Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. today marked the successful expansion of its Rocanville operation, which it now says is the world’s largest potash mine. The nameplate capacity of the mine is 6.5 million mt, up from 3 million mt pre-expansion. The workforce has doubled to more than 750.

Tessenderlo Group on Oct. 9 announced the opening of its new Thio-Sul® manufacturing plant in East Dubuque, Ill. This new manufacturing facility of Tessenderlo Group’s business unit Crop Vitality creates approximately 20 jobs and will allow for delivery of the product more efficiently to the Midwest agriculture community. The liquid fertilizer Thio-Sul® is used for broad-acre crops as well as arboricultural and vegetable crop cultivation.

In 2014, Crop Vitality signed a long-term agreement with Rentech Nitrogen Partners LP, now CVR Partners, to lease property and to provide the facility ammonia – a key ingredient in the production of Thio-Sul®.

PhosAgro and the Saudi Arabian Mining Co. Ma’aden today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) they say will provide a new impetus to the development of the global phosphate-based fertilizer industry. The agreement aims to contribute to the sustainable development of the companies, as well as to domestic and global food security by helping to secure the uninterrupted supply of safe and high-quality fertilizers to agricultural producers around the world.

Under the MOU, the two agreed to share best practices and knowledge related to technical aspects of production, environmental protection, and workplace health and safety. The parties will also undertake a number of measures to support their long-term sustainable development, including participation in a range of initiatives aimed at ensuring the reliability and stability of supply of phosphate-based fertilizers to agricultural producers worldwide.

The memorandum was signed as part of the state visit of His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to the Russian Federation.

Both Ma’aden and PhosAgro are currently completing major development projects aimed at enabling them to increase production volumes of crop nutrients using efficient modern technologies. PhosAgro is due to launch its 760,000 mt/y ammonia line and a 500,000 mt/y granulated urea facility at PhosAgro-Cherepovets in the near future. Ma’aden has begun ramping up its phosphate-based fertilizer production capacity at its Waad al-Shamal facility.

Both companies note that they are leading producers of phosphate-based fertilizers that are low in potentially harmful impurities like cadmium, and are committed to helping ensure that the mineral fertilizers used to grow plants all over the world contribute to safe and healthy food supplies for end consumers.

Pursell Agri-Tech, Sylacauga, Ala., said Oct. 5 that it has begun production of its next-generation products at its pilot plant in Sylacauga and remains on track to open a new full-scale commercial coating plant at the same location in January 2018.

In addition to a new strategic partnership with Netherlands-based Stamicarbon BV, which was announced earlier this week, Pursell said it has also partnered with two leading investment firms, Jemison Investment Co. Inc. and Stonehenge Growth Capital Co. LLC, both based in Birmingham, Ala.

“We’re excited to have the confidence and enthusiastic support of top-quality organizations such as Stamicarbon, Jemison, and Stonehenge,” says Pursell Agri-Tech president and CEO, Nick Adamchak. “The financial and strategic support of our partners will be critical in helping us bring better fertilizer solutions to the market that will help pave the way for more sustainable, climate-smart agriculture not only for North America, but worldwide as well.”

Maire Tecnimont SpA, Milan, reports that its subsidiary Stamicarbon, has acquired a 20 percent stake in Pursell Agri-Tech LLC, a U.S.-based start-up company specialized in developing and marketing polymer-coated, controlled-release fertilizers. The amount of Stamicarbon’s investment is equal to US$5.5 million.

Stamicarbon says Pursell Agri-Tech, Sylacauga, Alabama, has developed a new technology to coat fertilizers at competitive cost levels, to produce controlled-release fertilizers that are suitable for efficient fertilization of broad-acre commodity agricultural crops. The technology combines proprietary polymer compositions and a high-performance coating process to deliver a range of controlled-release fertilizers, notably urea, resulting in a highly sustainable crop nutrient solution that boosts farmers’ yields while also reducing the potential impact on the environment.

Stamicarbon and Pursell Agri-Tech have also entered into an industrial cooperation whereby Stamicarbon will be the exclusive global licensing partner, licensing the technology to interested parties outside North America, such as major urea producers, and large fertilizer producers or distributors, while Pursell Agri-Tech will develop with selected dedicated partners the North American market, where Stamicarbon will act as a non-exclusive licensing partner. The parties will also work closely together in an open innovation platform on the development of other new businesses and technologies.

The Ohio River is closed today, after the failure of hydraulics that open and close the lower gate at Lock 53 near Brookport, Ill., according to the Waterways Council Inc., which notes that closure was preceded in mid-September by an obstruction found in the main chamber at the lock that did not allow the gates to close properly. It also said an early September failure of the wooden wickets at nearby Lock & Dam (L&D) 52 also highlighted critical, but aging, lock and dam infrastructure on the inland waterways system.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is attempting to fix the problems as vessels shipping key commodities wait in a growing queue that is currently 46 miles long.

In service since 1928, Locks and Dams 52 and 53 on the Ohio River are to be replaced by the Olmsted Lock and Dam which was authorized in 1988, but will not open until next year. Once Olmsted is finished, Locks and Dams 52 and 53 will be removed.

The Council said the failures at L&D 52 and 53 are occurring during the low-water season on the Ohio River. The Corps raises the dams located at the locks to maintain pools of stable water for navigation, municipal and industrial water supply, recreation, and other purposes.

As a result of the emergency outage at L&D 53, more than 65 towboats laden with harvest season grain and other commodities are backed up like a massive truck wreck along an interstate corridor. Power plants, manufacturing plants and municipalities that draw water from the Ohio River have been advised by the Corps that the pools of water they depend on may be lost within a week.

Other back-ups have occurred up and down the Ohio River, including locks at Smithland, Cannelton, Meldahl and Dashields.

Tampa anhydrous ammonia business for October was concluded at $245/mt CFR, up $30/mt from September’s $215/mt. August was $190/mt. Sources also reported higher price ideas for NOLA barges.