The Vancouver-based company, headed by Jason Wilkinson and chaired by Farhad Abasov, is exploring a major potash project in Gabon's Nyanga province. With the Gabonese presidential elections, in which current head of state Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema is running, just a few weeks away, Millennial Potash's project is at the heart of geopolitical discussions between the USA and Gabon.
Following a meeting between Farhad Abasov and Gabon's Head of State in November 2023, and a meeting between Valvi Pandi Mahoungou, Country Manager of subsidiary Mayumba Potasse SARL, and Brice Oligui Nguema in September 2024, Millennial Potash was once again at the center of discussions last February. Ghislain Moandza Mboma, Managing Director of ANPI-Gabon (Agence Nationale de Promotion des Investissements) received a delegation from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to discuss the Canadian company's mining project.
Based on indicated mineral resources of 656.6 million tonnes grading 15.9%, Millennial Potash now needs to make progress on various technical documents in order to obtain operating licenses and begin production. Acquired in 2022 from Equatorial Potash Pty Ltd, the operating licenses should be subject to an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) during 2025, followed by various feasibility studies to enter a possible construction phase at the end of 2026.
From mine to earth
Used mainly as a fertilizer for intensive agriculture, Millennial Potash could prove strategic for the United States, which imports 90% of its potassium inputs, including 80% from Canada, the world's leading producer according to the US Geological Survey. Russia and Belarus are the other two main suppliers of potash to the United States, accounting for around 15% of imports. With the implementation of the 25% tariffs introduced by Donald Trump last February, prices per tonne could rise from US$450 to US$550, according to a February 2025 report by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), an agency of the US Department of Agriculture.
With American agriculture heavily dependent on imported inputs, and a mining project enabling the Gabonese state to reap long-term revenues on the other, the Millennial Potash project is planting its seed in the soil of a fertile geopolitical conjuncture.