Moscow-Uralchem OJSC, one of the largest producers of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers in Russia and the CIS, has closed a deal to acquire 71.72 percent of voting shares in Voskresensk Mineral Fertilizers OJSC (VMF), Voskresensk, Moscow region, from their shareholders ?Çô a number of foreign and Russian companies. The deal amounted to US$358.6 million. The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service approved the share purchase on May 30, 2008. VMF is one of the top four Russian producers of phosphate fertilizers. The plant has annual production capacities of 750,000 mt of mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP) and di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), 200,000 mt of ammonia, 320,000 mt of phosphoric acid, and 1,050,000 mt of sulfuric acid. In 2007 VMF produced approximately 320,000 mt of MAP, 260,000 mt of DAP, 175,000 mt of ammonia, 300,000 mt of phosphoric acid, and 900,000 mt of sulfuric acid. Apatite is the key feedstock used in the plant’s production. VMF has a long-term agreement for 865,000 mt of apatite per year up to 2010. Uralchem said the acquisition of a controlling stake in VMF will allow it to “diversify its development and become one of the largest players not only on the Russian nitrogen fertilizer market, but also on the Russian phosphate fertilizer market.” Dmitry Osipov, Uralchem CEO, said the company plans to increase capacities for MAP and DAP as part of the integration of VMF into Uralchem’s production chain. It will do this by utilizing its own phosphate rock and by completing the industrial development of phosphate deposits in the Kirov region. Osipov noted as well that VMF’s sulfuric acid production capacity will be used to manufacture new products such as ammonium sulfate-nitrate (ASN), and will allow the company to revise its plans to construct additional facilities at other sites. “The existing infrastructure and favorable proximity to target markets provide the opportunity to install innovative thermo-technology production units for phosphoric acid (feedstock for the production of MAP and DAP) at VMF at the volume of up to 130,000 mt per year,” the company said. Osipov also noted the favorable market conditions for basic phosphate fertilizers; as of June 1, prices for DAP and MAP reached levels of US$1,160-1,200/mt FOB Baltics.
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Canasia gets option on 450,000 acres of K claims
Vancouver-Canasia Industries Corporation, another Canadian company dipping its toes in the potash market, announced last week that it had received government approval for potash permit applications that encompass 453,058 acres of land located on the Saskatchewan/Alberta border. “This is fabulous news,” said Graeme Sewell, a director of the company. “Canasia may be one of the smallest capitalized public companies that have exposure to government approved potash claims. This may offer the shareholders tremendous leverage into a fast growing sector. When you also factor in our gold/copper upcoming summer drill programs and our potential coal claims, Canasia has exposure to multiple prospects that alone may offer significant shareholder value. The summer is going to be an extremely active period of potential corporate growth for Canasia.” A work program on the potash permit area will now be formulated with the goal of establishing a NI 43-101 compliant report in the near future, the company said. In February, Canasia announced that it had signed on option agreement to acquire a 100 percent interest, subject to regulatory approval, in the Eyehill Creek Potash Property, which consists of 20 Metallic and Industrial Minerals Permit Applications located in east-central Alberta along the Saskatchewan border. The company at that time said that it believed there was potential for the discovery of “significant potash occurrences within the Eyehill Creek Property.”
Western Potash granted K permits in Saskatchewan
Vancouver-Western Potash Corp. announced June 4 that it has been granted its first potash permits in southeastern Saskatchewan by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy. The three contiguous permits ?Çô KP-407, KP-408, and KP-409 ?Çô comprise a total of 123,948 acres, and are immediately adjacent to potash permits held by BHP-Billiton, Kennecott Canada Exploration, and Potash One. The three permits are located approximately 30 kilometers south and southeast of Regina, and to the southeast of the Mosaic Company’s Belle Plaine KL-106-R mining lease. The company says it intends to “define and develop a world-class potash deposit in an ecologically sustainable, economically efficient and socially responsible manner.”
Climate change bill could be costly to farmers
Washington, D.C.-The Lieberman-Warner climate change legislation, which would mandate greenhouse gas reductions in agriculture and other segments of the economy, could add another $6 billion to $12 billion to the cost of doing business for U.S. farmers, according to a study conducted recently for The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) by Doane Advisory Services. Citing the Doane analysis of what is officially known as S3036 America’s Climate Security Act, TFI President Ford B. West said, “Despite having experienced the largest operating price increases in history during the last seven years, farmers may be in for a surprise when they learn of the impact this legislation would have on their bottom lines. While some growers may have an opportunity to receive payments for sequestering carbon if they use specific farming practices, the costs of this legislation appear to far outweigh any potential benefits.” West added, “The better something than nothing attitude that seems to have ruled the climate change debate up until now needs to be replaced by a measured look at solutions that do not threaten such a vital sector of the economy. Particularly, as the world experiences a food crisis, it is important that steps to control climate change do not penalize farmers in the world’s most efficient food production system.” American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Bob Stallman commended TFI for undertaking this important study on climate change, which he said could not come at a more critical time with Congress about to take up the climate change bill. Stallman added, “This study is very helpful to Farm Bureau in assessing the impacts on our producers.” Congressional observers doubt there will be any action this session even though the Senate voted June 2 to proceed to the bill. Republican opponents gearing for a fight likely will delay any final decision for the next Congress and new President.
Agrium uses grant to hire more workers at Conda
Calgary-Agrium Inc. has hired 17 employees at its Conda phosphate fertilizer plant near Soda Springs as the result of a $51,000 grant from Idaho’s Workforce Development Training Fund, bringing its total employment at the site to about 280. The money will be used to train the workers in operations, plant maintenance, and engineering. The new jobs pay nearly $24 on average, plus health care and other benefits. The average wage in Caribou County, where Agrium is one of the largest employers, was just under $20 an hour in 2007. Erik Vettergren, Conda plant manager since mid-May, said Agrium started the process of applying for the funds early this year after an onsite training coordinator read about the state money’s availability. He said the 17 jobs are intended to be permanent. The vast majority of the new hires are from Southeast Idaho, including Soda Springs, Pocatello, McCammon, and Lava Hot Springs. “We’re happy we’re in a position to do this. It’s a long-term investment and wonderful opportunity,” said Vettergren, who previously worked as Conda production manager since October. Because of increased fertilizer demand, it’s a very good time to be hiring additional workers, he said. Agrium owns the Dry Valley and North Rasmussen Ridge phosphate mines that supply the Conda plant. The Dry Valley Mine is running at full capacity. Agrium plans to boost production at the North Rasmussen Ridge Mine. The Conda plant is now undergoing its annual turnaround. The Idaho Workforce Development Training Fund provides employers with up to $3,000 per employee to finance suitable training for each new worker. The fund is supported by Idaho’s 50,000 employers with 3 percent of their unemployment insurance taxes. Employers benefiting from the training subsidy must pay the new workers at least $12 an hour and provide employer-assisted health care. Over the past 13 years, the fund has provided training assistance to more than 150 businesses for more than 19,000 employees. In the nearly two years since the $12 minimum starting wage was required, the average wage for workers receiving training under the program has been $15.40 an hour. “The Workforce Development Training Fund has been the best economic development incentive our state has ever developed,” said Leandra Burns, Idaho Department of Labor business services manager. “This program has influenced scores of businesses to expand or locate in Idaho and provided thousands of workers with the training they needed to get better jobs with bigger paychecks.”
Agrium fined for Vanscoy mine accident
Calgary-Agrium Inc. on June 4 pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to provide a safe workplace, and has been fined $180,000 for a 2006 accident at its Vanscoy potash mine that left one employee paralyzed. The Saskatoon provincial court stayed nine other charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and in a joint submission to the court, Agrium and the Crown agreed to one guilty plea and the fine. The 2006 accident occurred when 29-year-old employee Paul Goddard was crushed by 900 kilograms of rock while working underground. Goddard suffered a broken spinal cord and severely broken arms, and spent nearly five months in the hospital. Kelly Reynolds, president of the United Steelworkers Local 7552, was quoted in the local press as saying the company had been warned by the union about failing to provide proper training to young miners, and called the accident “foreseeable, predictable and preventable.” Tom Diment, general manager of the Vanscoy mine, said the company concluded in its own investigation that it could have done more, and said additional safety training and technology has been added since the accident. Diment also said Goddard has a job at Agrium if he chooses to come back to the company. “It was in our interest all along to bring a timely and satisfying resolution to this,” Diment was quoted as saying. “It has been very hard on our organization and on Paul and we weren’t interested in dragging this out any longer.”<
Pollution charges threaten MagnaGro
Lawrence, Kan.-The general manager of a small fertilizer blending plant that has operated in Lawrence, Kan., for nearly 20 years is determined to fight federal water pollution control charges that could mean a $750,000 fine for both himself and the business and up to three years in prison. “When it’s all said and done I am confident that we will land on our feet,” said Raymond Sawyer, the head of MagnaGro International Inc., who has been indicted in federal court with unlawfully discharging waste from a fertilizer manufacturing operation into the Lawrence sewer system. According to press reports, the charges stem from an incident in which water from a waste pit surrounding a fertilizer mixing vat was pumped into a toilet stool. But Sawyer insists that his operations, which mainly involve blending water soluble fertilizers and organic products, never discharged bulk material into the city system. “We have always discharged our wash water or cleanup water but we have never blatantly discharged any mass amount or other material,” Sawyer said. “The city has taken water samples consistently and we have never been out of compliance. Anything that was problematical we saved and used it in another product.” In September 2007, EPA criminal investigation agents showed up with a search warrant. “Now I’m trying to sell each of the pieces and parts of the business,” Sawyer told Green Markets. “We’re winding down operations and won’t exist as of July.” Over the years, Sawyer has developed 56 different liquid blends, some of which he compares with Scott’s MiracleGro, and organic fertilizers along with specialty products including humic acid, calcium, and fermented molasses. He also used to buy urea for a starter fertilizer, which he supplied to crop producers. In the final analysis, he believes the city has bigger plans for the area where he’s been operating since 1990. “An operation like ours doesn’t fit into their plans,” he reasoned. “The city of Lawrence wants us out of there.” Since the federal charges were filed, Sawyer reported, the city “without any due process turned off our water and sewer, forcing us to haul in water.” For a time he hauled in water to fill a storage tank, but realized that he was now in a position where it would be a safety risk to continue operating. “I don’t believe we’re guilty of anything,” Sawyer maintains. His advice to others operating a “ma and pa” business is to “get expert help and stay out of trouble.”
Simplot founder remembered
Boise, Idaho-An estimated 2,000 Idahoans paid tribute to J.R. Simplot, the state’s wealthiest resident and the nation’s oldest billionaire, at a special multimedia memorial at the Qwest Arena in Boise on Sunday, June 1. Simplot was 99 when he died at his condominium the previous Sunday, seven months shy of turning 100. The Simplot family paid for all the parking garage spaces that day in downtown Boise to enable the public to attend the memorial. After accidentally discovering the benefits of using fertilizer to grow potatoes during the Great Depression and shipping potatoes and onions to U.S. troops during World War II, Simplot built an agribusiness conglomerate based on phosphate fertilizer mining and production, cattle feedlots, and food processing, whose annual revenues approach $4 billion. He also invested more than $20 million to start and maintain Micron Technology, a Boise-based computer memory chip manufacturer that is Idaho’s largest private employer and taxpayer. Scott Simplot, a son who was named chairman of the J.R. Simplot Company on June 2, said his father’s estate will be divided among heirs, the Internal Revenue Service, and the J.R. Simplot Foundation, which has assets of $135 million, making it Idaho’s second largest charitable institution. Scott Simplot is only the second chairman of the company. J.R. Simplot stepped down as chairman in 1994, when three of his children and a grandchild shared the chairmanship. The Simplot family may develop a few blocks in downtown Boise into a Simplot Agriculture Museum to display J.R. Simplot’s multi-million-dollar collection of antique farm equipment as a tribute to Idaho’s agricultural roots. Twenty-seven McDonald’s fast food outlets in the Treasure Valley gave away free french fries on Monday, June 2, in honor of Simplot, who pioneered frozen french fries and provided McDonald’s with most of its fries. The Simplot family said it does not know what happened to J.R. Simplot’s signature cowboy hat that was included in a floral centerpiece on stage at the memorial. It disappeared after the service. He is survived by his wife, four children, 18 grandchildren, 25 great grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild, born a few weeks before his death.
Court approves acquisition of Dyno Nobel
North Sydney-The Supreme Court of Victoria on May 30, 2008, approved Incitec Pivot Holdings Pty Ltd.’s plans to acquire Dyno Nobel Ltd. As a result, the deal will proceed and Dyno Nobel’s shares on the Australian Stock Exchange were expected to stop trading at the close of the day June 2. Dyno Nobel shareholders overwhelmingly approved the deal May 22.
Study with biosolids and lead stirs uproar
Beltsville, Md.-A USDA scientist is debunking newspaper reports that biosolid fertilizer used to inactivate lead in lawns put poor neighborhoods in Baltimore at risk without their knowledge. “The reporter has joined with a group of anti-biosolids zealots to stir up trouble,” responded Dr. Rufus Chaney, a research agronomist at Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. “I think any careful examination of the facts will show that we made all needed disclosures to the cooperating families, and the treatments of their lawns significantly reduced soil lead risk to the community.” But Chaney’s rebuttal apparently isn’t changing the mind of Sen. Barbara Boxer, who is determined to hold hearings before the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee, which she heads as chairman. A spokesman for the committee, who asked not to be identified, told Green Markets that Boxer, D-Calif., is going ahead with the hearings “later this spring or at least by summer” into government funding of the studies that put biosolids on the lawns of East Baltimore rowhouses and a vacant lot near a school in East St. Louis, Ill. The study, by researchers with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, apparently was aimed at reducing or eliminating the threat of lead poisoning for neighborhood youngsters. There also were reports that the Maryland NAACP is pressing for a federal or state criminal investigation. Chaney, who is renowned worldwide for developing safe, environmentally friendly techniques to remove trace elements of heavy metals from contaminated soils so that they can’t move into food crops, asserted, “I am concerned that such deliberate anti-biosolids reporting which ignores the science that is being criticized needs to be challenged. We applied Class A biosolids compost from Baltimore, a high-quality soil conditioner product available for sale for all home and garden uses in the region. And the soil treatments did substantially reduce the risk to children from lead in those soils.” He said the yards were chosen because of the high concentration of lead found in poor, African-American neighborhoods where families couldn’t afford the cost of cleaning up the soils. The families all volunteered to be part of the study and were fully informed of every aspect of the research, according to Chaney.