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Jordan’s Potash Production Requires Dike Remediation Adapted from Information by BAUER Potassium, the seventh most abundant element in the earth’s crust, is found mainly in heavy soils and seawater. The old method, soaking wood ash in water and evaporating the solution in pots to extract potassium salts, yielded the colloquial term “potash,” which is widely used today for various salts, all containing the element potassium. This element is one of the three major components of fertilizers, allowing farmers to increase crop yields and improve plant resilience. Actually, roughly 90% of the potassium salt produced in the world is used for fertilizers. Huge deposits of potassium salt underground de- posits, left behind by dried-up prehistoric seas, exist in many regions of the world. The Dead Sea is also a partic- ularly abundant source for potassium salt. Jordan’s Arab Potash Company depends on this resource as the basis for their potash production. Their production method is to pump salt water from the Dead Sea into large earth basins. Then the water is left to evaporate, leaving behind the valu- able potash. Huge dikes are erected around these earth basins to keep the water seepage to a minimum. To further limit seepage and keep the briny water within the solar pond, the company has contracted with Royal Haskoning DHV, an engineering firm from the Netherlands, and BAUER International FZE, a subsidiary of BAUER Spezialtiefbau GmbH. They will erect a total of 133,950 square yards of cut-off wall with embedded sheet piles a little over two miles long adjacent to the main perimeter dike. With a planned width of 23-5/8 inches, the wall will be installed at depths between 19 and 32 yards. Constructing this wall will present special challenges because of the mostly salty soil, completely salt-saturated ground- water, and the huge amount of soil which must be moved. To complete this wall, the project team is using two Bauer cutters, a BC 40 and a BC 30, in addition to a grab. Expected to take 20 months to construct, the project is scheduled for completion in August 2020. Nitrate Coated Premium Liners 5x6, 5x8, & 5x10 Gardner Denver 5-1/2x8 & 5-1/2x10 Gardner Denver 7-1/2x8 & 7-1/2x10 Gardner Denver Rods Heat-Treated & Chromed 5x6, 5x8, & 5-1/2x8 Gardner Denver 5x10 & 5-1/2x10 Gardner Denver 7-1/2x8 & 7-1/2x10 Gardner Denver New Pumps In Stock Gardner Denver 4x5 TEE Triplex. Gardner Denver 5-1/2x5 TEE Triplex Gardner Denver 4x5 or 4-1/2x5 Duplex Gardner Denver 5x6 Duplex Gardner Denver 5x6 Air Drive Duplex Gardner Denver 5x8 Duplex Gardner Denver 5-1/2x8 Duplex Gardner Denver 7-1/2x8 Duplex Gardner Denver 7-1/2x10 Duplex Gardner Denver 5-1/2x5 THE Triplex Gardner Denver 5x8 PAH Triplex Call for Prices. We Have a Variety of Brands of Mud Pump Parts and Power Units in Stock. Special or Obsolete Parts Made to Order . Cash for Surplus Mud Pumps . Rebuilt Mud Pumps 4-1/2x6 Gaso Duplex 4-1/2x6 Oilwell Duplex Gardner Denver 4-1/2x8 PA-8 Triplex Gardner Denver 5x6 Duplex Gardner Denver 5x10 Duplex Gaso 5x10 Duplex OVER 300 PUMPS IN STOCK Armstrong Machine Co. Inc. Pocahontas, IA 50574 USA 712-335-4131 ~ 24 Hours 7 Days a Week • Fax: 712-335-4565 800-831-4527 USA & Canada (8AM to 4PM Monday-Friday) armstrongmachine.com amci@armstrongmachine.com Hydraulic Grout Pumps 5”, 6”, & 7-1/2” 24 JANUARY 2020 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Expanding the dike. Potash C&G