The Mosaic Co. was reported to have launched its summer phosphate fill program June 5. This includes NOLA prices of $330/st FOB for DAP and MAP. Central Florida is $335 FOT truck for DAP, $340/st MAP.

Market sources report that both DAP and MAP barge prices have stepped up this week at NOLA, with trades reported at $320/st FOB.

EuroChem Group AG, Zug, Switzerland, on June 4 announced the opening of a third new fertilizer blending plant in Brazil. The new 27,000m² facility at Araguari in Minas Gerais, a state in the south-eastern part of the country, is another step in the continued expansion of EuroChem’s subsidiary, Fertilizantes Tocantins (FTO). The new plant will produce up to 6,000 mt/d, with a storage capacity of 100,000 mt, creating 200 new direct and indirect jobs.

A federal judge has provisionally suspended an arrest warrant for former Pemex CEO Emilio Lozoya, Bloomberg reports citing Mexico’s daily Reforma. The case against Lozoya centers on the 2015 sale of a fertilizer plant by steel maker Altos Hornos Mexicanos SA, or AHMSA, to Pemex for what auditors say was an inflated price. Investigators say Lozoya appears to have received a substantial personal payment for facilitating the purchase, at the expense of taxpayers. His accounts have been frozen.

A Federal Justice in Rio de Janeiro granted an injunction suspending Araucaria Nitrogenados (ANSA) and Nitrogenated Fertilizer Unit III (UFN-III) sale, Bloomberg has reported, citing a filing by Petrobras. The company said it would take all adequate measures in its interests and of its shareholders.

Mining activities have resumed at The Mosaic Co.’s Catalao mine in the state of Goias in Brazil, according to a Bloomberg report citing company CEO Joc O’Rourke. The Catalao mine was idled for two months while the company worked to bring its mine tailings dam into compliance with new Brazilian regulations.

The Tampa anhydrous ammonia price for June has been reported at $220/mt CFR, down $17/mt from May’s $237/mt CFR, according to reliable sources.

Qatar has bought a stake in Sirius Minerals Plc, the company that’s planning to build a giant potash mine in northern England, according to Bloomberg, citing May 23 filings. The Qatar Investment Authority now owns 3.3 percent of Sirius, and Pelham Capital Ltd. has also bought a 5.1 percent stake.

CVR Energy Inc., Sugar Land, Texas, reports that it has engaged BofA Merrill Lynch as its financial advisor to assist it in evaluating potential strategic alternatives, including a potential sale. The energy firm owns 34 percent of nitrogen producer CVR Partners LP, which has plants in Coffeyville, Kan., and East Dubuque, Ill. CVR Energy said it intends to evaluate alternatives in combination with its ongoing focus on accomplishing its strategic objectives, prudently managing costs and operating its businesses safely and reliably.

CVR Energy also announced that a subsidiary has entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of its 1.5-million-barrel Cushing, Okla., crude oil terminal and related assets to an affiliate of Plains All American Pipeline LP for total consideration of approximately $36 million, and concurrently closed the transaction.

Junior miner Gensource Potash Corp., Saskatoon, said May 22 that it has entered into nonbinding Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with a large and well-respected international fertilizer manufacturing and distribution company to form a joint venture company to develop the Maverick Project within the Vanguard area in Saskatchewan. The jv will construct, own and operate the potash production facility. The Maverick project is being developed alongside the company’s other project, Vanguard One, within the Vanguard area. The parties to the Maverick project have reached an agreement in principal on offtake amount 250,000 mt/y for ten years, equity contribution and jv operating structure.

Martin Midstream Partners LP announced May 21 that after 29 years of service Ron Garner, Vice President of Fertilizer, is retiring, effective May 31. “Ron has served as the leader of the partnership’s fertilizer division within the Sulfur Services segment since it was established,” said Ruben Martin, President and CEO of Martin Midstream GP LLC, the general partner of the Partnership. “He has managed his team with excellence and integrity while successfully growing our sulfur-based fertilizer division. All of us here wish him and his family a happy, healthy retirement.”