Perth-Australian mineral exploration firm Redstone Resources Ltd. reports that it has acquired a strategic phosphate exploration project in northern Brazil. Redstone says it has 18 applications for exploration licenses, all of which have been accepted by the Mineral Department of Brazil. The project is located within the main agricultural region of Amazon State, approximately 200 kilometers north of one of the main ag regions in South America ?Çô northern Mato Grosso. The project is bisected by the Trans-Amazon highway. Redstone said that surveys in the 1980s indicated surface phosphorite mineralization between 7-10 percent P205. Earlier this year, Redstone said it acquired a potash exploration project in the Aneba sub-basin in northern Brazil.
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Mountain Capital signs potash letter of intent
Vancouver-Mountain Capital Inc. said June 26 that it has signed a letter of intent with Utah Uranium Corp. (UUC) to option the Ernestina Lake Potash property located in the Province of Alberta, Canada. UUC acquired potash permit applications covering a total of 474,000 contiguous acres in eastern Alberta, on the Saskatchewan border. To date, a total of 19 permits have been received by UUC, covering a total of 355,300 acres. UUC anticipates receipt of the outstanding applications shortly. According to an overview of work conducted by Royal American Petroleums Ltd. in 1966 filed with the Alberta Geological Survey in Mineral Assessment Report (19660009), “The geological strata and basinal effects in the Vermilion area are closely related to the potash-rich areas of Esterhazy, Saskatoon and Unity.”
Brazil’s Vale looks at Cibrafertil
Sao Paulo-Brazilian mining giant Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (Vale) on July 1 responded to rumors in the domestic press to say that it is not in negotiations to acquire Paranapanema SA. However, Vale went on to say that as a normal course of business it is evaluating investment opportunities in Caraiba Metais SA and Cibrafertil – Companhia Brasileira de Fertilizer. Both are controlled by Paranapanema and are undergoing a publicly-announced restructuring process. Vale says that this is only an analysis, and that it has not made an effective proposal to acquire the two companies.
Jacobs to construct sulfur project for Suncor
Pasadena, Calif.-Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. reports that it has received a contract to provide detailed engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services for Suncor Energy’s Voyageur Upgrader near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. Officials did not disclose the contract value. Jacobs will provide EPC services for the sulfur complex of the Suncor Voyageur Upgrader, which is a key component of Suncor’s plan to achieve a targeted production capacity of 550,000 barrels of oil per day by 2012. The Voyageur Upgrader will upgrade bitumen, primarily from the Firebag in-situ site. The new sulfur complex includes two sour water stripper units, one amine unit, three sulfur recovery trains, sulfur degassing, an LT SCOT tail gas treating unit, and a sulfur truck loading terminal. Jacobs will also perform the pipe fabrication and module assembly work at their Edmonton, Alberta, facilities. Jacobs has been a Suncor Supplier of Choice since 2001, performing engineering for the multi-billion dollar Firebag in-situ program and previously completing the EDS phase of the sulfur complex portion of the Voyageur Upgrader Project.
Electricity and fertilizer from corn wastes
Savanna, Ill.-USDA is investing $1 million in a research grant to develop a farm-operated system that would use corn stover to produce electricity, plus an ash containing rich amounts of phosphorus and potash and the ability to convert air-derived nitrogen into fertilizer. “Dr. Peter Schubert, senior R&D director with Packer Engineering of Naperville, Ill., which is joining with N-Ovations of Savanna and Northern Illinois University at DeKalb on the project, told Green Markets the objective is to make the American farmer energy independent by using less foreign petroleum. Others with the two technical firms claim they can have the system, which can operate from a short flatbed, on the market in about three years. Economic development boosters say if successful there could be 10,000 new manufacturing jobs in the area. Schubert said after harvest the stover is gasified to be burned in a micro-turbine to generate electricity. He said the turbine, about the size of a breadbox, operates on the same principle as a jet engine ?Çô it generates heat from the burned gas, which can be used in a variety of farm operations or can be returned to the system to make it more efficient. “What’s left in a process that is very similar to oven cleaning is a dry ash that contains the P and K that was in the original plant material.” he explained. “A farmer can take the ash and put it back in the soil and there’s no net loss of minerals. The 65 KWs of electricity can be used on the farm like a backup generator or can be sold back to the local utility through net metering, which lowers the farmer’s electrical bill. Or part of it can be used to generate artificial lightning to pull nitrous oxide from the air and turn it into nitrogen fertilizer.” Schubert estimated that the cost would be $200,000, but he doesn’t think that would keep farmers from making the investment.
Manitoba bans phos in lawn fertilizers
Winnipeg, Manitoba-Manitoba has become the first province in Canada to enact legislation restricting use of lawn fertilizers containing phosphorus in residential areas, which officials describe as a key step in keeping nutrients out of provincial waterways. Water Stewardship Minister Christine Melnick noted that the government recently eliminated phosphorus from household dishwasher detergent and now “is committed to taking strong action to protect our lakes and rivers for future generations.” She said that following positive public consultations last fall the province is restricting, effective Jan. 1, 2009, the use of lawn fertilizer containing more than one per cent phosphorus. Lawn fertilizers currently sold in Manitoba have phosphorus content as high as 20 per cent. Manitoba’s regulatory change to control fertilizer applications is modeled on similar regulations adopted by Minnesota in 2005, which has resulted in a nearly 50 per cent reduction in phosphorus being applied in fertilizers to lawns in residential areas. Melnick said Manitoba soil already has high phosphorus concentrations, making additional applications in most instances not necessary to maintain a healthy lawn. However, phosphorus would be permitted on a short-term basis for new lawns. Melnick noted the province has initiated discussions with Landscape Manitoba and the Canadian Fertilizer Institute about ensuring consumers will continue to have access to a range of lawn-care products in Manitoba stores. “It is important to recognize the major professional lawn-care companies in Manitoba have already eliminated phosphorus from their fertilizer mixes,” said David Hinton of Landscape Manitoba, a trade association that includes nursery and greenhouse growers, garden centre operators, landscape contractors, sod growers, and landscape maintenance contractors. “We are very pleased to continue to work closely with the Province of Manitoba on this key issue to ensure that others similarly reduce this source of phosphorus to Manitoba’s waterways.” The minister said a public-education campaign will precede the restrictions taking effect.
Pa. court takes its time on biosolids ban
Harrisburg, Pa.-The Pennsylvania attorney general is still awaiting a ruling from the Commonwealth Court challenging the right of East Brunswick Township (Schuylkill County) to prohibit the use of biosolids as fertilizer. The action, taken in October 2007, was prompted by complaints that the township adopted an ordinance in December 2006 contrary to the state’s right to farm act, the nutrient management act, and other farm-related state statutes, according to a spokesman for the AG’s office. “The request for the ordinance review came under Pennsylvania’s Agriculture, Communities and Rural Environment (ACRE) law, which directs the office of attorney general to review local agricultural ordinances based on complaints from farm owners and operators for this office to challenge ordinances that do not comply with state law,” reported Nils Frederiksen, the AG’s deputy press secretary. “This particular case involves local limits on agricultural activities which are more restrictive than state law which is something specifically prohibited by those state laws.” One of the complainants, Jeffrey Hill of J.C. Hill Tree Farm, told Green Markets that he hadn’t heard anything new about the attorney general’s suit. He said he was getting a little impatient about not being able to use biosolids, which has caused an impact on his tree farm. “It makes the trees grow faster,” he remarked, “We can harvest them two years sooner.” Frederiksen said the East Brunswick Township case is currently before Commonwealth Court, located in Harrisburg, which has indicated that it will make a decision on the case based on the briefs that have been filed. But the court has set no timetable for a ruling. Schuylkill County residents lobbied for the biosolids ban after two families each blamed the death of one of their children on the use of biosolids in farm fields and others complained of a range of illnesses. East Brunswick is about 65 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
MDU buys Idaho gas supplier
Boise-MDU Resources Group Inc., a Bismarck, N.D.-based energy, mining, and construction company, will acquire Intermountain Gas Co. – an Idaho-based pipeline utility that has provided natural gas to the J.R. Simplot Co. and Agrium phosphate fertilizer plants in Southeast Idaho – in a cash-for-stock transaction worth $328 million, including debt, pending regulatory approval by the fourth quarter. MDU announced the purchase July 1. Founded in 1955, Intermountain Gas supplies natural gas to about 300,000 Idaho customers in 74 communities and employs about 330 people. MDU is the parent company of Montana-Dakota Utilities, Great Plains Natural Gas Co., and Cascade Natural Gas Corp. MDU said after the deal with Intermountain Gas closes, it will have a customer base of 930,000 in eight states. MDU has operations in 45 states and Brazil, and about 14,500 employees. The company reported a record profit of $431 million in 2007 and an increase in its dividends for the 17th consecutive year. MDU’s electric and natural gas distribution group posted $31.7 million in earnings last year, up from $20.1 million in 2006.
Converted Organics lines up supplier
Boston-Converted Organics Inc. has lined up Brooklyn-based Filco Environmental Services, a waste management firm, to supply food waste materials for processing into organic fertilizer. “Filco is well-suited to provide food waste to our new flagship Woodbridge, N.J. facility, which will soon be operational,” said Jack Walsdorf, CO vice president. “Our technology requires source-separated food waste, and Filco Environmental Services has the client base in the metro New York market to meet this need.” CO plans to sell and distribute its fertilizer products in the retail, turf management, and agribusiness markets.
DuPont, Syngenta announce crop protection deal
Greensboro, N.C.-DuPont Co. and Syngenta AG announced June 24 that they have agreed to a crop protection technology exchange, whereby the two companies will share the costs to prepare the regulatory studies for DuPont’s new broad spectrum insecticide Cyazypyr. The agreement will allow both companies to pursue commercialization opportunities based on the compound. The new pesticide is complementary to DuPont’s Rynaxypyr insect control product, which Syngenta is using in mixtures with its own insect control products. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The agreement also specifies that Syngenta will grant DuPont access to mesotrione, the active ingredient in Callisto, a post-emergence herbicide for corn and sugarcane crops. The two companies said the agreement will broaden each company’s crop protection portfolio and enable them to efficiently bring new products to market. In May, Syngenta also announced a royalty-sharing agreement with Monsanto. In that agreement, Monsanto agreed to receive a royalty-bearing license to Syngenta’s dicamba herbicide tolerance. Syngenta, in turn, will receive a royalty-bearing license to Monsanto’s Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean technology and get more favorable marketing conditions for its Bt11 European corn borer control.