By Ryan Randazzo
The Arizona Republic
One of the small, development-stage startups hoping to mine the fertilizer potash from northeastern Arizona has signed a deal potentially worth $2 billion if it can get its mine operating in 2015 or 2016.
Denver-based Prospect Global Resources Inc., which trades its stock on the Nasdaq Commercial Markets exchange for low-capitalized companies, announced a deal with Sichuan Chemical Industry Holding Group Co. Ltd. of China.
The 10-year deal would provide at least 500,000 metric tons of potash annually to the company, about one-quarter of what Prospect intends to extract from the project it is working to develop near Holbrook. When announcing the Sichuan Chemical deal, Prospect officials said it should make the potential mine more attractive to lenders.