PM wants more potash mining for local production of chemical fertilizer

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has instructed the Ministry of Industry to ramp up the mining of potash in Thailand’s north-eastern provinces or call for bids for new mining concessions if the current concessionaires are unable to increase supply.

Government spokesman Chai Wacharonke said the prime minister told his cabinet on Tuesday that Thailand has a huge reserve of potash underground in the northeast, the fourth largest after Canada, Belarus and Germany, but the ore, which is key resource for the production of chemical fertilizer, has not yet been extracted, even though mining concessions were granted to three companies years ago.

One of the concessionaires, granted the mining right eight years ago, is still unable to begin mining, while the two others are experiencing funding problems, said Chai.

Thailand’s potash reserves, estimated at…