Tracing Potash Through Time and Space – Insights from Global Exploration
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Potash deposits have been formed and preserved in numerous basin structures around the world over the course of the Earth's geological history. Due to the role of economically viable potash deposits in the production of potash fertilisers and, consequently, global food security, potash salts are considered to be among the most significant raw materials. The main potash deposits presently in production formed during the Devonian (e.g. Elk Point Basin, Pripyat Basin), the Permian (e.g. Kama Basin, Zechstein Basin) and the Quaternary (e.g. Dead Sea Region). Moreover, numerous exploration campaigns for further deposits in South America, Central Africa, as well as in Southeast and Central Asia have been undertaken in recent times., Modern exploration of potash deposits is characterised by a sequence – and often a combination – of the following steps: prospecting to find the right geological setting, archive studies to obtain as much information as possible about the subsurface in the area before expensive field investigations are started, geophysical investigations to evaluate the continuity and depth of the deposit or the brine host rocks, exploration drilling to obtain material for detailed investigations of the deposit and hydrogeological studies. The data obtained from this exploration serves as input for the subsequent steps in the evaluation of the deposit. It is evident that a numerous of geoscientific disciplines are involved in the exploration and exploitation of potash deposits. Areas of responsibility undertaken by geologists include lithology, tectonics, microstructur, 3D-modeling, geophysics, geochemistry, water and environmental law, mining law and raw material economics.
Source: dggv-e-publications
DOI: 10.48380/mag5-y510
Language: English
Subfield: Geology
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7223559645