil imports more than 96% of the potassium chloride it consumes, making domestic production strategically important for a major agricultural economy that relies heavily on imported fertilizer inputs.
The proposed operation would use solution mining rather than conventional underground shafts or seabed excavations. Wells drilled from offshore structures would inject water into the mineral layers, dissolve the salts and bring the resulting brine to the surface.
SAP says the approach would avoid solid tailings and tailings dams, but the project would still require controls for residual brine and studies of its dispersion in the marine environment. Environmental licensing would have to assess those issues before construction could proceed.
The project remains at a conceptual technical-assessment stage. Confirmatory offshore drilling, formal mineral-resource estimates, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, engineering work, environmental permits and financing are still outstanding. No final investment decision or commercial production date has been announced, and development will depend on proving that the deposits can be economically extracted and meeting the required technical, environmental and financial conditions.