All posts by mickeybarb@charter.net

Zimbabwe’s Sable Chemicals Set to Restart Production, Report Says

Africa, Ammonium Nitrate, News, News Briefs

Zimbabwe’s Sable Chemicals Industries Inc., the country’s sole ammonium nitrate (AN) manufacturer, now expects its ongoing plant refurbishment project to increase production capacity to be complete by December this year, a year later than targeted last September (GM Sept. 18, 2022), Zimbabwe’s Chronicle newspaper reported on Jan. 23, citing the company’s management.

Sable hopes to resume operations at its Kwekwe site in central Zimbabwe this month, and once the refurbishment is complete, to raise AN output to about 200,000 mt/y, up from 50,000 mt/y.

The producer’s AN output in recent years has been well below the nominal installed capacity of some 250,000 mt/y due to apparent technical issues and limited ammonia availability (met by its own production and imports). The company has two ammonia production units at Kwekwe with nominal capacity of 110,000 mt/y, according to Green Markets’ database.

Kore Potash Cuts DX Potash Production Target

Africa, London, News, News Briefs, Potash

Junior miner Kore Potash Plc, London, majority owner of the Kola and DX Potash projects in the Republic of Congo’s Sintoukola Basin, on Jan. 24 lowered the production target for its 97%-owned DX potash project to 12 years from 30 years.

In the latest production target estimate, it also cut its mineral resource estimate to 129 million mt from 145 million mt. The ore reserve projection has been reduced to 9.31 million mt from 17.7 million mt.

Kore said the production target models the DX project producing 400,000 mt/y via selective solution mining of high grade sylvinite seams. The junior miner reported the capital cost estimate of the project has increased to $315.7 million from the previous estimate of $285.9 million.

“The updated resource further confirms this project to be a low-operating-cost potash operation that can produce approximately 400,000 mt per annum of MOP. What makes DX unique is its low capex and shallow deposit containing high grade potassium chloride, qualities which are very rare in the potash industry,” said Kore Potash CEO Brad Simpson.

Russia Increases Fertilizer Export Quotas by Some 0.5 M mt

Ammonium Nitrate, Featured, News, Russia

The Russian government has increased the quota for mineral fertilizer exports by almost 500,000 mt, including for ammonium nitrate (AN) exports by 375,000 mt, according to an Interfax report, citing the government press service.

The measures will be in force until May 31, 2023. The quota for AN exports originally was 225,000 mt from Jan. 1-March 31 and 828,500 mt from April 1-May 31.

Under this latest decision, the quota for sulfoammophos also has been increased by 102,000 mt, according to the report.

The total export quota volume will exceed 12 million mt. The Industry Ministry will distribute the volumes among exporters.

The decision will enable mineral fertilizer producers to export residual finished products provided that domestic market needs are met in full, the press service said.

Russia in December extended the export quota for mineral fertilizer exports to May 31 (GM Dec.23, 2022).

Japan Sanctions Russian Fertilizer Tycoons

Japan, News, News Briefs, Russia

Japan has included Andrey Melnichenko, co-founder of coal miner Suek and fertilizer producer EuroChem AG, in its updated list of entities and individuals subject to sanctions, according to Bloomberg. Andrey Guryev, former CEO of fertilizer producer PhosAgro PJSC, whose family is the largest shareholder of PhosAgro, is also included.

Several Russian officials were also added to the list, with Japan imposing the sanctions in “view of the current international situation over Ukraine.”

However, Suek, EuroChem, and PhosAgro are not subject to sanctions by Japan, the US, or EU, but EU sanctions in 2022 against the tycoons led to some trade disruptions.

Nutrien Ag, John Deere Collaborate on Digital Data

News, News Briefs

Nutrien Ag Solutions Inc., a subsidiary of Nutrien Ltd., and John Deere jointly announced on Jan. 19 the release of advanced digital connectivity between the John Deere Operations Center™ and Nutrien Ag Solutions’ Digital Hub.

They said the connectivity enables both companies to better serve growers by optimizing logistics and enabling variable rate agronomic recommendations to be seamlessly transferred to their equipment for execution.

In addition, the two companies announced a multi-year commitment to deepen the integration and jointly develop streamlined solutions so that growers can more easily benefit from precision ag technology. Growers control the access level to the data in their John Deere Operations Center account and can share access with Nutrien Ag Solutions’ Digital Hub, where Nutrien crop consultants can create customized recommendations.

John Deere said its Operations Center PRO Dispatch is a complete dispatching and work-order management solution that is integrated with most leading retailer back-office systems. It allows fleet managers to view equipment and tender location and status in real time, analyze machine productivity, and provide data management services to growers.

BP Bunge to Stop Using Mineral Ferts in Brazil

Brazil, News, News Briefs, Specialty

BP and Bunge’s Brazilian sugar and ethanol joint venture said it will stop using mineral fertilizer by 2025 and replace it with biological alternatives generated from bacteria and organic material, according to a Bloomberg report. The company said it has already cut the use of nitrogen in harvested sugar cane areas known as “soqueira” by 50%. It said the planted area for current crop is already free of nitrogen-based fertilizers. The area accounts for 50,000 hectares.

The company said it has adopted a solution developed by Brazil’s agricultural research agency, Embrapa, that uses a bacteria to fixate nitrogen and increase crop yields.

Efforts also include usage of residuals from sugar cane processing, which should be done in 96% of fields by 2025. A byproduct of the industry known as vinasse is rich in potassium.

Early results point to an increase in yields of around 3-10 tons per hectare, BP Bunge Agriculture Director Rogério Bremm said in a note. The project also increases longevity of crops and reduces the amount of potassium chloride purchased in the market by about 80%.

Petrobras Closes UFN Competitive Sales Process

Brazil, Featured, News

Petrobras on Jan. 24 reported that it has closed the competitive process for the sale of Unidade de Fertilizantes Nitrogenados III (UFN-III). The company indicated that the sale had reached the binding phase. Petrobras renewed its efforts to sell UFN-III last May (GM June 3, 2022), after two attempts to sell the plant to Russia’s Acron Group fell through (GM April 29, 2022).

UFN III, located in Três Lagoas, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, is only about 81% complete. Construction commenced in September 2011, but was interrupted in December 2014. Upon completion, the unit was expected to have a projected urea and ammonia production capacity of 3,600 m/d and 2,200 m/d, respectively. Petrobras expected any buyer to complete the plant.

In December, Petrobras halted the competitive procedure for the sale of its wholly-owned nitrogen fertilizer plant, Araucãria Nitrogenados, known as ANSA, in the southern Brazilian state of Paraná (GM Dec. 23, 2022).

Recent reports have indicated that Brazil’s new leader, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, wants to keep these Petrobras assets, if not expand them (GM Jan 20, p. 29; Jan. 13, p. 31).

Bion, BetterFedFoods Form Strategic Alliance

News, News Briefs, Northeast, Southern Plains, Specialty

New York City-based Bion Environmental Technologies Inc., which is involved in the development of livestock waste treatment technology and premium sustainable beef, announced on Jan. 23 that it has signed a Letter of Intent with BetterFedFoods LLC of Wamego, Kan., to create a mutually beneficial strategic relationship between the companies.

BetterFedFoods and its affiliate companies, NBO3 Technologies and H3 Enterprises, have made a significant equity investment in Bion. The companies will work together over the next 60-90 days to determine how to best leverage their individual strengths.

For the last decade, BetterFedFoods and NBO3 Technologies have developed animal health and welfare solutions associated with incorporating algae into livestock feeding systems. It said its patented technology delivers Omega 3 EPA long chain fatty acids to the animal through its feed.

The company said extensive academic research that it has sponsored shows the product improves overall animal health and provides a higher feed-to-weight gain ratio and a higher carcass value due to better marbling, while reducing enteric methane emissions of livestock, along with other positive climate impacts.

In addition, it said balancing an animal’s Omega 6:3 ratio improves animal health by reducing joint inflammation, increasing stress tolerance, improving respiratory issues, and reducing heart disease – as it does for humans.

In recent years, BetterFedFoods has expanded its focus to growing another strain of algae that enhances plant photosynthesis and increases microbial activity in the soil, both of which lead to healthier and higher-yielding feed crops.

Bion said its patented Gen3Tech platform simultaneously prevents pollution to air, water, and soil while recovering high-value organic fertilizer coproducts and renewable energy that increase revenues.

GROWMARK Acquires Allied Seed

Eastern Cornbelt, News, News Briefs, Pacific N.W.

GROWMARK Inc. announced on Jan. 25 the acquisition of Allied Seed LLC., Nampa, Idaho, which offers a full line of forage, turfgrass, and cover crop seed, as well as custom production, blending, packaging, and seed treatment services.

GROWMARK was already the majority owner of Allied Seed, and is acquiring the remaining ownership held by GreenPoint Ag Holdings LLC, Decatur, Ala. Terms of the acquisition were not made public.

“Allied Seed is a recognized leader in the production and distribution of high-quality forage, turf, and cover crop seeds and is a key supplier to the GROWMARK System,” said GROWMARK Vice President of Seed, Keith Lawson. “The acquisition of the remaining stake in Allied Seed supports our overall growth and supply strategies and positions us well to meet the increasing demand for cover crops as part of a comprehensive on-farm sustainability strategy.”

GROWMARK noted that cover crops were planted on an estimated 20 million acres in the US in 2020, citing the University of Missouri Center for Regenerative Agriculture. This number is expected to increase to approximately 30 million acres by 2030 under a new USDA conservation program.

Launched in 2000, Allied Seed facilities are located in Nampa, Idaho, Albany, Ore., and Worland, Wyo. The processing plants are located in primary production areas for forage grass, legume, and turfgrass seed, where the company contracts more than 25,000 acres of seed production.

Black Mountain Gold Becomes Millennial Potash, Gains Approval for Option on Banio Potash Project

News, News Briefs, Potash, Vancouver

Black Mountain Gold USA Corp., Vancouver, B.C., on Jan. 22 announced that it will bechanging its name to Millennial Potash Corp (MLP). The name change became effective at the opening of the market on Jan. 25, 2023. The company’s common shares will trade under the new name on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “MLP.”

MLP also announced that it has received the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange of its definitive mineral option agreement on the Banio Potash Project, which is located in Gabon, West Africa, on the Atlantic Coast. The main project area is approximately 50 kilometers south of Mayumba Village, close to the border with the Republic of Congo.

“We are very pleased to have received approval for MLP’s option to acquire up to 100% of the Banio Potash Project in Gabon,” said Farhad Abasov, Director. “Banio presents a promising opportunity for MLP to acquire a unique project where previous drilling has intersected significant widths of potash mineralization that may be amenable to low-cost solution mining. In addition, the project has good infrastructure and could enjoy a transport cost advantage over other producers due to its proximity to the major Brazil market. Global food security remains a universal concern, and recent geopolitical events have shown that traditional suppliers may not meet all demand in the near future.”

MLP said that on Jan. 24 it would be issuing vendors a total of 650,000 shares and a payment totaling US$257,000. As a result, it would gain a 25% stake in the owner of the project, Equatorial Potash Pty. Ltd., with the option to eventually own 100%. Equatorial is the 100% owner of Mayumba Potasse SARL, a Gabonese company that holds a 100% interest in Gabonese Exploration Permit No. G2-595 Potasse et Sels Connexes Mayumba, which was renewed on Feb. 4, 2022.

MLP said that previous drilling work at the project was performed by Infinity Lithium Corp. Ltd., a previous owner of Equatorial, and its predecessor company, Plymouth Minerals Ltd., in 2017-2018.