Botash expands product portfolio

Chakalisa Dube | Tuesday July 2, 2024 10:39

Phatshwane was addressing the media last Thursday after a tour of the mine. Botash is the largest producer of natural sodium products in Africa, currently producing soda ash and salt. The production capacity for soda ash is 300,000 tonnes per annum but at the moment the mine delivers approximately 280,000 tonnes per year. Production capacity for salt is 650,000 tonnes per annum which includes the variants chemical grade, food grade coarse salt, and food grade fine salt.

However, production of salt stands at approximately 420,000 tonnes per annum in line with market demand. Soda ash is mostly destined for South Africa while salt is for local consumption, sold to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo amongst others. Phatshwane noted that the timing for the launch of the three newly developed products will primarily depend on market dynamics. “We are yet to benefit commercially from those (newly developed products), but they are done (fully developed). Once the market is ready and priorities of the business allow, we will launch them,” Phatshwane said.

He mentioned the three new products, one of which is sodium bicarbonate, commonly known as bicarbonate of soda. Bicarbonate of soda has a wide range of applications, from household cooking to industrial uses such as air pollutant cleaning and animal feed production. Another product which Botash intends to launch, according to Phatshwane, is sulphate of potash.

“Sulphate of potash is a premium fertiliser. It is a unique fertiliser sought in high value crops such as grapes and tobacco. It is not manufactured anywhere in Africa,” he said.

He stated that the third product which Botash plans to start producing on a commercial basis is sodium sulphate. Sodium sulphate is largely used in the manufacturing of detergents. It is also used in the manufacturing of glass but not on a significant scale.

Phatshwane emphasised that Botash will continue exploring the introduction of more products to boost its product line.

“The development of new products should be a continuous process. Just like research and development, out of a thousand efforts you will probably get one or two products that are commercially viable. You put in a lot of work and yield only a few outcomes.”

The launch of new products is aligned to Botash’s 2023–2027 strategy termed 'Double in Five Safely'. During the strategy launch last August, Phatshwane emphasised that the strategy would see the firm expanding its product line. Under the strategy, the company also aims to increase its soda ash production capacity to 430,000 tonnes by 2027 while fine salt production capacity will double to 220,000 tonnes per annum over the same period.

The company strategy will be achieved through the injection of P6.6 billion in capital expenditure over the years of the strategy, with a view to tapping into markets in the region and beyond. The development will lead to the creation of more jobs and see the company revenues doubling to P900 million.