Calgary-based Sulvaris Inc. on Jan. 28 announced that it has signed definitive agreements for the construction and operation of a new sulfur fertilizer production facility near Rocky Mountain House in west-central Alberta.

The plant, which will be located on the site of a large gas processing facility, will convert elemental sulfur produced by the energy sector into Vitasul, a premium plant nutrient sulfur fertilizer.

Construction of the new facility will take place in 2013, subject to financing and regulatory approvals. Plant capacity is planned at 217,000 mt/y, with production slated to commence in early 2014.

Sulvaris said the Vitasul production process results in extremely fine,10-micron sulfur particles that are pelletized into fertilizer granules with high physical integrity and low dusting tendencies. Upon wetting, the granules quickly disperse into super-fine sulfur particles in the soil. Microbial activity then converts the elemental sulfur to sulfate-form plant nutrient sulfur, Sulvaris says, ensuring consistent plant food availability and quick response throughout the growing season.

“Vitasul is an innovative, high-analysis sulfur fertilizer product unlike anything currently available on the market,” said Bill Boycott, Sulvaris president. The company said the product has consistently outperformed other forms of plant nutrient sulfur in four years of global field trials on a variety of crops.

Sulvaris said a number of factors have led to globally depleted soil levels of sulfur, which is vital in a plant’s production of oil, chlorophyll, and protein, and is critical in the uptake of other key nutrients, including nitrogen. In addition, the placement of excess sulfur has been a long-term challenge for the oil and gas processing industry.

As a result, Sulvaris said its Vitasul technology helps to resolve problems in both the energy and agriculture sectors.

CHS Inc. today announced that it has acquired a crop nutrients river and rail terminal on the Ohio River at Melbourne, Ky.

“This facility will allow us to expand our services to customers in the eastern region through direct access to the river system,” said Cheryl Schmura, CHS vice president of Crop Nutrients. “It will also provide additional storage and rail capabilities that will help us expand our customer base in the region.”

The 60-acre facility, formerly owned by The Mosaic Co., is located at mile 457 on the Ohio River near Cincinnati, Ohio. It includes 27,000 tons of on-site fertilizer storage, barge unloading, and rail and truck loading facilities and equipment. Schmura said CHS will invest in modernizing and upgrading the facility over the next several months. Details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Agrium Inc. announced today that it expects its 2012 fourth quarter earnings to be slightly above $2.00 per diluted share. This estimate excludes hedging gains or losses, share-based payments recovery for the fourth quarter and non-recurring non-operating gains. Agrium’s previously announced fourth quarter earnings guidance was $1.50 to $1.90 per diluted share on a comparable basis.

Agrium said its Retail business unit is expected to generate over $120 million of EBITDA for the fourth quarter which equates to an expected record year of approximately $950 million of EBITDA in 2012. The Wholesale business also continued to generate better than expected results with EBITDA for the fourth quarter and year anticipated to exceed $500-million and $1.9-billion respectively.

“The increase in our estimated financial results is due to a very strong finish to the fall application season in our North American Retail operations, supported by an extended fall season in the U.S. and continued strength in grain and oilseed prices. Going forward, continued strength in crop prices and low global grain inventories are anticipated to support a strong spring application season in 2013,” said Mike Wilson, Agrium president and CEO.

Agrium’s finalized fourth quarter financial statements and audited annual financial results along with a more detailed review of operations and the outlook for our business will be provided on Feb. 22, 2013.

Jana Partners LLC has released some new materials and a new presentation for shareholders in conjunction with meetings Jana and its board nominees are holding this week with shareholders of Agrium Inc. across Canada. As previously reported, Jana, Agrium’s largest shareholder, has put together a slate of five new directors it is seeking to elect to the Agrium board of directors.

“Agrium’s board has been living in an alternate universe where shareholders have no desire to explore the many ways we’ve identified to unlock value,” said Jana Managing Partner Barry Rosenstein. “All along we have been speaking to shareholders and seeing a much different picture, with just about every shareholder we speak to wanting to see a serious discussion of these issues and a large and growing number who support enhancing the board so Agrium can reach its full potential.

Vale S.A. has halted construction indefinitely at its $6 billion Rio Colorado potash project in Argentina. Vale, suffering from a slump in world iron ore prices, has cut back on other projects and sold non-core assets.

Israel Chemicals Ltd. has signed a framework agreement with Chinese customers for the supply of 3.3 million mt of potash over the next three years. According to the terms of the agreements, the potash selling price for each period will be set in accordance with prevailing market prices in China.

Under the framework of the agreements with the Chinese customers, ICL Fertilizers will deliver 660,000 mt of potash during the first half of 2013. The company said that the selling price will be in line with recent deals completed by other suppliers to the Chinese market. Recent business was at $400/mt CFR.

Most of the potash will be produced at Dead Sea Works and exported via Israel’s southern Red Sea port of Eilat, which has become the major transit point for shipments to the Far East. In 2010 ICL Fertilizers instituted a new marketing strategy for the Chinese market to sell directly to fertilizer producers and distributors. “Our growing customer base in the Chinese market, with an expanding basket of potash products sold in significant quantities and the multi-year terms of the contracts, all demonstrate our successful strategy aimed at reinforcing and deepening our positioning in the Chinese market,” said Dani Chen, CEO of ICL Fertilizers.