TORONTO, April 19, 2018 /CNW/ - Potash Ridge Corporation. (the "Company") (TSX:PRK) is pleased to provide information on its large alumina resource and co-production potential. Alumina is a critical raw material under pressure as US sanctions impact global aluminium supply chains.

Potash Ridge's Large Alumina Resource and Secondary Product Market Potential

The current US tariffs and sanctions on aluminum have sent prices surging as well as the price of metallurgical grade alumina – the material to make aluminum - to over $600/ton in recent transactions.

Based on the mine plan for the Blawn Mountain project in the April 2017 43-101 Updated Pre-Feasibility Report ("April 2017 PFS"), 19.4 million tons of unprocessed alumina will be placed in the tailings over the 46-year project life, potentially representing approximately 420,000 tons per year of unprocessed alumina co-production from the alunite going into the tailings.

The Blawn Mountain Alunite deposit represents the largest known potential nonbauxite source of alumina in the US ⁽¹⁾. It was discovered in the 1970's in a search for nonbauxite sources for aluminum production as the US has negligible bauxite reserves and has near-total dependence on imported bauxite and alumina for  primary aluminum production.

Following the release of the January 2017 43-101 Pre-Feasibility Technical Report, several parties approached the Corporation to explore potential applications for the alumina-rich residue material such as a raw material for the production of aluminum with a much smaller environmental footprint than bauxite and as a binding agent in the production of concrete and other industrial applications. Commercial discussions are currently aimed at determining the optimal product mix. Based on the recommendations from the April 2017 PFS, Potash Ridge intends to undertake additional metallurgical testing to determine the most economic means to extract alumina from the residual waste material.

"Blawn Mountain is a world-class SOP fertilizer project, with a long project life and very low operating costs," stated Andrew Squires, the Corporation's CEO. "The realization of market demand for the vast amount of  alumina contained in our tailings provides tremendous value upside potential and diversity to our revenue stream."

The United States Geological Survey reports that in 2016  the quantity of bauxite consumed in the US was estimated to be 6.8 million metric tons. Alumina imports totalled 1.2 million metric tons with US primary aluminum production of 800,000 metric tons. It takes between 1.9 to 3.6 tons of bauxite to make 1 ton of alumina, and approximately 2 tons of alumina to make 1 ton of aluminum.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

POTASH RIDGE CORPORATION

Andrew Squires
President & CEO

About Potash Ridge
Potash Ridge's strategy is to become a premier producer of sulphate of potash "SOP" in North America. The Corporation owns two SOP projects: the Blawn Mountain project in Utah that plans to produce SOP by processing an alunite material and the Valleyfield project in Quebec that plans to produce SOP through the Mannheim Process. Potash Ridge has a highly qualified and proven management team in place with significant financial, project management and operational experience to take projects into production.

Qualified Persons
Each of the Qualified Persons ("QPs") shown below has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosures contained in the Technical Report and in this release and are independent of the Corporation. QPs have verified the data including sampling, analytical and test data underlying the information or opinions contained herein. The QPs responsible are:

Steven Kerr – Geology

References
(1)  World Nonbauxite Aluminum Resources- Alunite , Robert B Hall,  Geological Survey Professional Paper  1076A

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Investors are cautioned that these forward looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and by those made in our filings with SEDAR in Canada (available at www.sedar.com).

SOURCE Potash Ridge Corporation