K&S : Statement by Dr. Rainer Gerling, Managing Director, K+S KALI GmbH, on the occasion of the potash mining professional colloquium

21 November 2016

As a mining company, we also want to hold our ground given the currently difficult conditions on the global market, and ensure the continued existence of our sites. One important condition for this is our specialty strategy, with which we stand out from competitors due to the particular composition of the German deposits. To be able to make use of this advantage of the German sites as long as possible, we have spent years working on harmonizing potash production with environmental protection. As a result we can testify to undeniable success, on which we want to continue to build.

In the interests of the future viability of our sites in the Werra district, we will again invest several hundred million euros in the coming years. The objective is not only to make current production even more environmentally friendly, but also to continue to reduce the burden on the water and develop a concept suited to local conditions to cover the tailings piles. These milestones are described in the saline reduction master plan and in the current cultivation plan of the Weser River Basin Association. We are working intensively to implement the measures and to explore further possibilities for local disposal procedures.

In today's professional colloquium - and we expressly thank the state premier, Mr Ramelow, for this initiative - we see an offer to continue comprehending the future of the potash industry in Germany as a social consensus. I hope very much that we will be able to agree even more in the course of a constructive dialogue on the conditions for an economically successful use of domestic raw materials in the context of the claims of the natural environment.

It is worth making every effort to find that consensus and anchor it firmly in the public awareness. After all, it is not just a question of the people in Hesse and Thuringia, whose livelihood depends on working in our company's mines and factories. More is at stake - the economic backbone of an entire region.

We are therefore grateful to all who feel committed to our joint objective - future-oriented and sustainable potash mining - and who are prepared to accompany us.

About K+S KALI GmbH

K+S KALI GmbH based in Kassel extracts crude salts containing potassium, magnesium and sulphur from its six mines in Germany. These are used to produce a wide range of fertiliser specialties and preliminary products for many different technical, industrial and pharmaceutical applications. K+S KALI GmbH is one of the world's leading suppliers of potash and magnesium products. The company belonging to the K+S Group employs about 8,000 people.

You can find further information about K+S KALI GmbH on the company website at www.kali-gmbh.com

Downloads