Oslo, Norway-Yara International ASA reported Dec. 17 that its chief financial officer in Asia, Rao Narsimha, was appointed interim managing director of Burrup Fertilisers Ltd. (BFL), replacing Pankaj Oswal. In addition, it said the main financier of BFL has appointed receivers and managers to oversee BFL. The company said receivers and managers have also been appointed over certain shares owned by Pankaj Oswal and Radhika Oswal. These appointments follow default by the company and its financial guarantors, Pankaj Oswal and Radhika Oswal. Yara owns 35 percent of Burrup Holdings Ltd. (BHL). Yara said receivers and managers have not been appointed over any of the shares in BHL owned by Yara. BFL owns and operates an ammonia plant located at the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia with an annual production capacity of approximately 850,000 mt. Yara says the plant has a strong competitive position, and that it will continue to responsively protect its interest as a direct and indirect shareholder in BHL and BFL. Yara said the appointed receivers and managers have stated it will be business as usual while the business is stabilized, and that it appears that the business is solvent and is expected to trade profitably.

Savannah, Ga.-Southern States Chemical Inc. (SSC), a Dulany Industries company, reports that its new Wilbara sulfuric acid plant became operational as of Dec. 15, 2010. Located at 4620 Hwy 421 North in Wilmington, N.C., SSC said Wilbara solidifies SSC’s position as the premier industrial producer/supplier of sulfuric acid on the East Coast. “The addition of the new Wilbara plant exemplifies Southern States Chemical’s commitment to our business, which is providing unsurpassed service, quality, and reliability to our customers,” said Key Compton, SSC president. “With this new plant, we are improving our environmental footprint while dramatically strengthening our overall supply capabilities.” SSC said the new plant, which has a capacity of 220,000 mt/y, produces three times as much as SSC’s existing acid plant in Wilmington while significantly reducing emissions. “I wish to thank all of the contractors, associates, and particularly the various Dulany team members for a job well done! The successful startup of the Wilbara facility represents a remarkable achievement for this company, which was successful only through an extraordinary amount of teamwork and focus by all involved,” said Reed Dulany, Dulany Industries president. Dulany Industries also has ties to dry and liquid bulk warehousing and terminal operations in Savannah, Ga. and Wilmington, N.C. Its other subsidiary is SeaGate Handling, Inc.

Sugar Land, Texas-CVR Partners LP said Dec. 20 that it has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with a proposed initial public offering of its common units representing limited partner interests. The move would raise approximately $200 million. CVR Energy Inc. announced back in November that it again planned to spin off the nitrogen unit as an IPO (GM Nov. 8, 2010). Another attempt was pulled in 2008 (GM June 23, 2008). CVR Partners intends to list its common units on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “UAN.” The number of common units to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined. All of the common units to be sold in this offering (including the common units that may be sold to satisfy the underwriters’ over-allotment option) will be sold by CVR Partners. Morgan Stanley and Barclays Capital will act as joint book-running managers for the proposed offering. The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. Located in Coffeyville, Kansas, CVR Partners LP is a Delaware limited partnership focused primarily on the manufacture of nitrogen fertilizers. The CVR nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing facility is the only operation in North America that uses a petroleum coke gasification process to produce nitrogen fertilizer and includes a 1,225 st/d ammonia unit, a 2,025 st/d UAN unit, and a dual-train gasifier complex having a capacity of 84 million standard cubic feet per day of hydrogen.

Regina, Sask.-BHP Billiton on Dec. 18 submitted the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for its proposed Jansen Potash Project in Saskatchewan to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment (MOE). The project, about 140 kilometers east of Saskatoon, is being designed to produce approximately 8 million mt/y of potash at full capacity, potentially making it the world’s largest potash mine. BHP says the proposed mine will operate for about 70 years and make substantial contributions to the economies of local communities, the province, and Canada. BHP says it has prepared a detailed EIS that assesses potential effects of the Jansen Project and shows how BHP Billiton has designed Jansen to maximize socio-economic opportunities while minimizing environmental effects. The EIS will be released for public comment by the MOE once the document has been reviewed and deemed complete. At present, BHP expects this to occur some time in the first half of 2011. In the meantime, the company said it will continue to proactively engage with the public and share information about the project. “We believe the Jansen Project is a wonderful opportunity for BHP Billiton and Saskatchewan,” said Graham Kerr, president of BHP Billiton Diamonds and Specialty Products. “Jansen is a world class ore body and the project fits our strategy of owning and operating large, long-life, low-cost assets. Jansen is the first and the most advanced of our potash growth options” he added. BHP says drilling has started in preparation for the ground freezing process, which is required to sink the production and service shafts. In total, BHP says it has exploration rights to over approximately 14,500 square kilometers of highly prospective ground in the Saskatchewan potash basin.

Perth, Aust.-Perdaman Chemicals and Fertilisers said Dec. 22 that it has signed a long-term coal supply agreement for up to 2.95 million mt/y for the Perdaman Collie urea project, which is slated to commence in 2014. The deal is with KordaMentha, the administrators of Australia’s financially troubled Griffin Coal, which is being bought by Indian company Lanco Infratec. The Collie project will produce 2 million mt/y of urea for local customers and for export out of the Port of Bunbury.

Henderson, Ky.-The driver suffered multiple injuries, five homes were evacuated, and both lanes of Kentucky 69 were shut down for 6½ hours on Dec. 22 after a semi-truck/trailer loaded with 48,000 pounds of an explosives-grade ammonium nitrate swerved off the highway and tipped over on its side. Kentucky State Police Trooper Corey King said the tanker was transporting ammonium nitrate/fuel oil to an area coal mine when, for an unknown reason, it exited the right shoulder of the road in Ohio County and overturned. King said the five residences were within 2,500 feet of the crash and were voluntarily evacuated as a precaution. It took wreckers all day to pull the tanker from the ditch, but their main concern was making sure there were no chemicals leaking from the truck. “He came down the hill, he’s a loaded truck and he got close to the edge, and his front tire dropped off the shoulder,” Marty Vincent with Midland Power Company told the local press. “I believe the trucking company hauling the load was Memsco trucking in Evansville, Ind., and Armstrong Boot Mine in Cronos, Ky., was the load recipient,” King emailed Green Markets. “The integrity of the ammonium nitrate/fuel mixture was fine. It was usable because there were no escaping contents.” The driver was taken to the hospital, which would not disclose his condition, but a state police report said he had multiple injuries.

New Delhi-State-owned Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (RCF) is looking into the acquisition of a 25 percent stake in Russia’s Acron Group’s new phosphate rock mine for US$366 million, according to the Indian press, which notes this is just due diligence at this point and not a done deal. Acron acquired rights to the reserves, about 500 miles from St. Petersburg, in 2008, and has been pursuing their development ever since. Reserves are put at 62 M mt; RCF told the local press that it is looking at a 50 percent offtake agreement.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil-Vale S.A. said Dec. 20 that it will increase its direct and indirect holdings in Vale Fertilizantes to 99.83 percent of the total common shares and 78.92 percent of the total capital as a result of a public offer to acquire remaining total common shares of Vale Fertilizantes S.A. by its subsidiary Mineração Naque S.A. The public offer started Nov. 18, 2010 when the offering document was published, and ended Dec. 20 with the public auction, which offered a purchase price of R$23.50 for each common share of Vale Fertilizantes. 20,317 common shares were acquired in the auction. The financial settlement was to conclude Dec. 23, 2010.

Toronto, Ont.-The Ontario Court of Appeals has increased the sentences of two members of the “Toronto 18,” arrested in 2006 in a police sting for planning fertilizer bomb attacks on the Toronto Stock Exchange and other locations. The sentence of Saad Khalid, 24, was increased to 20 years imprisonment from the 14 years he received after pleading guilty to one count of intending to cause an explosion that was likely to cause serious bodily harm or death at the direction of or in association with a terrorist group. Saad Gaya, 23, will serve 18 years in prison instead of the 12 years he received on Jan. 18 after pleading guilty to one count of the same charges faced by Khalid. The Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) welcomed the action, saying the appeals court has recognized that terrorism is a global threat to peace and security, and that innocent lives around the world must be protected from terrorists, wherever they are based. “The court clearly stated that Canada is not a safe haven for would-be terrorists, that terrorism is a crime like no other and indicated that individuals who threaten our peaceful and democratic society by plotting to kill innocent citizens for ideological causes will receive sentences that reflect the gravity of their crimes,” the PPSC statement asserted.

San Jose, Calif.-California’s Sixth Appellate District Court has upheld the right of an herb farmer to sue an applicator for pesticides applied near his farm that vaporized and landed on his dill crop. The 32-page ruling filed Dec. 20 affirmed a Superior Court ruling and jury verdict in Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo vs. Western Farm Service supporting the farmer’s rights to sue over inadequate measures taken to prevent the drift of organophosphate pesticides sprayed at a neighboring farm. Western Farm Service, which is now a part of Colorado-based Crop Production Services (CPS), a unit of Agrium Inc., argued that since the company had not run afoul of state law, Jacobs Farm did not have the right to sue. Agrium said it is disappointed by the decision and will review its options.”This was a fair decision that clarified the laws concerning applying pesticides in important ways. The decision confirmed the right of people injured or damaged by pesticide application, whether during spraying or afterwards, to seek remedies in the courts,” said attorney Joel Franklin, who represented Jacobs Farm in the appeal. Agriculture sources said the decision is significant because it strengthens the case for farmers harmed by pesticides to seek legal recourse even if the pesticides are legally applied.