Chicago—A long-standing antitrust suit brought by sulfuric acid buyers against producers has finally been concluded, with Chief Judge James Holderman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, ruling in favor of the defendants in late December. Plaintiff sulfuric acid buyers Ohio Chemical Services, Independent Chemical Corp., National Alum Corp., Producers Chemical Co., Old Bridge Chemicals Inc., and AG RX brought the suit against several U.S. and Canadian producers in 2003 (GM May 26, 2003). The case achieved class status in 2007, and dealt with activities that allegedly occurred from 1988-2001. The plaintiffs argued that defendants engaged in anticompetitive behavior by conspiracy to reduce the output and fix the price of sulfuric acid in Canada and the U.S. They alleged that U.S.-based producers GAC Chemical Corp., Boliden Intertrade Holdings Inc., Pressure Vessel Services Inc. (PVS), Koch Industries Inc., DuPont, Marsulex Inc., and Chemtrade Logistics allegedly shut down or curtailed production in favor of purchasing acid from Canadian defendants Noranda Inc. and Falconbridge Ltd. The plaintiffs also alleged that Noranda, Falconbridge, and DuPont operated an illegal price fixing and output restriction agreement under the label of Noranda DuPont (later NorFalco LLC), a joint venture. DuPont, Marsulex, and Chemtrade had already settled. Final judgment with prejudice was entered against the plaintiffs and the class. However, the court said the parties preserve their rights to appeal the final judgment and all interlocutory rulings and orders that are deemed subsumed in the final judgment. The case was to go to trial in February 2012; however, Judge Holderman planned to use an interpretation of the Sherman Act that favored the defendants (Rule of Reason) rather than one preferred by the plaintiffs (per se). An interlocutory appeal of the judge’s ruling on the interpretation was rejected by the court, and as a result, Holderman wrote that the plaintiffs agreed that a ruling for the defendants was appropriate. There was no word from plaintiffs’ counsel last week as to whether an appeal is anticipated.

Minneapolis—Cargill Inc. said Jan. 10 that its earnings from continuing operations were off 88 percent during the second quarter ending Nov. 30, 2011, to $100 million from the year-ago $832 million. Six-month earnings were $336 million, compared with the year-ago $1.53 billion. Both the year-ago figures exclude earnings from Cargill’s former majority investment in The Mosaic Co. Consolidated revenues in the second quarter were $33.3 billion, up 17 percent from $28.5 billion a year ago. First-half revenues totaled $67.9 billion, compared with $54.2 billion in the prior period. “The second quarter was significantly below expectations, especially in contrast to last year when we posted our strongest quarter ever,” said Greg Page, Cargill chairman and CEO. “Our food ingredients and agriculture services businesses generated solid earnings. At the same time, our commodity-based trading and asset management businesses faced significant challenges. First, commodity and financial markets were driven more by political uncertainties than by underlying supply and demand fundamentals. Second, our performance in the sugar market was poor. Additionally, our meat businesses on a combined basis experienced one of their weakest quarters. Finally, we recognized a significant number of one-time items, including asset impairments, and acquisition and integration expenses.” Page said Cargill is actively working to reduce its costs and simplify its work processes, and he is optimistic about the company’s earnings prospects for the remainder of the fiscal year. “Cargill has been through difficult cycles before, made changes, and emerged stronger for it. We are confident that the actions we are taking to create a more agile enterprise will better position us in the current economic environment.” In December, Cargill announced it would reduce its workforce by up to 2,000 of its 138,000 employees globally, a change of about 1.5 percent. The majority of the reduction will take place worldwide over the next six months.

Herington, Kan.–Workers kept busy cleaning nearly 9,000 gallons of sulfuric acid spilled onto the ground and into a creek in Herington on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 8, when two railcars bumped into each other during switching. The impact caused one railcar to run under the bottom of a second that was carrying the acid, causing the car to rupture and spill its contents. Apparently the chemical ran from the damaged railcar onto the ground, across a road, and into Lime Creek. “Residents have been warned to avoid using the creek for recreational or drinking water. In addition, ranchers who use the creek for watering cattle downstream have also been alerted,” said Chancy Smith, director of Dickinson County Emergency Management. Smith told Green Markets that the cleanup team built a limestone dam approximately one mile downstream from the spill in order to filter out the sulfuric acid. “Most of the chemical sank to the bottom of the creek, since the sulfuric acid is much heavier than water. It’s fortunate that the spill didn’t occur in the warm summer months when people use the creek for recreational purposes,” added Smith. Mark Davis, spokesman for Union Pacific, said, “As of today (Jan. 12), the remediation team has performed final pH tests on the soil. The pH tests are also being performed on the water, and overall, the pH levels are looking much better.” Davis also said they would continue to test the area and would send out another notice when the water is considered safe for use. In the meantime, officials in the area are urging residents to avoid the area for recreation and drinking purposes.

Old Bridge, N.J.—Old Bridge Chemicals officials say producers of fertilizer, animal feed supplements, and industrial products should welcome completion of the company’s granular zinc sulfate production facilities in an extension of the existing plant. No one was available to provide details, but the company statement reported that the new production plant was designed with the most advanced state-of-the-art equipment available to enable Old Bridge to produce granular zinc sulfate in the most efficient and pure manner. The company also stated that the new plant, which incorporates current “green” environmental standards, will turn out industry-leading chemical products that do not contain trace levels of impurities. “This is another milestone in our company’s mission to make superior products,” says Joel Bzura, executive vice president. “We have always focused on the needs of our customers and the marketplace, and provided the highest quality chemicals. We are constantly looking to the future, and how to make the industry better, easier, and worry free.” Old Bridge says it is the largest manufacturer of copper and zinc compounds and solutions in the U.S. The company was founded in 1962, and all products are manufactured in its New Jersey facility. Old Bridge produces a variety of inorganic chemicals, including copper sulfate (both liquid and crystal), copper carbonate, tri-basic copper sulfate, zinc chloride, zinc sulfate (both liquid and powder), zinc orthophosphates, and phosphoric acid.

Niagara, Ont.—Whiting Equipment Canada Inc. announced an agreement with Vale S.A. for the turnkey supply of salt evaporators and potash crystallizers for their Potasio Rio Colorado (PRC) potash solution mining plant in Argentina’s Mendoza Province. Whiting says it will be the world’s first new greenfield solution mining project of its size in over 40 years. The US$150-$300-million potash crystallization plant is the heart of the $4.2 billion Vale investment in PRC. Construction of the crystallization plant is expected to begin in December 2012 and be operational in January 2014. The plant will increase world potash production by 5 percent, producing 2.4 million mt/y, with potential phased-in increases to 4.2 million mt/y before 2020. Whiting’s most recent potash crystallization plant equipment will begin start-up this spring at Qinghai Salt Lake, located in Western China. Whiting has delivered the first order for long-delivery alloy materials required to fabricate similar capacity evaporation/crystallization equipment for Potash One’s (K+S) Legacy Project potash solution mine in southern Saskatchewan.

Annapolis, Md.—Perdue AgriBusiness has agreed with biomass utility developer Fibrowatt LLC to build a power plant in Salisbury, Md., that will be fueled by poultry litter and produce fertilizer as a co-product. The two companies already have responded to a request for proposals from Maryland Clean Bay Power, which seeks projects that could promote renewable energy in the state while reducing agricultural runoff into the Chesapeake Bay. Those projects must also utilize animal waste to produce a minimum of 10 MW of electricity by 2015. “The fertilizer byproduct is something that we’d been looking to market because of our agribusiness experience, and because of Perdue AgriRecycle we feel well qualified to capitalize on,” reported Julie DeYoung, spokesperson for Perdue Agribusiness. “We currently market organic fertilizer manufactured from chicken litter.” Fibrowatt brings to the partnership 20 years of experience running and operating animal waste to energy plants, including the nation’s first poultry litter facility in Benson, Minn. Benson came online in 2007 and produces 55 MW from roughly 700,000 tons of liter and biomass per year, in addition to the fertilizer produced from the ashes left over from the fuel. Perdue formed Perdue AgriRecycle 10 years ago to assist poultry producers that don’t have outlets for their chicken litter and is now the largest buyer of poultry litter in Maryland, having shipped 12 million pounds of nitrogen and 7.5 million pounds of phosphorous out of the area. “We sell either directly to organic farmers, distribute to golf courses and municipalities for parks, and to fertilizer manufacturers who repackage or incorporate it into their own product,” DeYoung said. “We handle about 10 percent of the chicken littler produced on the Delmarva Peninsula. In addition, there is unprocessed litter we relocate to farmers that can use it appropriately on their crops. Raw litter is also distributed to mushroom growers or other crop farmers who can use it in their fertilizer program.”

Toronto—IC Potash Corp. (ICP) said Jan. 11 that it has filed it has filed – on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and the company website (www.icpotash.com) – a technical report dated Dec. 30, 2011, entitled “NI 43-101 Technical Report Prefeasibility Study for the Ochoa Project Lea County, New Mexico.” The report was prepared for ICP by Gustavson Associates, LLC of Colorado, a leading global mining consulting firm consisting of geologists and engineers. The company said Gustavson has concluded that the results of this study warrant continued efforts to advance the Ochoa Project, and that the data and information presented justify further definition drilling, metallurgical testing, continued development and permitting, and preparation of a feasibility study. Highlights from the prefeasibility study include: annual production at full capacity of 843,000 tons, composed of 568,000 tons of SOP and 275,000 tons of SOPM; operating cost of $147 per ton of SOP and SOPM; projected full capacity capital cost of $706 million; 139 million tons of recoverable potash reserves in the proven and probable ore category within the 40-year mine plan, and an additional 205 million tons of recoverable potash reserves in the mine plan area not included in the 40 year economic model; construction planned to start in late 2013 upon completion of an environmental impact statement; preproduction construction period of 24 months (completion during the fourth quarter of 2015), with completion of a second train of crystallizers nine months following initial production; full production 18 months after plant start-up, with production commencing in the fourth quarter of 2015 and full capacity reached in second quarter of 2017; underground mining rate that varies with mine grade, with an average planned production rate of 3.5 million tons of ore per year at an average concentration ratio of 4.15:1; average metallurgical recovery estimated at 90 percent; internal rate of return on a before-tax basis of 32 per cent, on a 100 percent equity basis, and 26 percent on an after-tax basis; after-tax net present value of $1,286 million, using an after tax discount rate of 10 per cent and no debt; and a payback period from the commencement of production of 3.9 years after tax.