All posts by thoughton8@bloomberg.net

Glen Brandt, Founder of Brandt Inc., Passes Away

Breaking Industry News

Glen Albert Brandt, founder of Brandt Inc., died at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, Ill., on June 7 at the age of 94. Brandt started the company in 1953 and presided over its rapid growth under the banners of Brandt & Gardner Gas Station, Brandt’s Fertilizer Service, and Brandt Chemical Company. He stepped aside as CEO of Brandt’s Fertilizer Service and Brandt Chemical Company in 1986 to serve as chairman of the board, and in 1990 oversaw the formation of Brandt Consolidated Inc., the company that become Brandt Inc. in January 2020. Brandt also served as President of the National Fertilizer Solutions Association, and was the recipient of the Agricultural Retailers Association’s Ag Retailer of the Year Award and Lifetime Achievement Award.

Visitation will be held at Zion Lutheran Church in Pleasant Plains, Ill., on June 10-11. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Brandt Foundation at brandt.co/donate, or by mail at Brandt Global Headquarters, 2935 S. Koke Mill Road, Springfield, Ill., 62711.

JPMC & MMTC Ink Phosphates Supply Deal

Breaking Industry News, India, News, Phosphate Rock, Phosphoric Acid

Jordan Phosphate Mines Co. (JPMC), Amman, and India’s Metals and Minerals Trading Corp. (MMTC), on Jan. 12 inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to sell phosphate rock, fertilizer and phosphoric acid to India, according to Jordan’s Petra news agency.

Under the MoU, JPMC will provide the Indian company with 450,000 mt each of phosphate rock and fertilizer annually, as well as 300,000 mt of phosphoric acid annually, according to the report, citing JPMC’s CEO Abdel Wahab Al-Ruwad and MMTC’s Chairman Ved Prakash. The memorandum’s timeframe is not reported.

Sirius Announces Scaled-Back Plans For Polyhalite Project; in Talks for New Funding

Breaking Industry News, England, Polyhalite

Sirius Minerals, Scarborough, England, announced today a review of the development plan for its North Yorkshire polyhalite mine and processing plant in northeast England has produced a revised two-stage plan.

The revised development plan comprises “an Initial Scope” to include progress of shaft sinking to achieve first polyhalite and the drive 1 materials transport system, which the company said “significantly” de-risks the construction of the project. This work is estimated to require around US$600 million of funding to be raised.

The plans also include “a Deferred Scope” incorporating the remainder of construction activities required to deliver full production.

Sirius said that [the search for a] strategic partner and financial investor processes are underway, with the aim of securing around US$600 million of Initial Scope funding, with various parties engaged and assessing information.

The company in September cancelled it plans to raise US$500 million through a bond issue amid adverse market conditions. The bond issue was a critical part of its ambitious US$3.8 billion Stage 2 financing needed to complete its polyhalite project development as then envisaged.

Yara Q2 Adjusted EBITDA Beats Highest Estimate

Breaking Industry News

Yara International ASA, Oslo, reported net income after non-controlling interests for the second quarter of $230 million ($0.84 per share) compared to a net loss of $211 million ([$0.77] per share) a year ago. Excluding currency effects and special items, the result was $0.77 per share against $0.16 per share in second-quarter 2018.

EBITDA excluding special items came in 70 percent higher at $546 million, up from $321 million a year earlier, and beating the highest analyst estimate (Bloomberg data). Yara attributed the EBITDA improvement as mainly driven by higher production volumes and lower energy cost.

Second-quarter revenue increased 7 percent to $3.4 billion, up from the year-ago $3.19 billion.

Total sales and marketing deliveries were 2 percent higher at 10.27 million mt, up from 10.11 million mt.

The company expects spot-priced gas costs for the second and third quarters to be $160 million lower than a year ago.

Yara also announced it has signed a $1,000 million five-year revolving credit facility with 13 international relationship banks. The margin under the facility will be adjusted based on the fertilizer group’s progress to meet its carbon intensity target by 2025.

Q3 Tampa Molten Sulfur settles up $5/lt at $121/lt

Breaking Industry News, Florida, Regional Prices, Sulfur, Tampa

Nutrien has announced the conclusion of negotiations with sulfur suppliers for the third-quarter price of molten sulfur delivered to Tampa, agreeing to a price of $121/lt, up $5/lt from $116/lt in the second quarter. The contract price matches Mosaic’s previously announced price, bringing the Tampa molten sulfur index to $121/lt for the third quarter.

Vale hires Hatch for Rio Colorado study

Brazil, News, News Briefs

Rio de Janeiro — Vale has hired Canadian engineering company Hatch to conduct a new prefeasibility study on its halted Rio Colorado (GM Jan. 28, 2013) potash project in Argentina, aimed at scaling down the development, according to a Dec. 20 press release from the Mendoza provincial government. In September, the Brazilian mining major reached an agreement with the provincial authorities giving it six months to re-engineer the project. Rio Colorado was the only Vale potash asset not to be included in the portfolio of fertilizer assets that Mosaic has agreed to buy from the Brazilian mining major in the US$2.5 billion cash-and-stock deal announced on Dec. 19 (GM Dec 23, 2016). The project’s inclusion in the transaction is subject to Mosaic’s agreement following appropriate due diligence. The new study will assess the feasibility of reducing the original targeted production capacity to 1.4 million mt/y of potash in order to make it more economically viable, the government said. The original plans envisaged an initial 2.1 million mt/y capacity, with a second phase increasing that to 4.35 million mt/y. The new proposal could also abandon the plan to construct a 352 km-railway to transport the potash from the mine to the port of Bahia Blanca and use trucks instead, according to a Mining.com news report. “If, as the case may be, the results [of the study] do not live up to Mosaic’s expectations, the project would continue with Vale, which would then continue the search for a partner,” said Emilio Guiñazú, Mendoza provincial government undersecretary of Energy and Mining.

SNC awarded contract in Turkey

Canada, Eastern Canada, News, News Briefs

Montreal — SNC-Lavalin reports that it has been awarded a contract by Bagfas Bandirma Gubre Fabrikalari AS (Bagfas) for the revamp of an existing calcium ammonium nitrate plant located on the south coast of the Marmara Sea, Turkey. The scope of work includes engineering, procurement, supervision, and commissioning services to achieve the plant’s capacity performance of 2,000 mt/d for CAN and 1,550 mt/d for stabilized ammonium nitrate. The services also incorporate review and improvement of processes and operations, including engineering of processes, equipment, control, and automation. SNC-Lavalin will execute the project at the site and through its offices in Brussels, Belgium. At the end of the contract, which is estimated to last approximately eight-and-a-half months, the plant is expected to reach its design production capacity, estimated at 660,000 mt/y of granular CAN.

Sackett, Waconia align sales forces, products

News, News Briefs, U.S.

Baltimore, Md., and Waconia, Minn. — Engineering and equipment providers A.J. Sackett and Sons and Waconia Manufacturing aligned their sales forces and product lines, effective Jan. 1, 2017. They will now be known as Sackett-Waconia. Sackett, founded in 1897, has been an investor and partner in Waconia, founded in 1959, since 1995. Together, the two say they have sold equipment in 65 countries and all 50 states, and have 180 years of experience. “The combination of Sackett-Waconia is not only the right thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do for our customers, our employees, and our industry,” said Larry Taylor, Sackett-Waconia CEO. “Together we offer strong engineering capabilities and expanded product lines, while capitalizing on our customer focus, integrity, and desire to be the best at what we do.” Sackett-Waconia employs 200 people between their four U.S. locations in Baltimore, Md., Waconia and Norwood Young America, Minn., and Wilson, N.C., plus a fifth location in Araxá, Brazil. The company says the combination will also streamline engineering, product design, and customer service, and support efficient equipment fabrication.