Director of Natural Resources
Compass Minerals International
Bio:
Joseph R. Havasi is the Director of Natural Resources for Compass Minerals International (CMP) of Overland Park, Kansas. Joe is responsible for managing real estate, mineral reserves, water rights, and land-use planning. Joe is a geologist by training, having completed undergraduate studies at Denison University, a small liberal arts school in Ohio, completed coursework towards a Masters in Geology at The Ohio State University, and received an MBA in Finance from Youngstown State University. Joe has worked in a variety of roles and capacities, from working as a driller for a year, and conducting Environmental Site Assessments and hydrogeologic investigations before spending five years at Lafarge North America in Cleveland as a Land Manager. He joined Compass Minerals in 2010 to lead its Natural Resources function and resides in Pleasant View, Utah. Joe met his wife, Lynn, at Denison University; they have been married for 22 years and have two children, Joe (18) and Megan (16), and one giant Yellow Labrador Retriever, Jersey. Since moving to Utah in August 2017, Joe has become a certified ski bum, and celebrates with glee at the near prospect of fresh powder! Joe also enjoys hiking and camping with his family.
Title: Mineral Recovery in the North Arm: The Convergence of Place, Hydrology, Climate, and Salinity
Wednesday, May 9, 10:40 AM
Abstract: The Compass Minerals Ogden Site has been operating on the eastern shore of the Great Salt Lake at informal boundary Bear River Bay and Ogden Bay since 1970. Compass Minerals Ogden produces essential minerals that keep roadways safe in winter months, and Sulphate of Potash (SOP) that provides an essential plant nutrient to various orchard and nut crops, and turf grasses. Compass Minerals Ogden is the only domestic producer of SOP, and employs over 300 people, and is a valuable contributor to the $1.3B economic engine derived from Great Salt Lake (GSL).
Joe will discuss the importance of GSL salinity and concentrations of key ions to mineral recovery in the Great Salt Lake and more specifically, Compass Minerals’ operations in the North Arm and between Bear River and Ogden Bays. The presentation will explore the unique circumstances that lead to the collection of ions found in the lake, and the Great Salt Lake’s place amongst other saline lakes in the world. Joe will also speak to the climatic, geographic, hydrologic, bathymetric, and salinity characteristics found in the North Arm, and how the these factors contribute to a sustainable mineral recovery operation that yields the United States’ only source of SOP, a key source of chloride-free potassium to fruit and nut crops.