Eighteen head of cattle grazing near the abandoned Lanes Creek phosphate mine in Caribou County, Idaho, died earlier this month from acute selenium poisoning, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s poisonous plant research lab in Logan, Utah, confirms.

Sheep and horses have died from selenium poisoning in the past after feeding on selenium-tainted vegetation in Southeast Idaho’s phosphate mining region, but cattle were thought to be less susceptible. Selenium is a toxic byproduct of phosphate that can leach and be absorbed by plants.

Kip Panter, the lab’s research leader, said the Bear Lake Grazing Association cattle were moved into the area on Aug. 2 and died about three days later. “It doesn’t take long. Acute selenium is very toxic. It affects the heart and lungs,” Panter said.

A range rider provided liver, kidney, and blood samples from the cattle. Panter said that the samples, which were analyzed by the Utah State Diagnostic Laboratory on the Utah State University campus, tested positive for high levels of selenium.

While water samples from a nearby creek were normal, Purple Aster showed 4,000 parts per million of selenium, which is relatively high, he continued, adding that lots of rain caused vegetation to grow more lush and high this season.

Dan Keetch of the Bear Lake Grazing Association did not return repeated phone messages regarding the cattle deaths. It was not clear who owned the cattle, totaling about 500 head.

Mining at Lanes Creek was begun in 1978 by the Alumet Partnership, which included National Steel Corp. – which filed for bankruptcy in 2002. Alumet sold the property to the Bear Lake Grazing Association in 1997. The J.R. Simplot Co. leases mineral rights, but has never mined there. It did process ore from the mine in the 1980s before mining was suspended later that decade.

Simplot spokesman David Cuoio stated: “The area where the 15 to 20 cattle died is not near any present or past Simplot phosphate mining operations.”

It was discovered in 1997 that horses and sheep grazing near Southeast Idaho phosphate mining operations were dying of selenium poisoning. As a result, Simplot, Monsanto, Agrium, FMC/Astaris, and Rhodia each spent $1 million to conduct an area-wide study in conjunction with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.

Several horses died near Agrium’s Mabey Canyon Mine in Caribou Canyon on pasture at the base of a mine dump. Hundreds of sheep also succumbed to selenium poisoning near Simplot’s Conda mine, not far from Soda Springs.

IDEQ Regional Administrator Bruce Olenick said his Pocatello office received a telephone call on Aug. 11 from Simplot, alerting it to the cattle deaths east of Monsanto’s South Rasmussen Ridge Mine and north of Simplot’s Smoky Canyon Mine. Simplot officials met with grazing association members on Aug. 10.

“Sheep are more susceptible. We always thought cows were more immune and had higher tolerances for selenium,” Olenick said, speculating the plants were eaten later in the year, when they had more time to mature and gain higher toxicity

IDEQ officials visited the Lanes Creek mine site on Aug. 13. Olenick said the private land had been reclaimed, describing it as a “big hump of vegetation,” but he said he understood cattle were not supposed to be grazing in the area.

Marv Hoyt, Idaho director of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, an environmental group, said the recent cattle deaths are another indication of continued problems in the phosphate region. He said the kill should be a wakeup call for federal agencies and mining companies.

Forsaken mines that have not been cleaned up are polluting waterways, vegetation, and soil, Hoyt said. “With these old mines spread across the landscape, who knows what the real effects are on livestock and wildlife?” he asked.

Monsanto is seeking permission to open the Blackfoot Bridge Mine to replace its South Rasmussen Ridge Mine’s phosphate ore. Simplot is expanding its Smoky Canyon Mine.

Land O’Lakes Inc. reported net earnings for the second quarter of $81.3 million on sales of $2.8 billion, down from the year-ago $112.5 million and $3.3 billion, respectively. LOL was proud of six-month results of $161 million on sales of $5.8 billion in light of the overall global economy, saying they compared favorably with the year-ago $175.6 million and $6.6 billion, respectively.

LOL’s Agronomy unit reported second-quarter pre-tax income of $77 million on sales of $790.5 million, up from the year-ago $46.8 million and $993.7 million, respectively. Six-month income was $69.3 million on sales of $1.2 billion, versus the year-ago $37.6 million and $1.48 billion, respectively.

Agronomy includes LOL’s crop protection business as well as seeds aligned under the Winfield Solutions banner, along with its 50 percent stake in Agriliance LLC. LOL said crop protection results were down, mainly due to declines in the value of some key products such as glyphosate, inventory carry-over, just-in-time purchasing by customers, and a later growing season.

As for Agriliance, LOL said its investment in the company was $169 million as of June 30, 2009. From Agriliance, LOL recorded $7.2 million of losses for the six months ending June 30, 2009, versus year-ago equity earnings of $3.4 million. LOL said the 2009 results were unfavorably impacted by lower margins on crop nutrients.

As reported earlier, LOL and CHS Inc., the other Agriliance owner, have continued to shed Agriliance assets. In the latest round (GM Aug. 10, p. 13; Aug. 17, p. 9), LOL says it expects to take 34 retail sites over the next several months, while CHS will take nine and Tennessee Farmers Cooperative will take 11.

In the meantime, LOL has given an update on the earlier deal (GM April 13, p. 14) in which nine Agriliance units in Georgia and Mississippi were sold to Agri-AFC LLC, a joint venture between Alabama Farmers Cooperative Inc. and LOL’s own Winfield Solutions LLC. LOL said AFC entered into an operating lease and an asset purchase agreement and immediately began operating the retail locations, purchasing the working capital and primarily inventory associated with the locations for $18.3 million. AFC completed the transaction in July and acquired the property, plant, and equipment located at the sites for $2.9 million in cash.

The J.R. Simplot Co. has signed an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ) regarding cleanup of pollution at its Smoky Canyon Mine, located about 25 miles east of Soda Springs in Southeast Idaho, near the Wyoming border.

The agreement was forged to determine the extent of contamination and any threat to public health, welfare, or the environment caused by the release of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants at or from the mine site by conducting a remedial investigation to prevent, mitigate, or remedy the problem. It also assures Simplot will pay oversight costs incurred by the agencies or Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation.

The agreement stipulates that within 60 days of its effective date, Simplot shall establish and maintain: financial security in the amount of $1.5 million as a surety bond guaranteeing work performance; one or more irrevocable letters of credit equaling the total estimated cost of work; a trust agreement establishing a fund containing the estimated cost of work with terms and conditions acceptable to the Forest Service; and/or a written guarantee to perform the work executed in favor of the Forest Service by one or more parent corporations or subsidiaries or unrelated corporations with a substantial business relationship with Simplot.

Simplot must also secure general liability insurance and make deposits for future response costs with federal agencies and the Shosone-Bannocks.

If Simplot fails to meet the agreement’s requirements, it shall pay penalties of $1,000 per day per violation for the first 14 days of noncompliance, $3,000 per day per violation from the 15^th to 30^th day of noncompliance, and $7,500 per day per violation for the 31^st day of noncompliance and thereafter.

On Aug. 4, U.S. Magistrate Mikel Williams denied a request by environmental groups to impose a permanent injunction that would have blocked the mine’s expansion on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. His ruling gave Simplot authorization to expand onto two parcels before the existing mine’s ore was exhausted.

Since 1984, the open pit mine has supplied about 1.5 million annual tons of phosphate ore to Simplot’s fertilizer plant near Pocatello, Idaho. More than 500 workers are employed at the plant and mine.

“The consent agreement is the latest commitment that Simplot has made to fully investigate and take appropriate action to address selenium releases from historic mining practices,” Simplot spokesman David Cuoio said, noting this is the third agreement that Simplot has entered with the federal government pertaining to Smoky Canyon’s remediation.

Selenium poisoning has killed sheep, horses, and most recently cattle grazing on vegetation near phosphate mines in the region. Selenium, a byproduct of phosphate, can leach and be absorbed by plants. Trace elements can be beneficial as a micronutrient, but larger volumes can be toxic.

“This latest agreement provides for additional investigation of the extent of selenium contamination, the analysis of what risks the selenium presents to the environment, and what actions may be needed,” Cuoio said.

“Simplot continues to pursue actions that reduce the potential for selenium releases into the environment, such as the Pole Canyon overburden project, which addressed the largest potential source of selenium to the environment at Smoky Canyon.”

Under the agreement, parties recognize it has been negotiated in good faith and Simplot’s actions in compliance with it do not constitute an admission of liability. A notice of violation will not be issued, and Simplot does not concede nor waive its right to object to any authority the U.S., IDEQ, or tribes may exert relating to the mine site.

In a January 2003 agreement with the Forest Service, EPA, and IDEQ, Simplot agreed to a site investigation and engineering evaluation at the Smoky Canyon Mine site. In August 2005, the Forest Service accepted Simplot’s plan to divert Pole Canyon Creek around a cross valley fill.

EPA, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services, BLM, IDEQ, and the Shoshone-Bannocks have acted as support agencies since July 2000. The BLM issues and administers mineral leases. Simplot holds five federal phosphate leases and a Forest Service special use permit on the site.

Both the mine and overburden disposal areas are within an area where the tribes assert the right to hunt and fish under the Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868. The agreement does not include private land where Simplot has disposed of tailings from its milling operations associated with the mine. Overburden placed in piles or previously mined parts of a pit contain shale with high levels of selenium and hazardous metals, which have been detected above background concentrations.

Samplings conducted by Simplot, the Forest Service, BLM, contractors, and the University of Idaho indicate selenium and other hazardous substances are being leached from waste rock at the mine site into the environment, impacting vegetation and surface water, the agreement states.

“Surface water data from 2006 and 2007 indicate that the area’s extent of contamination has increased to include South Fork Sage Creek Springs and that the concentration of selenium at Hoopes Springs has been steadily increasing…,” it says.