The Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comment on a draft environmental impact statement that analyzes a plan submitted by Itafos Conda for its proposed Husky 1 North Dry Ridge (H1/NDR) Phosphate Mine about 16 miles northeast of Soda Springs, Idaho.
Officials with Houston-based Itafos Inc. said publication of the Draft EIS is a significant milestone for Conda’s mine life extension. Itafos proposes to develop several phosphate leases that the company holds. The statement provides a range of management options to address the proposed mine’s environmental impacts.
Phosphate mines in Southeast Idaho, primarily in Caribou County, generate 22 percent of the nation’s phosphate supply and 2 percent of the world’s supply. At capacity, H1/NDR would generate 40 percent of Idaho’s phosphate production, BLM officials said.
The Husky 1 North Dry Ridge Mine would be an open pit mine similar to Itafos’ existing Rasmussen Valley Mine in the region. If approved, operations at the new mine would begin in time to allow a transition from the Rasmussen Valley Mine before its ore is depleted, ensuring a seamless supply of phosphate and continuing employment for hundreds of miners. Proposed mining activities would affect about 1,145 acres, mainly in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest.
Itafos operates the former Agrium phosphate processing complex at Conda, a short distance north of Soda Springs on Highway 34. It previously identified H1/NDR as its preferred course for extending Conda’s mine resources through mid-2026 following completion in 2019 of an independent Golder Associates Ltd. technical report encompassing Conda and Paris Hills deposits.
“The publication of the Draft EIS is an important step in executing on our key objective of extending Conda’s mine life through permitting and developing H1/NDR,” Conda General Manager Tim Vedder said. “Conda has a more than 30-year track record of safe and reliable operations, and we look forward to continuing to serve our customers for many years to come.”
In January 2018, Itafos acquired the Conda Phosphate Operations near Soda Springs for $100 million from Agrium, which now is part of Nutrien Ltd., which has retained all the historic and depleted legacy mine sites that belonged to Agrium. Operating as NuWest, Nutrien will be responsible for any mine cleanup activities at those sites.
CL Fertilizers Holding, an affiliate of Castlelake, a global private investment company, is Itafos’ principal shareholder. Itafos is a Delaware corporation based in Houston. Conda has a production capacity of about 550,000 mt/y of MAP, MAP with micronutrients, superphosphoric acid, merchant grade phosphoric acid, and ammonium polyphosphate.
The Draft EIS was prepared under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s BLM and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. BLM plans to hold a virtual public meeting on Monday afternoon, Nov. 8, to provide information about the Draft EIS and the public comment process. Comments may be submitted through Monday, Dec. 6.