Thailand’s potash push: Prosperity or peril?

As Thailand eyes a leap into the lucrative potash market, concerns loom large over the potential environmental havoc it may unleash.

Residents in the vicinity of Thailand’s solitary commercial potash mine have raised a chorus of apprehension, cautioning against Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s grand vision to catapult the nation into a leading potash producer. Their concerns centred around the likely devastating environmental toll in the Isaan region, ring with urgency and fear.

Duenrung Munkhuntod, a farmer near the Thai Kali Co mine in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Dan Khun Thot district, expressed profound scepticism.

“The prime minister talks about how fertiliser prices will drop. But what good will it do if our land becomes infertile?”

Thai Kali Co secured a 25-year mining license in 2015, starting potash extraction in Dan Khun Thot in 2017….