The Arab Potash Company (APC) is a Jordanian company that is primarily involved in harvesting minerals from the Dead Sea. It is the eighth largest potash producer worldwide by volume of production and the sole Arab producer of potash. The company was formed in 1956 in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan as a pan-Arab business venture and it has a 100-year concession (1958-2058) from the government of Jordan that grants it exclusive rights to extract, manufacture and market minerals from the Dead Sea. It is headquartered in Amman and has its main plants at Ghor Al Safi. The company's stock is listed on the Amman Stock Exchange's ASE Weighted Index.

History

Although the Dead Sea had long been known to have large amounts of mineral deposits – including potash, the earliest efforts to produce potash dates back only to the 1920s, when Moshe Novomeysky built a potash and bromine production site in Kalil. By the end of the 1930s, his company added another facility. However, the Kalil facility was destroyed during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, while the other facility halted its production, which put an end to the project. In 1956, the government of Jordan collaborated with some Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and Libya to establish the Arab Potash Company, in order to extract and produce potash and other minerals from the Dead Sea, of which the government of Jordan kept the majority of the stake. One year later, the government of Jordan granted the company the exclusive rights for all mining operations at the Dead Sea for 100 years. However, the APC took over two decades to begin to launch its first production facility. In 1983, the company shipped its first commercial shipments of potash. In 1992, the APC became a minority partner in Nippon Jordan Ferilizers Company. In 1999, the Kamira Arab Potash Company (KEPACO) was formed as a joint venture between Arab Potash and Finnish company Kemira Agro. KEPACO was inaugurated by King Abdullah II in 2003. By the end of the year, the company began supplying Potassium nitrate to the local market. In 2000, the government of Jordan signed deals to export its potash production to France and Egypt. In 2001, the government announced it will sell its 52.9% stake in the APC. It received offers from German company Kali und Salz, Japanese company Mitsubishi, and Canadian company PotashCorp. By the end of 2003, PotashCorp purchased 28% of the government's stake in the company. In 2007, the APC's net profit reached a record JD150 million. In February 2014, Arab Potash signed a 15-year deal with US-based Noble Energy to provide Arab Potash, through its Israeli affiliates, with two billion cubic metres of natural gas. In 2018, China's SDIC Mining Investment Co. purchased the 28% stake owned by Canadian company Nutrien in Arab Potash for $502 million. In 2019, Arab Potash produced Red Potash for the first time and exported its first shipment to Brazil. The company achieved JD125 million in net profits in 2018. In 2019, its net profit increased to JD152 million, while in 2020, it generated JD127 million. Jamal Al Sarayrah – who served as the chairman of the board of directors since June 2012, resigned on December 18, 2020. He was succeeded by Shehadah Abu Hdaib.

Operations

The Arab Potash Company is located 110 km south of Amman and 200 km north of Aqaba. The site is basically a solar evaporation pond system of an area of 112 m2 and processing plants. APC produces four grades of potash: standard, fine, granular and industrial grade potash through the following process:

Markets

APC's principal export markets are India, China and Malaysia.

Subsidiaries and affiliates

Arab Potash has several Dead Sea-area affiliates and subsidiary projects, including: