Arianne Phosphate, Saguenay, Quebec,a development-stage phosphate mining company advancing its Lac à Paul project in Quebec’s Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, has entered into a collaboration agreement with Northern Nutrients, Saskatoon, Sask., to advance the use of its high-purity phosphate concentrate in alternatively derived fertilizers.
“I am extremely excited by the prospects of this work and what it can mean for Arianne,” said Brian Ostroff, Arianne President. “Arianne’s extremely rare, high-purity, low-contaminant phosphate concentrate is ideal for these alternative applications where the farmer will be very conscious of what is being spread on their field.
“As well, by being situated in Quebec, Canada, it removes ‘security of supply’ issues associated with where fertilizers are currently sourced from, and should remove many of the risks that we are unfortunately witnessing,” he continued.
“Lastly, similar to Arianne’s work within the LFP (lithium-iron-phosphate or lithium ferrophosphate) battery space (GM Nov. 5, 2021), expanding the possible customers for our product expands possible offtakers and partners for our project and the unlocking of the substantial economics for our shareholders and stakeholders,” Ostroff added.
Arianne said it has provided its phosphate concentrate to be combined into Northern Nutrient’s proprietary fertilizer compositions to derive a multi-nutrient fertilizer that can be directly applied to the farmer’s field. Testing of this new and proprietary fertilizer will commence this growing season, with results available through late summer and fall of 2022.
In February, Arianne announced that it was expanding its reach into alternative fertilizers through work with both research and corporate organizations. It said the benefits of this work would result in the ability to integrate the company’s phosphate concentrate directly into fertilizers without having to first transform it through acidulation.
Traditional phosphate fertilizers, such as MAP and DAP, require the acidulation process and results in producers of phosphate concentrate, such as Arianne, having to contract with these phosphoric acid facilities.
Arianne also said the process would eliminate the need to add ammonia/nitrogen into the finished fertilizer as required in MAP and DAP. It said this would be extremely economical.
The company said the collaboration with Northern Nutrient would produce a uniquely Canadian offering, reliant solely on domestic inputs and technology. It would also remove the logistical challenges and additional costs associated with shipping and transforming materials through numerous jurisdictions.
Northern Nutrients was founded in the Netherlands in 2016 as a distributor of low-salt and sustainable fertilizers. The Canada-based company Northern Nutrients Ltd. began operations in 2018 as the North American marketing and distribution partner for Korean sulfur-based fertilizer producer H Sulphur’s Super S (11-0-0-75) sulfur and urea fertilizer product (GM June 29, 2018). Last year it began construction of a sulfur-enhanced urea plant outside of Saskatoon (GM June 25, 2021).