A COMPANY

BALANCE FOR ALL SEASONS

Compass Minerals
BMO 2010 Global Metals &
Mining Conference
March 2010

Rodney Underdown
Chief Financial Officer
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This presentation may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning

of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are
based on the Company’s current expectations and involve risks and
uncertainties that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially.
The differences could be caused by a number of factors including those factors
identified in Compass Minerals International's annual report on form 10-K filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 22, 2010. The
Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements
made in this presentation to reflect future events or developments.

2
CMP: A LEADER IN DIVERSE MARKETS
2009 Sales

47%
Highway Deicing
13%
Salt Specialty Potash Fertilizer
Segment Segment

39% 1%
Consumer & Records Management
Industrial

#1 Salt producer in North America and U.K.

#1 Deicing minerals producer in North America and U.K.
#1 Sulfate of potash specialty fertilizer producer in Western Hemisphere
#1 Magnesium chloride deicing/de-dusting producer in North America
A STRONG, ALL-WEATHER PORTFOLIO
CMP PERFORMANCE AT A GLANCE
(Dollars in millions, except per-share data) Salt
16,000 $70

2009 2008 2007 14,000

$65

$60

Short Tons Sold (000s)

Average Price / Ton

12,000
Sales $963 $1,168 $857 $55

10,000
$50

8,000 $45
Operating earnings $270 $274 $144
$40
6,000

$35
Operating margin 28% 23% 17% 4,000
$30

2,000
$25

Net earnings $164 $160 $80 0 $20

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Net earnings, excluding
$167 $164 $69
special items* Specialty Fertilizer
Cash flow from operations $119 $254 $119 450 $900

400 $800

Short Tons Sold (000s)

Cash flow prior to working

Average Price / Ton

350 $700
$251 $227 $148
capital changes** 300 $600

250 $500
Dividends per share $1.42 $1.34 $1.28 200 $400

150 $300

Stock price at December 31 $67.19 $58.66 $41.00 100 $200

50 $100

0 $0

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

STEP-CHANGE MARGIN IMPROVEMENT IN 2008/2009

*See page 18 for reconciliation. 4
** See final page for reconciliation.
PRICING, OPERATING EFFICIENCIES
DRIVE STRONG MARGINS
(Dollars in millions)

Salt Operating Earnings Specialty Fertilizer Operating Earnings

$248.4

$232.4

$117.7
$191.7

$163.7

$143.7
$138.0 $136.4 $138.7
$76.0
$123.5 $123.0
$114.5 $114.4
$104.4 $104.4

28%
60%
21% 22% 22% 21% 21% $35.6
20% 51%
$30.2 $30.5

$20.7
29% 28%
24% 26%
Pro-forma CAGR: 16% $7.5
14%

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Operating earnings Pro-forma operating earnings Operating margin Operating earnings Operating margin

SOLID RESULTS THROUGH VARIED DEMAND CYCLES

* Note: Pro-forma operating earnings eliminate effects of winter weather variability. See page 18 for reconciliation. 5
CMP: A COMPELLING INVESTMENT

SALT ATTRACTIVE SPECIALTY

Recession-resistant BUSINESS SEGMENTS FERTILIZER
Low fixed costs Essential products Leverage to
Regional High margins economic recovery
customers and Wide economic moat Strong in North
competition Advantaged assets and South America
Winter and Low-risk, low-cost Spring and fall
year-round expansion opportunities applications
applications SOP/salt production synergy Preferred for
Thousands of at Great Salt Lake high-value fruits
end uses and vegetables

ATTRACTIVE PROFITABILITY AND GROWTH POTENTIAL

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CMP: VALUE IS IN THE SUM OF THE PARTS

SALT CURRENT SPECIALTY

75% of 2009 CMP VALUATION FERTILIZER
operating segment Discounted valuation 25% of 2009
EBITDA compared to segment comps operating
No true comps segment
Regionalized Recent Market Valuation Multiples (a) EBITDA
markets and 2010 2011 2010 2011 No true comps
EBITDA EBITDA EPS EPS
competitive Similar to
structure is similar CMP 8.1x 7.3x 12.5x 10.9x commodity
to aggregates potash
Aggregates (b) 12.0x 9.6x 54.0x 25.3x
fertilizer
Potash Fertilizers (c) 11.5x 8.7x 19.7x 14.4x

DISCOUNTED VALUATION COMPARED TO CLOSEST COMPS

(a) Mean of all analysts’ estimates as reported by IBES as of market close 2/23/10
(b) Includes Vulcan Materials Co. and Martin Marietta Materials Inc. 7
(c) Includes Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc., Mosaic Co., Agrium Inc., and Intrepid Potash Inc.
SALT: AN UNMATCHED REGIONAL INDUSTRY
Rock Salt Pricing Generally Independent of Weather
Essential in most of its applications
300

No cost-effective substitutes
Generally not a material cost to 250

end users
200
Stable competition

Index (c)
Long-term, industry-wide salt 150

prices grow 3% to 4% per annum

– Not correlated to weather variations 100

– “Demand vs. pricing” characteristics

similar to U.S. aggregates industry
50

Long-term, industry-wide salt

volumes grow 1% to 2% per annum 0

Rock Salt Pricing (a) (Independent of weather-driven demand)

Aggregates Pricing (a) (Independent of cyclical demand)
Snowfall Events in CMP's NA Markets (b)

UNCOMMON ATTRIBUTES ENABLE CONSISTENT PRICE GROWTH

(a) Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Producer Price Index. No rock salt data provided for 2006.
(b) The sum of days with one or more inches (~2.5 cm) of snow in eleven selected U.S. and Canadian cities in CMP’s service area, as reported by the 8
NOAA National Weather Service and Environment Canada.
(c) Index: PPI Base = 1984; Snowfall Base = 10-year average
NORTH AMERICAN HIGHWAY DEICING BUSINESS
HAS UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS
Price reflects unique, government-directed CMP’s Highway Deicing Business
selling process that sets prices for the 13,000 $50

entire winter season 12,000

226

– Producers submit blind, sealed bids 11,000 217

$40
– Lowest-priced bidder wins 10,000

Sales Volume in Thousands of Tons

– Price and terms are non-negotiable 9,000 179 175

– Bidding/selling process occurs ~April – Oct.;

Average Price / Ton

8,000
$30
sales transactions occur ~Nov. – March
7,000 158

Bids awarded by governments set 6,000

volume range 5,000
$20
110
– Most guarantee a minimum purchase and
4,000
require a maximum delivery commitment 93

3,000
– Actual demand is driven by the number of $10

winter weather events 2,000

Underlying demand is inelastic 1,000

0 $0
– Critical public safety need
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
– Inventory storage challenges discourage Snow Days*
Volume Price
governments from buying more than needed

SELLING PROCESS DRIVES PRICE, WEATHER DRIVES VOLUME

* The sum of days with one or more inches (~2.5 cm) of snow in eleven selected U.S. and Canadian cities in CMP’s service area, as reported by the 9
NOAA National Weather Service and Environment Canada.
NORTH AMERICA’S ONLY ANNOUNCED
ROCK SALT CAPACITY EXPANSION
Advantaged mining asset in Goderich, ON
creates platform for scalable growth
Increasing annual capability of Goderich mine to
~9 million tons during 2010
– Up from ~6 million ton capacity in 2007
– The equivalent of adding a new mine
– ~$70 million investment over 2009-2010 period

New capacity allows CMP to increase production

in the future as demand warrants
– With highly variable cost structure, idle capacity has minimal
COGS impact
– Supports both highway and C&I rock salt demand growth

Long term: continue to explore expansion and

investment opportunities

MEETING A CRITICAL, LONG-TERM PUBLIC SAFETY NEED

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CMP’S SALT SEGMENT OUTLOOK

Strong underlying fundamentals for ‘09-’10 winter

– Average N.A. highway deicing bid prices increased 8%
– Gained an additional 750,000 tons of N.A. bid awards
– Displaced opportunistic importers
Late start to ’09-’10 winter reduced 4Q09 demand
– Quarter-to-date*, deicing volumes are still below normal but
above prior year
– Producers retain most of the inventory
Rock salt sales to chemical industry improving
C&I products contributed to significant gain in
segment operating earnings and margin
– Expect continuation of current strength
– $6/ton price increase on consumer and industrial products
announced for 2010
Stable shipping costs expected through
’09-’10 winter
PROFITABLE, SUSTAINABLE GROWTH

* As of 2/22/10 11
 SULFATE OF POTASH (SOP):
THE BETTER POTASH CROP NUTRIENT

Used on specialty crops,

not commodity crops
The Financial Power of America’s High Value Crops *
– Fruits, vegetables, potatoes, nuts, turf and
nursery crops
– Specialty crops account for ~4% of total
harvested U.S. acreage but ~40% of the
value of total cropland production*

Essential to specialty crops

– Applications can be skipped or
reduced but not permanently deferred

Provides superior benefits 4% of total harvested acreage 40% of total revenue

compared to commodity
muriate of potash (MOP) Commodity Crops Specialty Crops
– Has virtually no chlorides
which can burn root systems
– Provides the beneficial sulfate nutrient
– Improves crop yield and quality

HIGH-VALUE POTASH SOURCE FOR SPECIALTY CROPS

* Source: Agriculture and Applied Economics Association 12

 SULFATE OF POTASH: FEW NATURAL SOURCES
CMP SOP vs. North American MOP Pricing*
Long-term, industry-wide volume growth of
3% to 4% per annum $1,200

Sulfate of potash industry is ~1/10th of the

global potash industry $1,000

– Normal worldwide SOP production ~7 million tons per year

Priced at ~$150 to $200/short ton premium $800

to MOP due to value to grower and primary

MOP-based production process $600

Most SOP producers convert MOP to SOP Price

spread
through more costly process using hazardous $400

chemicals
– One producer mines SOP ore $200

Three producers use low-cost solar evaporation

to produce from rare natural brine sources $0
4Q '03 4Q '04 4Q '05 4Q '06 4Q '07 4Q '08 4Q '09
– CMP’s site at the Great Salt Lake is only N.A. brine source
– Others are in Chile and China POT North America (MOP) CMP (SOP)

FAVORABLE SOP INDUSTRY STRUCTURE

* Compass Minerals’ average selling price for sulfate of potash FOB Ogden, UT, compared to the North American average net selling price of potash 13
reported by Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, Inc., converted to short tons.
SOP CAPACITY EXPANSION
Expanding to reduce reliance on sourced MOP and
meet long-term demand
Pond-based SOP costs <$200/short ton to produce
– Due to FIFO accounting, first 200,000 tons sold in 2010 will be
approximately 10% higher cost.
Phase I: A yield improvement project
Will have ~350,000 tons of lower-cost, solar-
pond-based annual capacity by 2011 (+ ~40%)
– ~ 300,000 ton annual capacity in 2010
~ $40 million investment (2008 – 2010)
Phase II: Increases solar pond acreage
Increases solar pond capacity by up to 400,000 tons
– Can be brought on as demand warrants
– At least 5 years until any new production available
Investment plan in development pending permits
Phase III:
Evaluating several opportunities

EXPANSION OF ADVANTAGED ASSET IMPROVES PRODUCTION MIX

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CMP’S SPECIALTY FERTILIZER SEGMENT OUTLOOK

Expect strong volume improvement in 2010

– More normal volumes in 2011
– 1Q10 volume expected to be approximately
double 1Q09 volume

Strengthening international demand

– Sells at a discount to domestic product
– Lower net-back

Anticipate attractive prices for all of 2010

– 1Q10 average selling price in the low $500s/ton
– $30/ton price increase announced for April 1

Expect stable costs throughout 2010

– Sourcing substantially less MOP 2010 and beyond
– Have a strong, low-cost inventory of SOP in place
– Expect continuing increase in lower cost
solar-pond-based capacity through 2011

GENERATING STRONG OPERATING MARGINS

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STRONG CASH FLOW PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES
$254 $251
(Dollars, in millions)
$227

$148
$130
$110 $119 $119
$99 $100 $96
$88 $88
$69

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Cash Flow prior to Working Capital Changes* Cash Flow from Operations

Targeted uses of cash flow

Invest in high-return/low-risk capacity and discretionary cost-reduction projects
Accelerate growth through profitable new products, applications and markets
Pay dividends
Strategic, synergistic acquisitions
2009 investment in salt and low-cost specialty potash inventories
CREATING OPTIONS FOR FUTURE DEPLOYMENT
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* Non-GAAP measure. See final page for reconciliation.
EXECUTING ON OUR STRATEGY FOR
SUSTAINABLE, PROFITABLE GROWTH
Element Execution

Leverage our ─ Goderich, Ont. – expand low-cost rock salt capacity

advantaged assets ─ Great Salt Lake – expand SOP pond-based capacity

Proactive pricing built upon ─ NA highway deicing bid awards up 8% for 2009-2010 winter
─ C&I pricing up 12% over 2008
commercial excellence ─ Maximize SOP to MOP spread while maintaining share

Profitably grow ─ Launched specialty, high-performance highway deicers

in North America
new products,
─ Launched branded and private-label specialty salts
applications ─ Launched Nature’s Own® water care products
and markets ─ Expanded Safe Step® consumer deicing products

Operational excellence ─ Phase I SOP yield improvement

everywhere ─ Numerous cost reduction investments

─ Retired ~$180 million in 12% debt in 2008 and 2009

Improve financial structure ─ Lowered average cost of borrowings 2003 to 2009

Strategic, synergistic ─ Cutler Magner (’09) – extends C&I capability

acquisitions
DELIVERING RESULTS 17
RECONCILIATION OF PRO-FORMA INFORMATION

Estimated Effect of Winter Weather on Performance

Favorable (unfavorable) to normal weather, in millions

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Sales $35 to $45 $60 to $70 ($70) to ($80) Normal $85 to $95 ($30) to ($40)

Operating earnings $7 to $10 $12 to $18 ($20) to ($25) ($5) $26 to $30 ($14) to ($18)

Reconciliation for Net Earnings, Excluding Special Items

(in millions)
2007 2008 2009
Net earnings from continuing operations $ 80.0 $ 159.5 $ 163.9
Note redemption costs, net of tax¹ 6.8 4.0 3.0
Release of tax reserves, net of other tax adjustments² (18.1) - -
Net earnings from continuing operations, excluding special items $ 68.7 $ 163.5 $ 166.9

1) In 2009, includes pre-tax costs of $5.0 million to redeem $90 million of our 12% senior subordinated discount notes. In 2008, includes pre-tax costs of $6.5
million for call premiums related to the redemption of $90 million of our 12% senior subordinated discount notes. In 2007, includes pre-tax costs of $11.0
million to refinance our 12.75% senior discount notes.
2) Reflects a reduction in accrued liabilities and tax expense that resulted from entering a program with a taxing authority to resolve uncertain tax positions,
which changed our assessment of previously established tax reserves and the close of tax examination years.

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RECONCILIATION OF CASH FLOW
PRIOR TO WORKING CAPITAL CHANGES

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Cash flow from operating activities $69 $100 $88 $96 $119 $254 $119

Less changes in non-cash operating working capital:

Accounts receivable (19) (24) (50) 71 (89) (12) 44

Inventories 4 2 13 (64) 23 (6) (147)

Prepaid expenses and other current assets (4) 0 (2) (0) 0 (3) 1

Accounts payable and accrued charges (0) 23 (3) (21) 37 48 (30)

Cash flow prior to working capital changes 88 99 130 110 148 227 251

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