Potash deposits in Africa

Abstract

There are currently no operating potash mines in Africa but exploration for potash resumed after 2005 in response to an increase in the value of the commodity and the presence of a small number of high quality deposits. There are several exploration and advanced stage projects, in the Danakil Depression of Eritrea and Ethiopia and within the coastal Congo Basin of the Republic of Congo (Fig. 1). In both regions, potash layers are hosted by evaporite sequences which formed within syn-rift or post-rift basins respectively. Resources identified in these districts are provided in Table 1. Less significant potash occurrences are hosted by the Late Triassic aged evaporites of the Khemissat Basin of Morocco, and within brines contained in near-surface sediments of playa deposits of the 'Chotts' of Libya, Tunisia and Algeria, and the Sua Pan of Botswana.