Vancouver-Potash One Inc. reports that it has completed a non-brokered equity private placement of 4.15 million units at a price of $2.65 per unit for net proceeds of $10,997,500. A total of 206,250 units, representing 5 percent of certain subscriptions, were issued to certain finders for introducing the subscribers to the company. The proceeds from the placement will be used to expedite the development of the company’s Legacy Potash Project in Saskatchewan and for general corporate purposes.
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Anglo pleased with potash study results
Calgary-Anglo Minerals Ltd. announced Jan. 10 that it is pleased with the results of data it has received from its most recent seismic report, the 2D seismic survey conducted in the fall of 2007. It was done on behalf of the Saskatchewan Potash Joint Venture formed between Anglo (25 percent) and BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc. (75 percent) to pursue the development of a greenfield potash mine in Saskatchewan. The data was gathered over a distance of approximately 1,425 kilometres, making it one of the largest seismic programs of its kind ever conducted in Western Canada. “We were very pleased with the quantity and quality of information obtained through the seismic program,” said Todd Montgomery, Anglo president. “The data supports our geological modeling. Basically, after reviewing the seismic interpretation, the jv has increased its area of primary interest as the seismic data indicates that the potash resource may possibly be larger and more contiguous than originally thought. We like what we’ve seen so far, and feel positive about the prospects for both our project and the potash markets in general. We’ll know more once we’ve completed the 3D program.” On Nov. 1, 2007, the jv initiated a follow-up 3D seismic program that is expected to cover approximately 419 square kilometers over the expanded focus area of the jv in central Saskatchewan. The 3D seismic program is to be conducted at an anticipated cost of approximately US$16 million.
Athabasca Potash closes on over-allotment
Saskatoon-Athabasca Potash Inc. said Jan. 10 that in connection with the initial public offering of Athabasca on Dec. 13, 2007, the over-allotment option of 1,521,000 common shares from treasury, pursuant to the exercise of the over-allotment option at a price of C$4.25 per share for gross proceeds of C$6,464,250, has closed. Genuity Capital Markets and National Bank Financial Inc. co-led the underwriting syndicate, which also included TD Securities Inc., Wellington West Capital Markets Inc., and Research Capital Corporation. Athabasca intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to complete an exploration program, a scoping study, and a pre-feasibility study on its wholly-owned Burr project property, located in Saskatchewan, to acquire additional free-hold mineral and surface land property, to fund permit maintenance payments, and to fund exploration programs on its additional properties. Athabasca says it was founded with a goal of establishing itself as a pre-eminent Canadian public company engaged solely in potash exploration and development, and to provide its shareholders with a unique investment opportunity focused entirely on potash.
PhosCan announces winter drill program
Toronto-PhosCan Chemical Corp. and Baltic Resources Inc., joint partners in the Martison Phosphate Project in Heart, Ont., have announced a $6.5 million, 80 hole drilling program at some 60 locations, focused on moving the project towards a bankable feasibility study. They plan to immediately commence the feasibility study upon completion of the pre-feasibility study, which is expected by early March 2008. Phosphate rock from the winter program pilot plant testing will be used in phosphoric acid and fertilizer manufacturing testing and process refinement. PhosCan has also announced that it has entered into a pre-mining exploration agreement with the Constance Lake First Nation, which claims traditional lands rights on property where the Martison project is located. In other news, PhosCan and Baltic expect to complete their merger of their ownership in Martison in early March.
Garbage-to-fertilizer plant gets Nebraska nod
Hampton, Neb.-Hamilton County planning officials say they have no objections to plans for a recycling facility to be located in an existing building in Hampton that uses acid to turn waste now being hauled to the dump into fertilizer for area farmers. Zoning Administrator Darla Svoboda told Green Markets that William Shirley, president of S/R Waste Recovery Systems, meets all the standards required by the county, including containment of sulfuric acid used in the process, and “as far as we’re concerned is able to go ahead with his facility.” Svoboda said Shirley made a presentation recently to the planning commission and is working with Hampton officials to start moving into his new location by February. Shirley, who plans to move processing equipment from his pilot plant in Des Moines, Iowa, told Green Markets he wants to be in operation in four or five months. Still, there are those in the community who are concerned because the recycling involves 25,000 gallons of sulfuric acid, even though Shirley reassured the county planners it would be kept in a double-walled containment meeting OSHA and EPA requirements and that there will be no odors or noise. Shirley said he also is working on plans to expand in Nebraska and move into Kansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. He declines specifics about his process, but said garbage, including normal food wastes and any kind of cellulose, is mixed with a reagent, which includes the acid and small amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash. “The process deteriorates the trash in a matter of seconds and causes the mixture to encapsulate the ingredients to give us a slow-release fertilizer,” he explained. He noted that studies at Texas A&M and Penn State showed that his fertilizer is non-water soluble, and because of the slow release requires a third less nitrogen than 25 other brands used for comparison. “We’ll be doing a service for a lot of city landfills who want to do away with the waste,” Shirley boasted. “And we can produce a fertilizer with five basic elements, including sulfur, for $500/ton.”
Objections delay turkey litter fertilizer plant
Turnerville, Ga.-Plans are still waiting on local approvals for a processing plant to turn chicken litter into a pelletized fertilizer to be used by farmers in the south Georgia area on row crops, according to developers. The prime mover, Eddie Addison, told Green Markets he hopes to be in operation by late spring, producing nearly 30 truckloads daily and as much as 750,000 tons per year from litter supplied by several area poultry producers. “It’s all a very simple closed system that produces no odors while generating a 2-2-2 fertilizer,” Addison explained. He said a large cattle feeder would be used to combine the litter with waste fats from the poultry processing. Right now, he noted, this byproduct is an environmental problem because it is being disposed of by injecting it into the ground. He said EPA, USDA, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources have endorsed the process, and the Habersham County planning board agrees that his project is viable. But the officials put their final decision on hold, even though the building and planning department recommended approval of a conditional use permit requiring vegetative and “sight and sound” buffers. There are objections from approximately 10 residents, some of whom Addison said don’t even live close to the proposed site. Addison has the support of Fieldale Farms Corp., which has provided a site where the plant would be built to house the mixing facilities, and whose executive vice president, Joe Hatfield, is a partner in the proposed business and also on the state natural resources board of directors. If the business has an operation miscue, “if we stub our toe, we’ll be front-page news in Atlanta,” Hatfield promised.
Want more gas or oil? Just toss in fertilizer
Golden, Colo.-Feeding fertilizer or other nutrients to anaerobic microbes existing in energy reserves deep beneath the surface of the earth can shorten the centuries-long process of turning oil or coal into methane to years or perhaps even months or weeks, according to scientists in the U.S. and Canada. Researchers at the University of Calgary were in the news recently because of their search for a quicker way to improve recovery from Canada’s heavy oil and tar sands fields, which contain 175 billion barrels of oil. “We’ve got a process that naturally turns oil into natural gas,” said Steve Larter, the petroleum geologist who is leading the research at the University of Calgary. “Why not speed up the process by just lobbing in some fertilizer. You’d basically feed them Miracle-Gro or fertilizer to accelerate their growth rate.” At this point, the Canadian concept hasn’t been tested on a large scale, but the Calgary researchers hope to be working on that in 2009. Here in the U.S., Luca Technologies, located in Golden, has been working much longer on the technology and has advanced to where Luca officials are talking about producing methane sooner, not later. Luca has been doing field testing of microbe stimulation, mainly in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. “The results from these studies are so encouraging that we believe a commercial process is in the not too distant future,” said Mark Finklestein, Luca vice president of biosciences. Finklestein told Green Markets Luca doesn’t use fertilizer per say, but agreed that the term is correctly applied in a general sense. He said the makeup of the Luca amendments is proprietary, but disclosed that “certainly nitrogen and phosphorus are two key ingredients in stimulating microbes to work faster.” Eventually, he indicated, Luca’s needs for such nutrients could run into the tons. He said most of Luca’s research has focused on coalbed methane, but the technology is equally applicable to shale or other coal or oil deposits as a “greener, more sustainable approach to solving some of our energy problems.” These efforts have attracted interest from chemical giant BASF, venture capitalists Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, Oxford Bioscience, and others who now hold a minority interest in the company.
Organic Growing adds Florida distributor
Alpharetta, Ga.-Organic Growing Systems Inc., manufacturer of a full line of organic fertilizers, has signed up with Florida Mulch, Inc. as a major Florida distributor and shipped its first order of two truckloads – or 44 tons – in early January, according to parent company Advanced Growing Systems Inc.. Florida Mulch Sales and Marketing Director Michael McGilvary said Organic Growing’s 4-2-2 pelletized fertilizer “is the best and safest non-burning non-leaching fertilizer we have found thus far in 30 years.” He added, “Our goal is $2 million in new fertilizer sales. The response is something I have never seen before and our orders are laying the road to success.” Florida Mulch, founded in 1978 and based in St. Cloud, Fla., is a wood mulch production company that produces and sells natural cypress mulch, pine bark mulch, environmental, and color-enhanced mulches.
Virginia litter regs concern ag interests
Richmond, Va.-Agriculture interests are concerned that the state’s plans to tighten regulations covering use of poultry litter could lead to more restrictions on other crop nutrients and fertilizers. “We believe the proposed amendments are unnecessary and precedent-setting for the majority of Virginia farmers,” declared Wilmer Stoneman, Virginia Farm Bureau Federation’s associate director of governmental relations. “They are the first step toward requiring all farmers to obtain a permit before purchasing and applying crop nutrients and fertilizers.” Proposed amendments would require purchasers of poultry litter to provide soil samples indicating a need for fertilizer, as well as details of their nutrient management plans that describe the application site and timing and litter storage procedures. Permits would be required for anyone utilizing more than 10 tons of litter. Use of poultry litter – manure and materials such as sawdust, collected from commercial poultry houses – for fertilizer is not an uncommon practice on Virginia farms. Current state laws and regulations require permits for any operation that produces more than 20,000 chickens or 11,000 turkeys. Those requirements, intended to protect water quality, cover nutrient management plan implementation, waste storage and handling, and tracking or accounting for transfers of litter to brokers and end users. End users receive an analysis of their litter’s soil nutrient content and a fact sheet that provides application and storage information. ZIP Code and watershed information is tracked for each poultry litter transaction. “We believe that the current regulations sufficiently address the state’s concerns related to protecting water quality,” Stoneman said. “At the time that they were adopted, it was understood that it’s important to move as much poultry litter from poultry farms to other farmers as possible. It’s a recurring byproduct, and over-regulating the people who need it will serve to strand more and more litter on the farms where it is produced. There is little or no evidence that shows end users are using litter in a manner that causes water pollution. Generally speaking, farmers don’t waste things they pay for, and this is no exception.” Stoneman also said the Farm Bureau has concerns about the proposed regulations exposing poultry growers to liability for the actions of a litter purchaser. He said Farm Bureau members and others are being urged to voice their objections to the State Water Control Board and the Virginia Dept. of Environmental Quality before Jan. 12.
ICL to produce fire retardants in China
Beer Sheva, Israel-ICL Industrial Products has announced plans to produce Fyrol PCF [Tris (2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate – TCCP] and Fyroflex BDP [Bisphenol A bis (diphenyl phosphate)] at the ICL-IP plant in Zhapu Industrial Park, China. Both are phosphorus-based flame retardants. The production of both is scheduled to come on-stream by the end of 2008. At the first stage the plant is designed to produce 10,000 mt/y of each of these products.