K+ S Resumes Fertilizer Output at German Site

German potash and salt producer K+S has temporarily resumed production of potash fertilizers at its Unterbreizbach, Germany, site on the Werra River. Production is expected to be continued until July 14. The company said, however, it is still hampered by the strongly limited disposal possibilities as well as available basin capacities.

K+S said it has been forced to interrupt production several times this year and put employees on short-time working because of insufficient potential to discharge saline waste, most recently at Unterbreizbach in mid-June.

At the neighboring Hattorf site, where operations were suspended on June 15, production is still at a standstill with the exception of Epsom salt production, the company said. Some 650 employees are working shorter hours.

Solely the Wintershall site has remained unaffected by production shutdowns and short-time working as saline wastewater is being temporarily stored in basins. Production here is particularly geared towards fertilizer specialties, and it is also the sole facility where pharmaceutical salt is produced.

K+S has been caught in a discussion between German and EU authorities about environmental standards in minerals production, in particular efforts to find less polluting disposal methods.

While Germany is prepared to wait until 2027 for the company to stop injection saline waste into the soil to relieve the burden on the river, the EU insists that its standards should have been met a year ago. Earlier this year, K+S said it expected a final decision to be made this summer on an application filed in April 2015 to continue the practice of injection until the end of 2021.