Eddy County has authorized $60 million of industrial revenue bonds for a potash mining project near Carlsbad. Intrepid Potash, a subsidiary of Denver-based H.B. Potash LLC, requested the bonds to help finance a potash production project.
Despite the authorization, the county would be held harmless if the company fails to make payments on the bond debt, according to bond counsel Michael Groshek of Sherman & Howard.
The project’s total cost is estimated at $417 million and will provide about 40 to 60 permanent jobs, the company said. During construction, an additional 200 jobs will be created, officials said.
The bonds should sell within a month, according to Groshek. Still pending is approval from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which is conducting an environmental impact study on federal lands that will be part of the surface mine.
