An agreement was signed between Mobin Mining and Road Construction Company; the industry, mine and trade organization and the environment department of West Azarbaijan Province to harvest potassium from Lake Urmia mineral deposits, IRNA cited the governor of West Azarbaijan Province, Qorban-Ali Sa’adat, as saying. The governor said the high concentration of salt in Lake Urmia causes higher evaporation, therefore harvesting salt will help revive the endangered lake, that has almost dried up. The plan to produce potassium will also prevent diffusion of salt particles and supply the local agricultural sector with fertilizers, while as much as 2.5 million metric tons of potassium fertilizer is annually imported, Sa’adat added. According to provincial officials, implementing the plan will provide 200,000 tons of potassium sulfate, 50,000 tons of sodium sulfate, as well as 2,000 tons of magnesium chloride.
