All posts by hlancey@bloomberg.net

Yara International – Management Brief

Africa, Europe, Management Briefs

Yara International ASA on April 2 announced that Hans Olav Raen has been appointed as CEO of Yara Clean Ammonia (YCA), effective May 1. Until now he has been Business Director and headed OCI’s fertilizers business in Europe. He has more than 25 years of experience in the fertilizer industry, including 12 years with Norsk Hydro and Yara from 1997 to 2009, where he  held commercial and managerial roles in Europe and Africa.

Raen holds a master’s degree from the College of Europe and a degree in digital leadership from the ESSEC Business School in Paris.

“Together with the strong YCA team, I am confident that Hans Olav will support and lead the company to the next level, spearheading the rapidly growing clean ammonia business,” said Magnus Krogh Ankarstrand, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development for Yara International. Ankarstrand, who had been YCA’s CEO, will continue as YCA Board Chairman.

Intrepid Potash Inc – Management Brief

Management Briefs

Intrepid Potash Inc. reported that CFO Matthew Preston informed the company on March 25 that he will be leaving his position to pursue another business opportunity, effective April 12. Intrepid said there are no disagreements between Preston and the company, and his departure is not related to the operations, policies, or practices of the company or any issues regarding accounting policies or practices.

Intrepid said Preston has made numerous valuable contributions to the growth and success of the business since he joined the company in 2008. Intrepid extended its thanks to Preston for his many years of service and wished him well in his future endeavors. Intrepid is undertaking a search to identify a successor CFO. In the interim, other members of management are expected to fulfill Preston’s duties following his departure.

Northern Nutrients Ltd. – Management Brief

Eastern Canada, Management Briefs, Nitrogen, Sulfur, U.S., Urea

Saskatoon-based Northern Nutrients Ltd., a manufacturer of enhanced sulfur urea fertilizers, announced that Drew Taylor has joined the company as Director of Sales for the US and Eastern Canada, and Louis Bossaer has been named Sales Manager for Northwest Saskatchewan, Central and Northern Alberta, as well as Program Manager for nitrogen management products.

Northern Nutrients said Taylor and Bossaer each bring more than 30 years of sales and management experience. Taylor’s previous work experience includes positions with Tigersul and H.J. Baker, while Bossaer has worked most recently with Federated Cooperatives Ltd. and previously with Koch Agronomic Solutions.

Northern Nutrients manufactures Arctic S 11-0-0-75% micronized sulfur with urea, as well as Triple Kick 38-0-0-17.5% sulfur with nitrogen inhibitors at is production facility in Saskatoon.

Kore Potash Plc – Management Brief

London, Management Briefs, Potash

London-based junior miner Kore Potash Plc, which is pursuing projects in the Republic of Congo, announced the appointment of Andre Baya as its new CEO, effective April 15, 2024. Baya has 20 years of experience in the agriculture and mining sectors, previously working for Fraser Alexander Ltd., Fortescue Mining, Roxgold, Cominco, and Managem Group.

Kore Potash owns 97% of the Kola and DX Potash development projects in the Sintoukola Basin, located in the Republic of Congo. The company said Baya has extensive managerial experience working in eight African countries, including Congo and Gabon.

Novaphos, Bluestem to Receive USDA Funding

Ammonia, News Briefs, Sulfur, U.S.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that technology developer Novaphos Development LLC, Fort Meade, Fla., and Bluestem Systems, Howells, Neb., each will receive nearly $4 million to advance their projects under the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP).

The $3.9 million Novaphos grant will be used to provide financing for engineering, working capital, and equipment upgrades to expand production at Novaphos’ pilot facility in rural Florida. Novaphos, which produces superphosphoric acid (SPA) used in liquid ammoniated fertilizers, anticipates the expansion will increase current plant capacity to 50,000 st/y.

The scope of the award will also include design and engineering for a larger-scale facility capable of producing 22,000 st/y of SPA and 90,000 st/y of J-Rox ™ when complete. The Novaphos project is expected to create 13 additional positions in rural areas.

“Novaphos technology represents groundbreaking innovations that will completely revolutionize how phosphate is mined and processed, with increased efficiency at lower cost, higher margins, and reduced environmental damage,” said Novaphos CEO Timothy Cotton. “Perhaps most important, it will help ensure that enough phosphate will remain available for future generations.”

Novaphos said its technology produces high-quality phosphoric acid from low-quality phosphate rock without large-volume wastes, such as phosphogypsum, or the need for inputs such as ammonia and sulfur. The technology has the added benefit of producing a calcium silicate co-product – J-Rox ™, which can be used in construction as well as a silicon fertilizer, with a net negative GHG footprint.

“This grant will significantly assist our current efforts to scale operations and production efficiently and swiftly in the United States,” Cotton added. “This will help ensure the US continues to benefit from a robust and long-term domestic supply of phosphates. We are thankful that the USDA recognizes American-driven innovation, and receiving this FPEP grant certainly verifies and reaffirms our work and development over the last decade.”

Novaphos signed a ten-year offtake agreement with MacroSource LLC, Savannah, Ga., to purchase SPA from Novaphos (GM Sept. 30, 2022). At the time, Novaphos said it was seeking up to $5 million in FPEP grants.

USDA is providing nearly $4 million to Bluestem Systems to build facilities and purchase equipment at three locations in Iowa and Nebraska. The facilities will help the company make advancements in its process to remove water and pathogens to create a dry fertilizer mix. The project is expected to yield 3,800 st/y of dry fertilizer and 11,400 st/y across all three facilities, which will be made available to 1,500 producers.

USDA on March 28 announced that since the start of the Biden administration it has invested more than $174 million through FPEP to support 42 projects nationwide to boost domestic fertilizer production. A total of $500 million is available under the program.

FPEP provides grants to independent farmers and agricultural business owners to help them produce fertilizer. Funds can be used to modernize equipment, adopt new technologies, build fertilizer production plants, and more. The program is aimed at boosting domestic fertilizer production while lowering costs and creating new income streams for US farmers.

USDA also announced on March 28 that it is investing more than $120 million in 541 Rural Energy for America (REAP) projects across 44 states. Through REAP, it provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs, and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas.

Since the start of the Biden administration, USDA said it has invested more than $1.8 billion through REAP in over 6,000 renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements in rural areas.

Aqua-Yield Partners with WestLink

News Briefs, U.S.

Nanoliquid ag input company Agua-Yield, Sandy, Utah, announced on April 1 that it has partnered with WestLink Ag Group to distribute all company products through WestLink’s 42 retail outlets. Aqua-Yield CEO and Co-Founder Clark T. Bell said the partnership will get the company’s entire Nano-Yield™ product line to farmers across the nation.

“We have been selling our product through farm dealers, independent retailers, and co-ops since we launched our product in 2018,” Bell said. “That will continue, but now there is this very exciting transition as we begin to work with corporate co-ops and well-established companies like WestLinkg Ag Group.”

Founded in 2014, Aqua-Yield was the first company to implement the use of nanoparticles in the ag sector, and said its line of nano-based products have proven to improve crop protection performance, nutrient uptake, and overall crop yield. The WestLink partnership is the largest retail agreement for Nano-Yield in the continental US.

“WestLink is a member-driven ag buying group, and as we better understood their network of outlets, it was obvious we needed to create this alliance and get our entire product line or nanotechnology closer to farmers across the nation,” Bell said.

Aqua-Yield expanded its nano-liquid line in November with the addition of Nanocote™, a patented nanoparticle technology that the company said improves the delivery of macro and micronutrients in dry fertilizers through a unique and flexible coating technology.

European Commission Clears ADNOC/Fertiglobe Deal

ADNOC - Abu Dhabi, Brazil, Europe, News Briefs

The European Commission has approved the acquisition of sole control of Fertiglobe plc by state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC), both of the United Arab Emirates.

The EC concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns, given the companies’ limited market positions resulting from the proposed transaction and the limited impact on the market structure.

OCI NV and ADNOC announced on Dec. 15, 2023, that they had entered into a binding sale and purchase agreement for ADNOC to acquire OCI’s 50% + 1 share stake in Abu Dhabi-based Fertiglobe Plc for a total consideration of $3.62 billion.

Following the completion of the transaction, OCI will have fully exited the Fertiglobe joint venture while ADNOC’s shareholding in the jv will increase to 86.2%. The free float traded on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange will remain at 13.8%. The transaction is expected to close in 2024, subject to regulatory conditions and antitrust approvals.

Brazil antitrust regulator Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) approved the deal earlier this year (GM March 1, p. 30).

New OCP Unit Offers Customized Solutions

News Briefs, Phosphate

OCP Group on April 2 announced the launch of a new subsidiary, OCP Nutricrops, to accelerate the company’s transition to fully customized plant nutrition solutions.

OCP said the unit will leverage the company’s phosphate-based plant nutrition production and distribution capabilities to provide farmers with the customized solutions to preserve soil health, increase crop yields sustainably, combat climate change, and protect the natural environment.

The company said OCP Nutricrops’ primary mission is to help farmers access the most efficient and sustainable soil health and plant nutrition solutions and the latest application expertise, wherever they are in the world. It added that its flexible production system will enable the manufacture of nutrients tailored to the crop, climate, and soil.

The business will also provide training in precision nutrient management techniques. In addition to its in-house agronomists, OCP Nutricrops will draw on the expertise of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) and its international partners, leveraging technological advances and agricultural data.