SNC Wins Contract to Build Ethiopian Potash Mine and Processing Facility

Posted on : Wednesday, 11th November 2015

SNC-Lavalin has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction management contract for a potash mine and processing facility in northeastern Ethiopia.

The project is being developed by Norwegian chemical company, Yara International ASA and is located in the Dallol region of the East African country. Though SNC did not disclose the value of the contract, the facility is designed to produce approximately 600,000 tonnes of sulfate of potash per year.

“We are proud to have been selected by Yara to bring our proven expertise in potash project development to this exceptional project in Ethiopia,” José Suárez, president of Mining & Metallurgy at SNC-Lavalin, said. “In providing our services to Yara, we look forward to jointly delivering a project that will set new benchmarks in technical excellence, project delivery assurance, safety, ethics and quality, while bringing new opportunities to the local community.”

The project will extract the potash using solution mining and a processing plant; it has a lifespan of 20 years. Under the terms of the contract, SNC will provide front-end engineering design, as well as EPCM services and assistance with the start-up of the facility.

SNC said the company will run the project out of its Montreal offices and mobilize resources to the project site for the construction phase. It expects construction to conclude in the second half of 2018.