RE:you guysbmw, I dont think anyone wants to see this fail, as this novel process will likely be the most environmentally friendly method of extracting potash on the planet once proven.
But the way to prove it is not through lab testing, computer models, etc, but to actually build it real time and I applaud Western and its investors for believing in the process and going for it.
Now they have to go through the processing motions with tweaks along the way to see if this process can be proven to be economically viable.
As oldsalt mentioned, unsuccessful methods that have been regurgitated the last 6 decades without success need to be revamped, and it will take new age thinking to get this across the finish line.
Saskatchewan has some great resources to help, including a company that just built a pilot horizontal selective solution mine in Manitoba. That downhole information regarding what worked and what didnt could be very valuable to Westerns cavern engineers.