Calgary-Canadian Pacific Railway recently said potash shipments are off 50 percent quarter-to-date, though August was a little better than the first six months of the year. “So far, September is a little quieter, and we just don’t know when this market is going to break,” CPR President and CEO Fred Green told analysts at the Dahlman Rose & Co. Global Transportation Conference Sept. 9. However, he noted that once it does, it will come back in pretty substantive numbers, which could cause quite a bump in CPR statistics. Green termed the sulfur market as “very difficult,” and said not much volume has been moving, with more and more of the product going to block. Overall, CPR is yet to see its traditional fall peak in railcar volumes. Green said that while grain movement has been good, overall volumes are off 20 percent. He also cited fears that retailers may not be rushing to get merchandise stocked for Christmas this year.
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Fertilizer bomb plot nets 14 years in jail
Brampton, Ont.-Sentencing of a young Canadian to 14 years in jail for his role in a terrorist plot to set off a series of fertilizer bombs in hopes of convincing the country to pull its troops out of Afghanistan still could be appealed by either the public prosecution service or the defense. Saad Khalid, 23, was sentenced in Ontario Superior Court Sept. 3 as the second of the so-called “Toronto 18,” who planned three days of attacks on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Canada’s spy agency headquarters, and a military base using rented vans stuffed with explosives they planned to build from ammonium nitrate. Khalid was among 14 adults and four minors charged after they allegedly sought to purchase three tons of the fertilizer from undercover police officers, who had replaced the bomb-making material with a harmless substance. The first of 18 suspected plotters to be convicted after their arrest in 2006 during the police sting operation was a minor who was convicted and sentenced to 2½ years for terrorist activity, but released because of his three years in custody awaiting trial. Khalid pleaded guilty May 5 to “… intent to cause an explosion of an explosive substance likely to cause serious bodily harm or death to persons or damage to property.” Now the Public Prosecution Service and the defense have 30 days to appeal the sentence, according to prosecution spokesman Dan Brien. Brien said the prosecution service had asked for 20 years of jail time, while the defense wanted Khalid to spend eight to 10 years.
First sentencing Oct. 21 in Synagro scandal
Detroit-The Detroit businessman who apparently was one of the “go-betweens” for the $1.2 billion Synagro contract money exchange scandal will become the first to be sentenced Oct. 21 in U.S. district court. U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn will hand down the sentence for Rayford Jackson, who pleaded guilty in June to a bribery charge resulting from the federal probe of city hall corruption. Jackson, 44, could get five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 if Cohn decides on the maximum sentence. According to federal investigators, Jackson worked as a paid consultant for Synagro Technologies under Synagro Vice President James Rosendall Jr. , and his duties included facilitating the Detroit city council’s approval of the sludge processing contract. Rosendall pleaded guilty to bribery charges earlier this year and is awaiting sentencing. He is no longer connected with Houston-based Synagro. Also awaiting a sentencing date is Monica Conyers, who has admitted to misusing her office as Detroit city council president pro tem and her position as a trustee of the Detroit general retirement system pension in exchange for payments in connection with the contract. Gina Balaya, spokeswoman for the office of U.S. attorney for eastern Michigan, was not available to say whether there are any more charges anticipated in the scandal investigation.
Chemtrade joins forces with Primary Resources
Toronto-Chemtrade Logistics Inc. said Sept. 9 that Primary Resources Inc. has joined forces with Chemtrade and, in particular, Chemtrade unit BCT Chemtrade Corp., a global supplier of elemental sulfur and sulfuric acid. “The combination of our markets, channels and resources enhances our ability to continue growing the services that BCT Chemtrade provides for our partners in the international sulfur business,” said Chemtrade President and CEO Mark Davis. Established in 1996, Primary Resources has a worldwide network of agents and affiliates, particularly involved in sulfur distribution. Effective Oct. 1, Primary Resources’ business and employees will be integrated into Chemtrade. Chemtrade’s network will now include Primary’s former office in Stamford, Conn., under the direction of David Johnson and Kali Sapounakis. James Cattano, president and founder of Primary Resources, will continue as senior advisor to Chemtrade’s sulfur business teams, and can be reached at 999 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Naples, Fla. 34108, or 239-262-2004. Chemtrade told Green Markets that the deal is not an acquisition, but it will be assuming all of the operating business going forward. The legal entity Primary Resources will continue to exist, but will no longer do logistics/marketing for sulfur or its other products. Chemtrade is hiring Primary’s employees and will assume Primary’s supply and marketing contracts and business relationships.
Martin/Brimrock jv to serve oil and gas companies
Kilgore, Texas-Martin Integrated Sulfur Systems LLC of Kilgore, Texas, and Brimrock Group Inc., Calgary, have announced the formation of a joint venture to offer a new generation of sulfur technologies and services to the international oil and gas industry. In part, that will include PrillMax wet prill sulfur forming technology, as well as consulting services for sulfur processing, facility design and technical operations, such as H2S removal from sulfur, and production of granular sulfur. Martin is the majority partner. Business will be conducted directly by subsidiaries, rather than through the joint venture. Potential customers included Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, as well as Vietnam, Canada, and the U.S. The new operation will hire engineers and others necessary to have “people on the ground” to oversee projects.
BLM seeks more comments on Monsanto mine
Soda Springs, Idaho-The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has extended the period for the public to comment on a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Monsanto’s proposed Blackfoot Bridge phosphate mine in Southeast Idaho’s Caribou County (GM Aug. 17, p. 1). The mine would replace Monsanto’s South Rasmussen Ridge Mine, which annually supplies a million tons of phosphate to Monsanto’s elemental phosphorus plant near Soda Springs. Federal agencies say that mine is leaching selenium and heavy metals into Blackfoot River tributaries. Its ore is expected to be exhausted by 2013. The Blackfoot Bridge ore is expected to last 15 years. Monsanto plans to spend $24 million on an extensive cover, lining, and water management system at Blackfoot Bridge to protect the nearby Blackfoot River; between $10 million and $15 million on infrastructure; and another $5 million for retaining ponds, in addition to mining equipment capital. About 740 acres of mostly private land would be disturbed by the new mine operations, with only about 10 percent, or roughly 74 acres, on BLM land. About 80 of Monsanto’s 750 workers in the region would be employed at the mine. A 45-day comment period was scheduled when the DEIS was issued on Aug.17, but to better promote public involvement in the process, the BLM will accept comments until Oct. 31. Electronic copies of the DEIS are available at http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/prog/0.html. Three informational meetings in Southeast Idaho have been scheduled for 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the following locations and dates: Bureau of Land Management, 4350 Cliffs Drive, Pocatello, ID 83204, Sept. 15; Tribal Business Center, Pima Avenue, Fort Hall, ID 83203, Sept. 16; and Soda Springs City Hall, 9 West 2nd South, Soda Springs, ID 83276, Sept. 17.
Chinese investor still looking at Mag
Toronto-MagIndustries Inc. has granted an extension of the exclusivity period under its memorandum of understanding to Sept. 25, 2009, to give a potential Chinese investor time to decide. The MOU provides for a proposed purchase of 400 million common shares of MagIndustries by a large Chinese-based multi-national company. Mag is involved in developing a major potash deposit in the Congo.
DOC invites review of Ukrainian AN duties
Washington-The U.S. International Trade Administration has announced that interested parties may request that the Department of Commerce conduct an administrative review of the antidumping duties on solid agricultural grade ammonium nitrate from Ukraine. The notice appeared on Sept. 1 in the Federal Register, and is a customary procedure that occurs each year during the anniversary month of the publication of an antidumping or countervailing duty order, finding, or suspension of investigation. The DOC said it intends to select respondents based on U.S. Customs and Border Protection data for U.S. imports during the period of review from Sept. 1, 2008, to Aug. 31, 2009. Interested parties have until the last day of September 2009 to request the administrative review. On the same day of the Federal Register notice, several trade groups, including the Agricultural Retailers Association and the National Association of Wheat Growers, submitted a letter to the DOC urging the removal of what they called “Cold War-era trade restrictions” that remain in place against Russian fertilizer products (GM Sept. 7, p. 10). “Since there are few ammonium nitrate production capacities outside the United States, it is important that additional supply options are available for American farmers,” the letter said. “Given the changing dynamics in the U.S. marketplace, the current restrictions on imports of Russian ammonium nitrate fertilizer no longer make sense.”
Potential customers eye Wonarah rock samples
West Perth-Minemakers Ltd. said Sept. 9 that four potential customers are seeking some 10,110 mt of material for testing from its Wonarah phosphate project in Australia’s Northern Territory. Mining of the bulk sample is expected in about a month. In addition to the Wonarah exploration, Minemakers, along with partners, is exploring for marine phos rock off the coast of Namibia.
Viterra acquires Australian grain company
Winnipeg, Manitoba-Viterra CEO Mayo Schmidt said in a conference call with reporters on Sept. 9 that the company will pause to integrate the Australian company ABB Grain Ltd. before seeking new acquisitions. ABB shareholders on Sept. 9 voted in favor of Viterra’s A$1.6-billion (C$1.4 billion) shares-and-cash bid, and the deal was approved by Australia’s federal court on Sept. 10. The acquisition gives Viterra access to a Southern Hemisphere crop supply and to Southeast Asia, a key destination for ABB’s wheat and barley exports. Shareholders have until Sept. 18 to decide whether to accept options weighted toward cash or shares, Schmidt said. The company will have C$350 million to C$750 million in capital available for acquisitions, depending on which option of cash and shares ABB shareholders select. Viterra’s last major acquisition was in 2007 when it took over Agricore United, and Schmidt said the company needs to take time to integrate ABB into its operations. “There are areas of interest throughout Southeast Asia,” Schmidt told reporters. “There’s no shortage of opportunities. The key is the discipline to move methodically through them and of course act at the appropriate time.”