Aurora, N.C.-An employee of a contracting company working to install a pipeline at PotashCorp’s Aurora, N.C., mine was killed Wednesday, March 2, after he was struck by a piece of pipe in the process of being placed. The victim was identified as David Clark, 51, of Chocowinity, N.C. A PotashCorp spokesman said that Clark had been employed by the contractor and was a supervisor at Trader Construction Co. for 25 years. The Mining Safety and Health Administration will conduct an investigation. No additional details were available.

Saskatoon-Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan President and CEO Bill Doyle sent a letter to Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall detailing how the company is delivering on its Oct. 13, 2010, pledge to Saskatchewan. At the time, PotashCorp was in the midst of a takeover attempt by BHP Billiton, which itself was making pledges to the province as to how it would move jobs to the province. PotashCorp says that by March 31, 2011, it will have 11 of its 14 senior executives living and working in Saskatoon. Meeting this pledge involved the relocation or reassignment of five executive positions. The only executives remaining in the Northbrook, Ill., office will be primarily responsible for U.S. phosphate and nitrogen operations, as well as the U.S. sales team. By the end of 2011, PotashCorp expects to have more than 250 people working in the Saskatoon corporate office, up from 209 at the end of 2010. By the end of 2013, it plans to have 300 positions there, a 43 percent increase over last year and nearly double the number of Saskatoon headquarter jobs one decade earlier. Doyle noted that Saskatchewan mine site numbers in 2010 were 2,016, and are expected to increase to 2,528 by 2015. PotashCorp went on to reiterate its commitment to Canpotex Ltd., profit maximization strategies, the development of a strong aboriginal workforce, and a commitment to community programs, with some $10.5 million donated to charities in the province in 2010. Doyle also reaffirmed PotashCorp’s commitment to helping bring mobile air ambulance service to the province, and said it would be making an announcement with more details on this in coming months.

Tel Aviv-Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL) has completed the acquisition of Scotts’ Global Professional division from Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. (GM Dec. 13, 2010). ICL paid $270 million for the global manufacturer of specialty fertilizers, horticultural, and turf products. “The field of specialty fertilizers is a growing area, and Israel Chemicals specialty chemicals activities have received a significant boost from this acquisition,” said Akiva Mozes, ICL CEO. He added that Scotts’ distribution and market capabilities will bring ICL even closer to customers and create optimal synergy for a broad basket of products that the company now has in specialty fertilizers. The deal is expected to double ICL’s specialty fertilizer revenues from the current level of $250 million, or about 10 percent of the company’s total revenues. This will give ICL an estimated 20 percent of the global market.

Oklahoma City-The Pryor nitrogen plant boosted LSB Industries Inc.’s earnings in 2010, as the unit reached sustained anhydrous ammonia production in the fourth quarter ending Dec. 31, 2010. During the quarter it produced 41,000 st of ammonia, most of which was sold, and achieved $17 million in sales and $11 million in operating profit. In the year-ago quarter, while in startup, it incurred an operating loss of $5 million. For the year, Pryor sales were $25 million. In 2009, the facility did not recognize sales. Overall, LSB’s chemical segment, which includes Pryor, reported fourth-quarter operating profit of $19.6 million on sales of $97.2 million, up from a year-ago loss of $369,000 on sales of $53.7 million. Overall, LSB said the chemical unit saw sales volumes increase across all major product lines. Full-year chemical income doubled to $31.9 million on sales of $351.1 million, up from the year-ago $15.1 million on sales of $257.8 million. Company-wide, LSB reported fourth-quarter net income of $18 million ($.79 per diluted share) on sales of $172.1 million, up from the year-ago $38,000 (no EPS) on sales of $115.3 million. Full-year LSB net income was $29.6 million ($1.32 per share) on sales of $609.9 million, compared to the prior year’s $21.6 million ($.96 per share) on sales of $531.8 million. Going forward, LSB says its chemical segment is seeing improved conditions in the industrial market, and indicators point to positive supply and demand for the agricultural market. Orders from LSB’s climate control business have also been up during the past three quarters. LSB said the outlook for its business is very positive, and it is looking forward to improvement in most of its markets in 2011.

Arden Hills, Minn.-Land O’Lakes Inc.’s crop input business, Winfield Solutions LLC, reported $144.8 million in pretax earnings for the year ending Dec. 31, 2010, compared to the prior year’s $136.8 million. Crop input sales for 2010 were $3.7 billion versus the prior year’s $3.3 billion, despite overall devaluation in the category. LOL said volumes were strong across the board, with an increase in crop protection products as well as nearly all seed categories. Company-wide, LOL posted its second-best annual earnings and sales figures. Net earnings attributable to shareholders were $178.1 million on sales of $11.1 billion, compared to 2009’s $209.1 million on sales of $10.4 billion. LOL did report a record high return of $125 million to members. “The economic downturn has created financial stress for many of our members,” said Chris Policinski, LOL president and CEO. “So it’s particularly important that we maintained strong performance and delivered record-high returns. This reflects our commitment to serve our members by delivering substantial value.” LOL said in 2010 it improved its market position in key segments, including crop protection, seed, feed, milk replacers, and some food products. Fourth-quarter LOL earnings were ahead of year-ago levels. They were $74.6 million on sales of $2.8 billion, versus the year-ago $49.3 million on sales of $2.5 billion.

Kilgore, Texas-Martin Midstream Partners LP saw a significant boost to earnings in the fourth quarter ending Dec. 31, 2010, to $6.5 million ($.30 per unit) on sales of $262.1 million, up from the year-ago $1.96 million ($.15 per share) on sales of $200.9 million. Revenues from the company’s sulfur segment, which also includes fertilizer, were $51.1 million, up from $18.6 million. MMLP said the sulfur business rebounded from the seasonal weakness typically seen in the third quarter. It said sulfur experienced a solid pricing recovery based on high demand across agricultural markets both foreign and domestic. It expects this demand for sulfur and sulfur-based fertilizers to remain strong in 2011. Overall, MMLP said the fourth quarter was the best quarter during the year in terms of cash flow generation. For the year, it said all four operating segments met or exceeded planned performance. However, full-year net income was $16 million ($.63 per unit) on sales of $912.1 million, down from the prior year’s $22.2 million ($1.17 per unit) on sales of $662.4 million. Annual sulfur segment revenues, however, doubled to $165.1 million from $79.6 million.

Santiago-Fourth-quarter net income for Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) was up 34.1 percent to $105.8 million ($.40 per share) on sales of $505.7 million, compared to the year-ago $78.9 million ($.30 per share) on sales of $386.5 million. Full-year earnings were up 13 percent to $382.1 million ($1.45 per share) on sales of $1.83 billion, up from the prior year’s $338.3 million ($1.29 per share). “After consistent performance in each quarter of the year, we finished 2010 with solid results,’ said Patricio Contesse, SQM CEO. “We observed strong volumes across all of our product lines as market conditions in all of our business segments surpassed our initial expectations for 2010, moving past 2009 lows. We observed healthy volume recovery that in some cases exceeded pre-crisis levels. In fact, we posted record sales volumes in our iodine and lithium businesses, which reflects the strong fundamentals of our markets.” Fourth-quarter specialty plant nutrition (SPN) revenues were $151.2 million, up from the year-ago $126.6 million. Full-year SPN revenues were $603.7 million, up from $527 million. The potassium chloride/potassium sulfate segment sales surpassed those of SPN in the fourth quarter, to $171.4 million versus the year-ago $112 million. Full-year sales were $528.2 million, up from the year-ago $399.1 million.

Toronto-Sherritt International Corp. reported increased fertilizer revenues for the year ending Dec. 31, 2010, to C$65.8 million with operating costs of $54.1 million, compared to the year-ago $57 million and $53.4 million, respectively. Fertilizer sales volumes were up to 196,090 mt at an average price of $296/mt, versus the prior year’s 157,662 mt and $323/mt. Sherritt cited increased production and demand, saying higher metals production allowed more fertilizer to be produced, and noted that there was an extended acid plant maintenance outage in 2009 that restricted fertilizer production. Fourth-quarter sales were 58,332 mt ($301/mt), versus the year-ago 35,702 mt ($275/mt). Fourth-quarter revenues, unlike annual, were combined with other products, and were $22.3 million versus the year-ago $13.5 million. Company-wide, Sherritt reported fourth-quarter net income of $81 million on sales of $508 million, up from the year-ago $48.3 million on sales of $379.2 million. Full-year net income was $214 million on sales of $1.77 billion, up from $85.7 million on sales of $1.47 billion.