I shared this presentation with my Soil Fertility class at Western Illinois University this fall.

1. This week’s reading questions are related to 2 short articles
about a proposed Potash mine in Thailand
A group of Udon Thani's Iron Ladies shout "No Potash!", a phrase
that has become their battle cry in a long struggle against a
proposed mine in their village.

2. Read 2 short articles about a planned Potash mine in Thailand and submit
answers to the following questions before the start of class on Monday 10/14.
The New Thai Capitalism: Development or Disaster?
http://clpmag.org/article.php?article=The-New-Thai-Capitalism-Development-orDisaster_162
The potash project: Thailand's first underground mine – Canadian Mining Journal
(abridged version should be attached)
Questions:
1) Who are the “Iron Ladies” and what is their mission? Do you think the age and
gender of the “Iron Ladies” has affected the way Thai society, government
officials and industry reps have responded to their protests? What if the protests
were led by college students? or young male farmers?
2) Why did the mining company lobby for changes in Thailand's Mineral Act of
2002? What has the mining company done to address public skepticism about
foreign owned companies?
3) Identify several potential negative environmental impacts of the proposed
mining project.

3. 4) What types of technologies does the mining company plan to employ to minimize
negative environmental impacts?
5) What types of public benefits does the mining company claim will come about if the
mine is developed? Do any of the villagers believe these claims?
6) Estimate the potential economic value (in US dollars) of the Udon potash reserves.
Assume 500 million tons of potash ore with an average K2O content of 20% can be
economically extracted. Assume a world price of $500 per ton of potash fertilizer
containing 60% K2O.
7) How do the 2 articles differ in their tone? (Hint: compare words used to describe
local opposition to the mine)? Do you think one article is more likely to be accurate or
objective than the other? Explain.
8) How do you think members of your community would react if a mining company
wanted to extract minerals from deep underneath your community and claimed that
the mining would *not* significantly disrupt current land uses or harm the
environment?
9) As far as I can tell, mining still has not begun in Udon and the Iron Ladies have
remained unwavering in their opposition. What do you think will happen? Do you think
a compromise is possible?

4. 6) Estimate the potential economic value (in US dollars) of the
Udon potash reserves. Assume 500 million tons of potash ore
with an average K2O content of 20% can be economically
extracted. Assume a world price of $500 per ton of potash
fertilizer containing 60% K2O.
Step 1 is to calculate the total amount of K2O that can be
economically extracted:
500,000,000 tons of ore x 0.20 = 100,000,000 tons of K2O
Step 2 is to calculate the price per ton of K2O:
$500/(0.6 tons of K2O) = $833.33/ton of K2O
Step 3 is to calculate the value of 100 million tons of K2O:
100 million tons of K2O * $833.33/ton of K2O = ?????

6. Cartel capers: Belarus and Russia
Thursday, October 10, 2013 by Alan Guebert
There are two reasons to keep up-to-speed on the fast pace of events in what would
seem to be the very dull world of potash.
The first reason is that the key players in this once-tightly controlled market continue to
lose their grip on it. According to analysts, prices for this key fertilizer will continue to
drop—to nearly $300 per ton, say some—through the end of 2013. If they’re right, that’s
more than $100 a ton less than a year ago and a gargantuan $600 to $700 per ton below
the record price of five years ago. In short, go long on potash; it’s the best time in years
to buy it and apply it.
The second reason to keep an eye on the potash market is that, in truth, you can’t take
your eyes off of what is quickly turning into a Russian version of an American soap
opera.
You may recall, nine weeks ago the Russian-Belarusian potash cartel, a rocky twosome
composed of Russia’s Uralkali and Belarus’ Belaruskali, parted company when the
Russians simply called their marriage off.
That was very bad news to Belarus. Together, the colluding neighbors mine and market
about 40 percent of the potash used around the world. Their two biggest clients are the
world’s two biggest potash buyers: China and India.

7. Potash isn’t just another commodity like wheat or iron ore. More than 70
percent of K production and, in turn, almost all of its prices and sales,
are tightly controlled by two global cartels—the Russian-Belarusian
venture (which goes by its initials, BPC) and Canpotex, a N. American
powerhouse composed of Mosaic, Agrium and Potash Corp. of
Saskatchewan.
As such, when any one of the five giants makes an unscripted move, the
other 4 want to know why because billions of dollars rest on the explanation.
In late August, Uralkali’s CEO, Vladislav Baumgertner, traveled to Minsk to
soothe the ruffled feathers of the big ducks at both Belaruskali and the
Belarus government. The talks must have gone badly because when
Baumgertner returned to the airport to fly back to Russia he was arrested,
then jailed. Russia retaliated by cutting off pork exports to Belarus. Belarus
got the message and released Baumgertner to “house arrest.”
Meanwhile, on Sept. 24, Russia upped the ante—and, in all likelihood, the
future of the global cartel—when it was announced that Uralkali had sold a
12.5 percent stake of its business to China Investment Corp., a Chinese
sovereign-wealth fund, for an estimated $2.03 billion.

8. K
Why is potassium represented by thePotassium ?
In Latin and German, Kalium = symbol
K is the dominant isotope.
40
K (radioactive) and 41K (stable)
are used as tracers.
39

9. Typical quantities of nutrients in Midwest farm soils
(lbs/acre-plow layer)
Element
Total
Exchangeable Solution
K
38,000
190
10-30
Ca
8000
2250
60-120
Mg
6000
450
10-20
N
3500
-na-
7-25
P
900
-na-
0.05-0.15
S
700
-na-
2-10
The total potassium content of most mid-west soils is
high (often much higher than all other nutrients)
but most of the K is locked up in minerals like
K feldspar that release K very slowly

10. Unavailable (90 to 98%)
K
K
K+
Soil Minerals
(feldspar, mica)
K
K
K
K+
Illite clay
Trapped K
Illite clay
K+
K+
Soil solution
K+
K+ K+
Soil Colloid
K+
K+
K+ K+
Slowly available (1 to 10%)
K+
Readily
available
(0.1 to
2%)

11. So where did
all this
potassium
come from?
Depth of
loess cap
K-rich
primary
minerals
Glacial
outwash
A loess cap covers
about 2/3rds of IL

12. Cyril Hopkins
wrote a groundbreaking
bulletin on
potassium in
IL soils almost a
century ago.
http://www.archive.org/stream/potassiumfromsoi00hopk#page/n3/mode/2up

13. Is this possible?

14. Luxury consumption

15. Important potassium concepts
No significant gaseous forms
3rd most likely (after N and P) to be plant limiting
Non-toxic at high concentrations
Does not promote eutrophication
(unlike N and P)
Luxury consumption is common for many plants
Is additional uptake of K of no value just because it does not increase yield??

16. Role of potassium in plant nutrition
Remains in ionic form inside plants
(rather than being incorporated into organic molecules)
Very important osmotic regulator
(lowers water potential inside of plant cells)
Activator of over 80 enzymes
1-4% of plant dry matter
(similar to N)
Important for tolerance of environmental and biotic stresses
(drought tolerance, winter hardiness, resistance to fungal pathogens,
resistance to insects)
Important for crop quality
(flavor, color, stem strength)

17. Necrotic leaf margins are associated with
severe potassium deficiency

18. K deficiency symptoms can occur even when soil test K levels are high
Corn in conservation tillage
systems are often first to
show K deficiency symptoms.
Uptake of K by plants requires an active root system, especially in
the soil zone where plant-available K is located !!
When this soil zone is dry, uptake is limited. Anything that exerts additional stress
or limits root growth--compacted soil layers, root pruning, side-wall smearing-further reduces K uptake, especially when root growth is restricted in the zones of
highest available K.

19. OLD maintenance rates of K2O for agronomic crops

20. The U of I recently updated its P and K #s for corn and soybeans.
OLD
NEW
*Based on approximately 1,500 corn seed samples representing 289 hybrids and 16 relative maturities
and approximately 3,450 soybean seed samples representing 658 varieties and 36 maturity groups.
Samples were collected between 2007 and 2011, with the great majority collected in 2009

21. Vegetable crops use a lot of potassium !
Crop
Yield
N
P2O5
K2O
Bell Peppers
180 cwt
137
52
217
Cabbage
20 tons
130
35
130
Peas
25 cwt
164
35
105
30,000 lb
90
48
158
Snap Beans
4 tons
138
33
163
Sweet Corn
90 cwt
140
47
136
Tomatoes
20 tons
120
40
160
Potatoes (white)
Many veggies use more K2O than N!

22. Average K2O application rates for fruit and vegetable crops in the US

23. The more highly weathered
soils in southern IL tend to have
low CECs. Pockets of sandy
soils (grey shaded areas) in
northern and central IL also
have low CECs
Most soils in the “high” region
shown on this slide have CECs
> 12 meq / 100 g.
Most soils in the “low” region
shown on this slide have CECs
< 12 meq / 100 g.
The U of I recommends different
K management strategies for
low and high CEC soils.
1 centimol/kg = 1 meq/kg

24. No maintenance
Critical level
Crop response to extractable K in highCEC soils
Crop
to
low CEC soils

25. Iowa State’s updated K recommendations
for corn and soybeans
ppm* How do you convert between ppm and lbs/acre? lbs)
2 = lbs per acre (assumes that a plow layer weighs 2 million

26. Yield response
expected
The U of Missouri and some other LGUs calculate
critical soil test K levels as a function of CEC

27. What Happens to
Fertilizer K?
WHY?
– 20 to 60% of applied K is
absorbed by crop in year 1
– Highest recovery on
low K soils
Available K
Slowly
Available K
Unavailable K

28. Soil testing methods for potassium
used by US labs in 2005
Traditional method
NH4+ exchanges with
K+ on soil colloids
Universal
extractant
adopted by more
labs every year

29. Soils with
very low soil
test levels
often require
more than
4:1
General rule of thumb:
4 lbs of K2O are required to raise soil test K by 1 lb
Soils with
high soil test
levels often
require less
than 4:1

30. Annual application vs. build up and maintenance
ILLITE clay

31. Banding often results in higher yields
when soil test levels are low
Soil test K = 112 ppm

32. Soil test K = 224 ppm
Banding is less likely to result in higher
yields when soil test levels are high

33. K fertilizer is cheap relative to grain prices
Economic response to K fertilization is most likely when soil test K
is low and K fertilizer is cheap relative to the price of corn.
high
medium
K fertilizer is expensive
relative to grain prices
low
low
high

34. Percentage of soils testing below K critical levels in 2010
Why are low K levels uncommon in most western states?

35. Why are K levels dropping in many states?

37. Does Cation Balance Matter?
The relative concentration of potassium, calcium, magnesium,
ammonium, and other positively charged ions in the soil solution
influences their relative uptake.
Excessively high concentrations of one cation often results in
inadequate uptake of other cations.
For example, very high concentrations of calcium reduce uptake
of potassium and very high concentrations of potassium reduce
magnesium uptake.

38. Does Cation Balance Matter?
The relative concentration of potassium, calcium, magnesium,
ammonium, and other positively charged ions in the soil solution
influences their relative uptake.
Excessively high concentrations of one cation often results in
inadequate uptake of other cations.
For example, very high concentrations of calcium reduce uptake
of potassium and very high concentrations of potassium reduce
magnesium uptake.
Cation balance can impact animal health
http://www.pda.org.uk/leaflets/6/no6-print.htm
K fertilization often causes declines
in the relative uptake of other cations

39. Research has shown that there is less risk of tetany when
K:Na and K:Mg ratios in forages are between 10 and 20:1.
The histogram on the right shows the greater risk of tetany
at K:Na ratios greater than 20:1
http://www.pda.org.uk/leaflets/6/no6-print.htm

40. It’s well documented that alfalfa will
take-up K beyond its needs if high
levels of soil or applied K are
available. This is referred to as “luxury
consumption”.

41. Soil test values for K fluctuate during the year
K is more available in wet soils

43. Antonio Mallarino, soil scientist at Iowa State University, believes the
moist soil test is more accurate and he has spent the past decade
validating that theory and developing a calibration for that data. “The
moist soil test for potassium better predicts a fertilizer response in
the field. Both tests (dry and wet) tell us potassium levels, but the
moist is better at predicting a crop response,” Mallarino told DTN.
Mallarino pointed out that industry still likes the traditional dry test and
hasn’t broadly adapted the wet test as an option. “Drying soil is
commonly done by labs because it is considered a more practical
sample handling procedure, and it standardizes soil moisture across
all conditions. A new process is not an easy step when you are
analyzing thousands of samples a year and still need to be
competitive,” he added.
Howard Brown, ILGrowmark manager of agronomy services, agreed the
moist test provides a more accurate potassium number. “But it is still a
soil test and not yet calibrated beyond Iowa so more works needs to
be done,” he said.

44. Potassium Fertilizers
K 2O
Chemical
Material
Content
Formula
%
“Potash” = muriate of potash = MOP = 0 - 0 - 60
potassium chloride
KCl
60
sul-po-mag
K 2 SO 4 2MgSO 4
20
potassium nitrate
KNO 3
guaranteed
analysis
44
K 2 SO 4
potassium sulfate
50
Used in organic ag but also have value in conv. ag
What is the main form of K fertilizer
used in the Midwest?

45. White Potash oreproduced by a NaCl and other salts.
potash is is a mix of KCl, process of dissolution and
The KCl is concentrated using a flotation process which
recrystallization. Potash ore is dissolved under pressure in
skims off the surface of a fluid suspension of finely
hot brine, and MOPconcentrate is further processed and and
is precipitated as the brine cools
crushed ore. This
pressure reduces. The iron is removed inis ~ 95 percent and
screened. The resulting fertilizer material this process,
the MOP. It is reddish in color is white.iron impurities in the
resulting MOP fertilizer because White MOP is generally
at ore are not removed in this process.
least 98 percent potassium chloride.

46. The chloride in MOP has
negative effects on some
crops
Tobacco fertilized with MOP
produces cured leaves with muddy
and uneven color with excessive
hygroscopicity and poor burn.

47. MOP is salty stuff !

48. Global K fertilizer production and consumption
Total world production = 33 million metric tons of K 2O in 2007

49. http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/potash/mcs-2008-potas.pdf
The US is highly dependent
on imported potash

51. Will farmers in MI have
access to cheaper K
fertilizer than IL farmers?

52. Canada has the largest potash reserves
and also exports the most potash
Total global economic reserves ~ 8 billion metric tons
global annual consumption = ~ 70 million tons

53. PC is the world's largest fertilizer company
#1 in potash, #3 in phosphate and #4 in nitrogen fertilizers

54. How much does K fertilizer cost this fall?
Potash prices dripped lower again last week, with the Gulf off $5 to $347.50
and Midwest wholesale charges down $2.50 to $382.50.Those costs suggest
fair value around $485 at the retail level, but some dealers remain $25 below
that level, anticipating weaker prices ahead. Fundamentals continue to point at
$430 for a retail bottom, though it might take into winter to get there. Fertilizer
companies aren’t even trying to jawbone prices higher yet, saying it could take
until winter to turn the market around.
How much does K2O cost per lb if MOP costs $450/ton?