Garlyk mining and refining facility still stands idle.The Belarus media outlet Tut.by, with reference to the pricing agency Argus, reports that the problem is reportedly the low quality of ore and flooding.
In August the first batch of potassium was sold through bidding at Turkmenistan’s commodity exchange.The Turkish company purchased 20 thousand tons of the facility’s products at $110 per ton.
However, the entire volume will be supplied in small batches within 8 months.At the same, the estimated capacity of the plant is 4 million tons of fertilizers a year, or, approximately 117 thousand tons a month.
It should be mentioned that “Turkmenkhimia”, the owner of the Garlyk mining and refining facility, is in litigation with the Belarus company “Belgorkhimprom”.
Turkmenistan is discontent with the fact that the contractor has not completed construction works at the facility whereas “Belgorkhimprom” in its turn claims that the project was not completed because the customer refused to pay for completed works and has the debt of over $150 million.
As of November 2018, the facility’s output is just 2,3% (32,3 thousand tons) of the projected volume of fertilizers.
The mining and refining facility worth $1,1 billion was commissioned on 31 March 2017.