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Compass Minerals Announces Long-Range Plans to Improve and Expand Its Sulfate of Potash Specialty Fertilizer Production

Posted on: Tuesday, 4 September 2007, 18:02 CDT

Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP) today announced a two-phased plan to strengthen its sulfate of potash (SOP) specialty fertilizer production through upgrades to its processing plant and expansion of its solar evaporation ponds at the Great Salt Lake in Utah.

The initial phase is expected to increase Great Salt Lake Minerals' SOP production capacity by more than 20 percent through modifications to the company's existing solar evaporation ponds coupled with yield improvements and increases in the processing capacity of its plant. These projects are expected to progressively increase the company's SOP production capacity in 2008 and 2009, with nearly 100,000 additional tons available by 2010. This initial phase is expected to cost approximately $25 million over three years beginning in 2008.

"These investments in capacity and efficiency will help us lower our production costs as well as meet the growing worldwide demand for SOP as an environmentally friendly, organic specialty fertilizer," said Angelo Brisimitzakis, Compass Minerals' president and CEO. "These projects are consistent with our focus on strategic investments that leverage our strong asset base for long-term profitable growth and continue our commitment to operational excellence."

For the second phase, Compass Minerals is pursuing strategies to add new solar evaporation ponds to its existing 43,000 acres of ponds at the Great Salt Lake. Additional

SOP feedstock produced by the new solar evaporation ponds would reduce the company's reliance on higher-cost potassium chloride, which it currently sources to extend its pond-based SOP production.

The State of Utah recently issued a record of decision to lease 23,000 additional acres to Compass Minerals at the Great Salt Lake. In addition to leases, the company must receive construction permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in order to build additional solar evaporation ponds. The final scope of the project -- including the timing, cost, additional pond harvest and need for additional processing capacity -- will be determined following the company's detailed engineering analysis and the Corps of Engineers' comprehensive permitting process. The company would not expect to begin construction of the additional solar ponds for at least two years.

"The pond expansion makes sense from both economic and environmental perspectives. Solar evaporation is a lower-cost and environmentally friendly production method, particularly in comparison with other forms of SOP production that rely heavily on the use of fossil fuels," Brisimitzakis said. "The demand for SOP is consistently growing as the need for fruits, vegetables and tree nuts increases in the U.S. and abroad."

Compass Minerals, the largest producer of SOP specialty fertilizer in North America, has been producing minerals from the Great Salt Lake for 40 years. The company draws naturally occurring brine from the lake into shallow ponds and allows solar evaporation to produce sulfate of potash, as well as salt and magnesium chloride minerals. Sulfate of potash is a specialty fertilizer that improves the yield and quality of high-value crops such as fruits, vegetables, tea, tree nuts and turf grasses.

About Compass Minerals

Based in the Kansas City metropolitan area, Compass Minerals is a leading producer of inorganic minerals, including salt, sulfate of potash specialty fertilizer and magnesium chloride. The company provides highway deicing salt to customers in North America and the United Kingdom, and produces and distributes consumer deicing and water conditioning products, ingredients used in consumer and commercial foods, specialty fertilizers, and products used in agriculture and other consumer and industrial applications. Compass Minerals also provides records management services to businesses throughout the U.K.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the Company's current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially. The differences could be caused by a number of factors including those factors identified in Compass Minerals International's annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 22, 2007. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect future events or developments.

Source: Business Wire

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