Published: February 14, 2024 |

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Compass Minerals has decided to no longer pursue operations at the company’s lithium brine project in Ogden, Utah citing regulatory risks.

The announcement was made as part of the U.S.-based essential minerals provider’s fiscal 2024 first-quarter results.

According to Compass Minerals, the decision about the project is in the best interests of shareholders.

As part of the termination of the lithium project, Compass Minerals’s lithium head Chris Yandell has left the company, and the lithium development team has been dissolved.

The essential minerals company recorded a total of about $77.3 million of expense in the first quarter as a result of its decision to terminate the lithium brine project.

Its expenses include the impairment of some lithium project assets and future commitments and restructuring charges linked to the exit of certain lithium and Ogden team members.

Compass Minerals said that it intends to continue to monitor and participate in legislative and regulatory processes in Utah to maintain the long-term optionality of the lithium potential at its Ogden operations.

“The environment surrounding our lithium project today is markedly different than the one that existed a couple of years ago when we started down this path,” said Compass Minerals President and CEO Edward Dowling.

“The simple fact is that the regulatory risks have increased significantly around this project. When combined with other changes to the commercial landscape, it became clear that the risk-adjusted returns on this project are inadequate to justify the investment,” added Dowling.

In May 2023, Compass Minerals signed a binding, multi-year supply agreement with Ford Motor to provide battery-grade lithium carbonate to the automotive major from its Ogden lithium brine development project.

Under the terms of the agreement, the essential minerals company was to supply up to 40 percent of its planned phase-one lithium carbonate for a period of five years to Ford Motor once production starts.

Source: NS Energy

Compass Minerals provides essential minerals in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through two segments, salt and plant nutrition. The salt segment produces, markets, and sells sodium chloride and magnesium chloride, including rock salt, mechanically and solar evaporated salt, and brine and flake magnesium chloride products; and purchases potassium chloride and calcium chloride to sell as finished products or to blend with sodium chloride to produce specialty products. This segment provides products for use as a deicer for roadways, consumer, and professional use; as an ingredient in chemical production; for water treatment, human, and animal nutrition; and for various other consumer and industrial uses, as well as records management services. The plant nutrition segment produces sulfate of potash specialty fertilizers in various grades that are used in broadcast spreaders, direct application, and liquid fertilizer solutions under the Protassium+ brand name; turf products used by the turf and ornamental markets, as well as for blends used on golf course greens; organic products; and develops and produces a portfolio of magnesium chloride-based aerial and ground fire retardant products. This segment provides its products to distributors and retailers of crop inputs, as well as growers. Compass Minerals was founded in 1844 and is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.

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