South Atlantic Potash plans R$ 5 billion offshore project in Sergipe

South Atlantic Potash (SAP) is developing a project estimated to cost over R$ 5 billion to extract potassium from deposits located approximately 2.5 kilometers beneath the seabed off the coast of Sergipe, Brazil.

The project, supported by the Sergipe Development Agency (Desenvolve-SE), targets the Sergipe-Alagoas Basin. SAP has been authorized by the National Mining Agency (ANM) to conduct research across approximately 189,000 hectares and has identified nine exploratory targets for sylvinite, a rock associated with potassium.

If successful, the venture aims to produce up to 2 million tons of potassium chloride annually, a key raw material for agricultural fertilizers. This could significantly reduce Brazil's dependence on mineral imports. The company intends to use solution mining techniques, adapting traditional methods to the marine environment by using wells to dissolve salts within the deposits.

The initiative is currently in the conceptual technical evaluation phase. Further drilling campaigns are required to formally estimate mineral resources and confirm economic viability, as the identified targets do not yet represent proven reserves.