Karnalyte signs potash deal with India’s GSFC

After three years of scouting for an independent potash supplier, India’sGujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd. finally settled on a tiny Alberta company to fill the role.

GSFC, a National Stock Exchange of India-listed firm that manufactures fertilizers and chemicals, signed a deal on Thursday that will see it invest up to $60-million in Okotoks, Alta.-based Karnalyte Resources Inc., and buy potash from the company for at least 20 years.

The deal underscores the growing push by top consumers India and China to distance themselves from Canada’s Canpotex Ltd. and Russia’s BPC, producer groups that have long controlled most of the world’s potash supply amid strong profits.

“At present, India is fully dependent on imports of potash. This is a significant partnership by an Indian fertilizer manufacturing company with a potash mining company abroad to procure high-quality potash for the Indian market,” Atanu Chakraborty, a managing director of GSFC, said in a statement on Thursday.

“Karnalyte is ahead of other junior potash mining companies in Canada in terms of expected commissioning of the project,” he added. Read More…