All posts by mickeybarb@charter.net

BHP Jansen 89 Percent Complete

Australia, News, News Briefs, Potash, Saskatchewan

BHP Ltd., Melbourne, said on Jan. 20 its current investment program to complete the shafts at the Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan was 89 percent complete, up from 86 percent in October (GM Oct. 23, 2020).

The group last October increased the budget to fund the completion of the shafts by US$272 million, raising the budget for the current scope of work to US$2.972 billion. The additional costs followed delays to the shafts’ completion as a result of initial challenges with placement of the shaft lining, since rectified, and impacts from the group’s COVID-19 response plan.

BHP last August revealed it had pushed back the final investment decision for Jansen Stage 1 to mid-calendar year 2021 from February 2021 (GM Aug. 21, 2020). Jansen Stage 1 currently is designed to provide between 4.3 million and 4.5 million mt/y of potassium chloride production capacity on completion.

Nigeria’s Notore Chemical Starts Turnaround Maintenance

Africa, News, News Briefs, NPK, Specialty, Urea

Nigeria’s Notore Chemical Industries Plc shut down its urea plant in Onne near Port Harcourt on Jan. 15 ahead of a turnaround maintenance program (TAM), the company said in a Jan. 15 corporate disclosure.

The turnaround is aimed at restoring the plant to its nameplate capacity of 500,000 mt/y of granular product, improve its reliability, and sustain a daily output of 1,500 mt, according to a report by This Day Nigeria, citing Notore’s company Secretary Otivbo Saleh.  Early work began last year, and the turnaround is expected to be completed on March 8.

The most recent urea production figure provided by the company indicated output reached 80,777 mt in the fourth quarter of 2019, suggesting a capacity utilization of around 65 percent.

In a separate development, Notore commissioned a new 2,000 mt/d NPK blending plant in March 2020. The company said in late November its production of NPK fertilizers had begun “to ramp up gradually,” with some local market introduction achieved in its fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30. It reported that Nigerian fertilizer demand remains robust and it anticipates “significant increases” in its NPK production output and sales in FY2021.

EuroChem, SUEK Set Up Transport Firm

News, News Briefs, Russia

EuroChem Group AG and Russia’s Siberian Coal Energy Co. (SUEK) have set up a joint transport company and are putting more than 50,000 cargo railcars and six Russian seaports under its control, according to a Prime Business report this week, citing a SUEK representative.

The new company, named National Transport Co, was established at end of 2020 to further develop the two owners’ transport business.

National Transport Co. is set to become one of Russian Railways’ largest clients, with a 115 million mt/y cargo base, according to the report.

EuroChem Group’s owner, Russian businessman Andrey Melnichenko, is also SUEK’s principal owner.

Russia’s Natural Resources Agency Cites PhosAgro, Acron for Lake Contamination

News, News Briefs, Russia

Russia’s Federal Service for the Supervision of Natural Resources (Rosprirodnadzor) has assessed the cost of environmental damage at Lake Umbozero in the country’s northwest Murmansk region as a result of contamination last summer following anomalous flooding allegedly by apatite mining subsidiaries of PhosAgro and Acron Group, respectively JSC Apatit and JSC Northwestern Phosphorus Co. (NWPC).

The natural resources’ directorate calculated the cost of the damage at over RUB5 million (approximately $68 million at current exchange rates), according to an Interfax report, citing the Baltic-Arctic interregional directorate of Rosprirodnadzor.

Acron Group had not responded to Green Markets’ enquiries for comment by press time.

Scottish Company Gets Planning Nod for Green NH3 Plant

Ammonia, News, News Briefs, United Kingdom

Scottish company Eneus Energy has secured planning consent for a proposed green hydrogen/ammonia plant in Orkney, Scotland, which would be the first commercial facility of its kind in the U.K.

The development, near Evie, was approved by the Orkney Council Planning Committee on Jan. 20, according to a ReNews.biz report, citing Eneus Energy. Initial reports indicated the plant would produce 11 mt/d of ammonia.

Along with the proposed wind turbines’ extension at Hammars Hill, Eneus said the plant will harness the renewable electricity generated by the wind turbines to produce hydrogen from water, and then combine the gas with nitrogen from the air to form ammonia.

Eneus Energy is working in conjunction with locally-owned Hammars Hill Energy and Green Cat Renewables. The latter company has been acting as planning agent for both parties. Green Cat also provided technical support and project management services, producing the planning and technical assessments to support the planning application.

The wind farm extension will see two 150-metre turbines built, adding 8.4MW to the existing 4.5MW project.

Indian State Advances Potash Mining Feasibility Study

India, News, News Briefs, Potash

The Rajasthan state government on Jan. 21 signed a tripartite agreement for a feasibility study for solution potash mining in the Nagaur-Ganganagar area, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI). Other signatories were Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals Ltd. and the Mineral Exploration Corp. Ltd. (MECL) of the Government of India. The agreement advances plans announced in late 2019 (GM Nov. 22, 2019).

“We will be able to become self-sufficient in the field of this mineral through the deposits of potash spread in the Ganganagar, Hanumangarh, and Bikaner region of Rajasthan,” said Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in a statement. “The Memorandum of Understanding today will prove to be a step towards the mining of potash.”

Union Coal and Mines Minister Prahlad Joshi said the Geological Survey of India and MECL, in their preliminary study, have assessed the availability of about 250 million mt of mineral potash in this basin, adding that the central government will fully support Rajasthan in the field of mining.

Today, India is completely dependent on the import of approximately 5 million mt/y of potash.

EC Grow Starts Polymer Plant Construction; New PCU Expected on Market Fall 2021

News, News Briefs, Specialty, Urea

EC Grow Inc., Eau Claire, Wisc., said on Jan. 18 it has started construction of a polymer coating facility adjacent to their current bulk storage location. This new facility will have the ability to produce controlled-release urea in various sizes and release curves. The company expects to have the new polymer-coated urea (PCU) production on the market in the fall of 2021.

“We have been using PCU’s in our turfgrass blends for many years and recognize how efficient they are for our customers and the environment,” said Steve Hunsley, EC Grow CEO. “By investing in our own facility, we can better manage pricing volatility while providing our customers with enhanced fertility solutions.”

The company said the professional turf industry has been challenged with labor shortages and escalating maintenance costs, and it recognizes the benefits of controlled-release technology and how turfgrass managers can “Do More with Less.”

“We have been conducting university turfgrass testing for several years to determine the best polymer solution that our customers can have confidence in and depend on,” said Joe Ernst, EC Grow Director of Professional Sales. “The timing to launch our own PCU aligns with our Labor Efficient Program initiative to help combat the industry’s labor crisis. PCU is more efficient, environmentally friendly, and economical for the customer.”

EC Grow, which has been in business for over 30 years, manufactures and distributes fertilizer products to the professional turf and ornamental industry, as well consumer lawn and garden fertilizers. It is a subsidiary of Eau Claire Cooperative Oil Co., which has been in business for over 95 years.

Phospholutions Raises $10.3 M in Funding, Adds New Investors

News, News Briefs, Specialty

Sustainable fertilizer start-up Phospholutions Inc., State College, Pa., on Jan. 19 announced $10.3 million in Series A funding led by Continental Grain Co. Other investors include Tekfen Ventures and Ag Ventures Alliance Cooperative, as well as earlier investors Maumee Ventures LLC, the venture capital subsidiary of The Andersons Inc. and 1855 Capital (GM June 14, 2019).

The company said the funding will be used to accelerate growth and allow the company to address larger market opportunities.

“We anticipate more than doubling our team over the next year to support our entry into broad-acre crop production,” said Phospholutions CEO Hunter Swisher.

After focusing its launch for turf and ornamental markets, the company said the technology also demonstrated cost savings and environmental benefit for row crops like corn and soybeans. As a result, the company is now focused on establishing a farmer network and partnerships necessary to commercialize these applications.

Phospholutions’ signature technology, RhizoSorb®, is a soil amendment or fertilizer additive used to deliver phosphorus and other nutrients to crops. The company said it has seen dramatic declines in use rates of fertilizer products – sometimes as high as 75 percent less phosphorus applied – while maintaining crop yields, resulting in stronger grower margins and dramatically improved sustainability.

“Our focus continues to be the betterment of the farmer’s livelihood and the world that we live in,” said Kris Kemeny, Tekfen Ventures Managing Director. “Nutrient runoff degrades our water systems and undernourishes our crops, leading to overuse of fertilizers that are costly – both monetarily and environmentally. We believe that products like RhizoSorb® will continue to help farmers achieve better, more consistent, outcomes.” Tefken is backed by publicly-traded conglomerate Tefken Holding.

“Phospholutions has the potential to solve systemic issues around fertilizer application in several key crops, said Chris Abbott, Co-Head of Continental Grain’s venture capital strategy. “We are excited to partner with the Phospholutions team to help commercialize this technology globally, which we believe will positively impact key issues around soil health, water quality, and grower profitability.”

In the past year, Phospholutions said it has added two executives to drive its growth into new markets: Bob Young, Chief Commercial Officer, who brought 35 years of experience with fertilizer and crop protectants; and Aaron Waltz, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer, who has more than 20 years of research and development experience in transgenic trait evaluation, crop protection, and agrochemical manufacturing.

Italpollina Changes Name to Hello Nature

Europe, News, News Briefs, Specialty

Specialty fertilizer and biostimulant producer Italpollina, which was founded in Rivoli Veronese, Italy, in 1971, said it is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a name change to Hello Nature. Italpollina’s North American headquarters is in Anderson, Ind. (GM Nov. 2, 2918).

“We have made a radical evolution from the fertilizer sector to becoming a world leader in the production of biostimulants, and ‘Italpollina’ no longer represents the complexity of our activity,” said Luca Bonini, Hello Nature CEO.

“This name change also strengthens our support of global strategies in place to improve food security. Hello Nature says it all. It communicates who we are and what we stand for, and it represents our leadership of sustainable inputs in agriculture.”

The company said it would continue to roll out the new name worldwide throughout the year. The company said its products go to some 80 countries.

The company said the Italpollina name will continue for its classic poultry manure fertilizer product.

The Andersons Launches New Zinc Products

Ammonium Polyphosphate, Eastern Cornbelt, News, News Briefs, Specialty, Sulfur, Zinc

The Andersons Inc., Maumee, Ohio, on Jan. 19 announced the availability of two new specialty ag products that provide immediate availability and sustained release of zinc to growing crops. Tri Z combines three sources of zinc into a traditional starter, while Tri Z Pro includes the same zinc formulation plus sulfur and ammonium acetate, which helps stimulate the plant to generate a more extensive root system.

The company said the two can be used in ammonium polyphosphate (APP) based fertilizer as well as pre-blended APP/liquid nitrogen combinations and applied at planting.

“Tri Z Pro is a brand new product that not only provides nitrogen, zinc, and sulfur to seedlings in their early development, but its synergistic formulation of zinc and ammonium acetate also stimulates root systems to generate a greater volume of healthy roots at a faster pace,” said Sarah Pirolli, Vice President of Sales and Operations for The Andersons Plant Nutrient segment. “Healthy roots are critical for stabilizing the plant, as well as intercepting moisture and nutrients to maximize yield potential.”