Wendover Facility

The Wendover Facility is located 122 miles west of Salt Lake City, Utah and has been actively used for potash production from naturally occurring brines for over 75 years.  Brine from a shallow potash containing aquifer is collected in over 100 lineal miles of open ditches throughout the 88,000 acres of land controlled by Intrepid. In addition to the brine that is collected in the shallow aquifer, there is a deep potash containing aquifer 1,000 feet below ground.

Since acquiring the Wendover Facility in 2004, we have made a number of process improvements including applying best practices to increase volumes and efficiencies. We pump the brine collected in the ditch system into an 8,000 acre solar evaporation pond to evaporate water and precipitate salts. Over five billion gallons of brine are pumped into the solar pond system each year. As the brine becomes saturated with potash, it is transferred through a series of smaller evaporation ponds into harvest ponds. When the ripened brine finally reaches the harvest ponds, the ore (a combination of salt and potash) precipitates onto the pond floor. The remaining brine in the harvest ponds is removed and the ore is harvested and transported by elevating scrapers to the mill for processing. In the mill, the potash is separated from the salt by flotation. The material is then dried, compacted, and screened into standard product or compacted into a granular grade of white potash. To produce Metal Recovery Salt (MRS), which is a combination of potash and salt, the ore from the harvest ponds is sent directly to the dryer to be dried and screened. The final products are conveyed and stored in bulk storage warehouses. From the warehouses, potash and MRS are loaded directly into railcars or trucks for shipment.

The left over brine, rich in magnesium chloride, is removed from the harvest ponds and transferred into additional evaporation ponds to concentrate further. Then, the brine is transferred into storage ditches and lined ponds. From storage, the magnesium chloride brine, which is used as a winter highway de-icing product and also a dust control and soil stabilization agent, is loaded into trucks or railcars for shipment.

 









For more information on Wendover, please visit the following websites:

http://www.city-data.com/city/Wendover-Utah.html