Intrepid Potash, Inc. Mine Operations
Wendover Facility
Product Muriate of Potash
Extraction Method Lake Brine Evaporation
Nameplate Capacity 120,000 tons of Potash annually
Effective Capacity 93,000 tons of Potash annually
Minimum Remaining
Reserve Life 30 Years
The Wendover Facility is located 122 miles west of Salt
Lake City, Utah and has been actively used for potash
production from naturally occurring brines for over 75 years.
Brine from a shallow potash containing aquifer is collected in
over 100 lineal miles of open ditches throughout the 88,000
acres of land controlled by Intrepid. In addition to the brine
that is collected in the shallow aquifer, there is a deep potash
containing aquifer 1,000 feet below ground. Intrepid has
drilled three wells, two of which were drilled in 2008, into this
deep aquifer to provide supplemental brine into the system.
Since acquiring the Wendover Facility in 2004, we have made
a number of process improvements including applying best
practices to increase volumes and efficiencies.
We pump the brine collected in the ditch system into an
8,000 acre solar evaporation pond to evaporate water and
precipitate salts. Over five billion gallons of brine are pumped
into the solar pond system each year. As the brine becomes
saturated with potash, it is transferred through a series of
smaller evaporation ponds into harvest ponds. When the
ripened brine finally reaches the harvest ponds, the ore (a
combination of salt and potash) precipitates onto the pond
floor. The remaining brine in the harvest ponds is removed
and the ore is harvested and transported by elevating scrapers
to the mill for processing. In the mill, the potash is separated
from the salt by flotation. The material is then dried, compacted,
and screened into standard product or compacted into a
granular grade of white potash. To produce Metal Recovery
Salt (MRS), which is a combination of potash and salt, the
ore from the harvest ponds is sent directly to the dryer to
be dried and screened. The final products are conveyed and
stored in bulk storage warehouses. From the warehouses,
potash and MRS are loaded directly into railcars or trucks
for shipment.
The left over brine, rich in magnesium chloride, is removed
from the harvest ponds and transferred into additional
evaporation ponds to concentrate further. Then, the brine is
transferred into storage ditches and lined ponds. From storage,
the magnesium chloride brine, which is used as a winter highway
de-icing product and also a dust control and soil stabilization
agent, is loaded into trucks or railcars for shipment.
