K&S : Prime Minister Weil Gives Strong Support to Domestic Raw Materials Extraction

13 July 2015

Today, Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil visited the Sigmundshall potash plant at the invitation of Norbert Steiner, the Chairman of the K+S Board of Executive Directors. The visit focused on the extraction and processing of domestic raw materials as well as the current situation of the company.

During a joint visit to the mine, Minister President Weil learned about the technical demands of extracting potash salts, which are processed by K+S into plant nutrients in demand and into industrial products, including high-purity salts for the pharmaceutical industry. The Prime Minister was impressed by the high degree of technical expertise, the uncompromising safety standards and the committed work of the miners.

Norbert Steiner stressed: "We make an important contribution to feeding a global population that is continually rising and form a comprehensive product range that we can offer to agriculture, industry and private consumers. The Sigmundshall plant occupies a firm position within our group and is a significant economic and structural factor for the region and the people who live here." Regarding K+S's rejection of the takeover proposal by Canadian fertilizer producer PotashCorp, Steiner stressed: "We also have to take into account the interests of the Company and its employees. We have to reject initiatives that ignore this as well as disregard the interests of the region in which K+S is active in a responsible manner."

During the visit, Steiner and Prime Minister Weil also discussed measures taken by the Company to make potash production more environmentally friendly with modern technology and to continually achieve further progress on water protection.

K+S is an international resources company. We have been mining and processing mineral raw materials for 125 years. The products we produce from them are used worldwide in agriculture, food and road safety and are important elements in numerous industrial processes. Potash and salt are integral nutrients for the megatrend of a constantly growing and increasingly prosperous global population striving for a higher standard of living. This will result in increasing consumption of mineral resources. We serve the resulting growth in demand from production sites in Europe, North America and South America as well as through a global distribution network. K+S is the world's largest salt producer and one of the top potash providers worldwide. With more than 14,000 employees, K+S achieved revenues in financial year 2014 of about € 3.8 billion and an EBIT of € 641 million. K+S is the commodities stock on the German DAX index. Learn more about K+S at www.k-plus-s.com.

In six mines in Germany, including the Sigmundshall plant, K+S KALI GmbH mines crude salts containing potash, magnesium and sulfur and produces a wide range of high-quality products from them for the agricultural, industrial, healthcare and food sectors.

The Sigmundshall potash plant is located in the Hanover region next to the Steinhuder Meer. It is the last active potash mine in Lower Saxony. A particular feature of the mine is the steep deposit, which requires a special mining process. The product range includes fertilizers containing potassium and magnesium. The crude salts are also used to produce potassium chloride for industrial applications (e.g. electrolysis). In addition, salt slag from secondary aluminum production is processed in the REKAL plant. The clay-like residues are used for covering and revegetation of the tailing pile. With about 810 employees, including about 35 trainees, the Sigmundshall plant is an important regional employer.

• Press Release 13.07.2015 (PDF | 29 KB)

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