Afar

Afar region contains the Danakil Depression, one of the hottest and most geologically active places on Earth, where an estimated 6-14 billion tonnes of potash-bearing salts represent one of the world's largest undeveloped potash resources. The Danakil Potash project alone contains 4.93 billion tonnes grading 18.1% potassium chloride. Industrial potash extraction began in 1918 but ended after World War I; a century later, companies like Circum Minerals and Yara are attempting to restart production with projected investments of $2.3 billion.

The region demonstrates how extreme environments create both resource opportunity and extraction barriers. Temperatures in the Danakil regularly exceed 50°C, and the area's remoteness from ports and infrastructure has repeatedly frustrated mining ventures. Political turbulence—from the abolition of the Empire through Eritrean independence to Afari revolutionary movements—has also disrupted extraction. The Ethiopian government is now providing infrastructure support including upgraded roads and a 130km paved route from the basin to Mekelle.

Afar's traditional economy centers on salt mining and pastoralism, with about 1,200 square kilometers covered by salt deposits that local tribes have exploited for centuries. The region's sparse population of Afar pastoralists coexists uneasily with industrial mining ambitions. Ethiopia aims to license 50 mineral exploration projects annually and double mining exports to $1 billion in five years, with Afar's potash central to this strategy.