Emmerson PLC (AIM:EML) told investors it has secured UK patent protection for the mineral processing technology developed for its Khemisset potash project in Morocco, adding an intellectual property layer to a project that is now central to a major treaty claim against the Moroccan state.
The AIM-listed company said the UK Intellectual Property Office had granted patent status to its application titled Processing of Evaporite Minerals, covering the core Khemisset Multi-mineral Process, or KMP, and its optimised derivative products.
Emmerson said the process was developed primarily for Khemisset but could have wider application across potash deposits globally. It has also filed what it described as an extensive portfolio of patent applications through advisers Gill Jennings & Every LLP in regions of greatest commercial interest.
The company said KMP cut the project’s water requirements by 50%, increased muriate of potash recovery from 85% to around 91%, and created two slow-release multi-nutrient fertilisers, struvite and vivianite.
Emmerson also reiterated that its Khemisset subsidiaries are pursuing arbitration against Morocco at ICSID, seeking US$1.215bn net of local taxes and including interest for alleged breaches of the UK-Morocco bilateral investment treaty. The company said there can be no certainty over the outcome of the claims.
