OREANDA-NEWS. On 4 February 2008 it was announced, that Crimean Soda OJSC, the largest soda ash producer in Ukraine, controlled by Dmitry Firtash, a co-owner of RosUkrEnergo (Swiss gas trader), soon will be able to broaden its nomenclature of products for account of iodated edible salt. Crimean Soda, at the end of December 2007, purchased on the exchange auction a whole property complex – Crimean Salt LLC (Krasnoperekopsk), the largest salt producer in Crimea.

“The key reasons for a new investment project became the perspectives of Crimean Soda development in terms of its production diversification and abandoning of its mono-product practice, as well as launching its new product in the market. In perspective, in parallel with soda output, they are also planning a production of a secondary product – calcium chloride. This new business will improve the overall performance of the factory, which, after organizing the salt production, will have additional base for its further development.

Moreover, the edible salt production as an accompaniment is carried out by many soda ash producers abroad,” said in the statement by Vladimir Ponomarenko, board chair of the company. According to the document, the business plan for edible salt production envisages that the new product output will be launched this July. At the first stage, they are planning to produce up to 20 thousand tonnes of salt a year, and in future, to double this figure to 40 thousand tonnes.

It should be noted that in its best years Crimean Salt LLC produced 25 thousand tonnes (1.4% of the total output in Ukraine) of edible salt per year. After that, followed difficult times, as a result of which Crimea Economic court in January 2007, recognized the company to be a bankrupt. Before its bankruptcy Crimean Salt was specialized in vacuum-evaporated salt production using the input from Sivash salt deposits. In addition, the company developed a technology for salt production including various additives (iodine, fluorine etc) into a lattice.