Koch Nitrogen Co. LLC has begun construction on a $10 million state-of-the-art control center building at its fertilizer plant located near Ft. Dodge, Iowa. The project is an upgrade to the current facility and consolidates control center functions, operations and maintenance for the site.

“This new facility will allow us to improve and enhance our current operations with consolidated control activities and an updated office infrastructure,” said Steve Packebush, president of Koch Nitrogen. “Most importantly, it will help us improve our level of responsiveness to our customers in this growing market.”

In addition to housing the plant’s control center, administrative and operations offices, the new facility will also feature a multilevel maintenance shop. The building is expected to be fully operational in early 2014 and will replace the current structure, which will be razed.

Koch Nitrogen is located approximately five miles east of Ft. Dodge and manufactures anhydrous ammonia and UAN fertilizers. The company currently employs about 70 people at the plant and is looking to acquire additional talent, including reliability leader, instrumentation and electrical technician/maintenance personnel. For additional information and to apply for open positions, visit www.kochcareers.com.

The Andersons Inc. announced today it has signed an agreement to purchase a majority of the grain and agronomy assets of Green Plains Grain Company LLC, a subsidiary of Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. The transaction, which remains subject to certain customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

"This will be the largest acquisition in our company’s 65 year history, and will increase the storage capacity of our Grain Group by nearly 30 percent," says CEO Mike Anderson.
"This acquisition aligns with our geographic growth strategy for both our grain and plant nutrient businesses and we expect it will be accretive on a full-year basis in 2013."

The agreement involves the purchase of seven facilities in Iowa and five in Tennessee, with a combined grain storage capacity of about 32 million bushels, 12,000 tons of nutrient storage and more than 130 employees and working capital.

"This acquisition is consistent with our strategy of expanding our footprint into high grain production geographies where we can leverage our core capabilities to serve more customers in diverse trade areas. It enables us to push further to the west and south, increasing our presence in Iowa and entering Tennessee," says Denny Addis, president, Grain Group. "An additional benefit is our ability to now offer agronomy services in a combined manner with our grain business."

Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (PotashCorp) today reported third-quarter earnings of $0.74 per share ($645 million), which compared to $0.94 per share ($826 million) in the same period last year. Earnings for the first nine months reached $1.89 per share ($1.7 billion), a total that trailed the $2.73 per share ($2.4 billion) earned during the same period in 2011.

Third-quarter sales were $2.14 billion, down from $2.32 billion. Nine month sales were $6.28 billion, down from $6.85 billion.

While the company noted a robust performance from its nitrogen sector, as markets prepare for another large grain crop in 2013, international shipments of phosphate and potash were off, with the latter mainly due to delays in inking new contracts with India and China.

The Japanese trading companies Mitsui & Co. Ltd. and Sumitomo Corporation announced that they have canceled an agreement to integrate their fertilizer businesses in Japan. The two companies first announced plans to explore integration in March 2012, but reported on Oct. 24 that both had reached “a conclusion that integration would not yield the benefits that were initially anticipated.”

Under terms of the basic agreement reached last spring, the two Tokyo-based companies were considering the establishment of a new company through a joint incorporation-type company split, allowing a newly-merged company to take over the fertilizer raw materials export and import business of both companies. The two companies also planned to merge Japanese manufacturing and sales subsidiaries Summit Agri-Business Corp. and Mitsui Bussan Agro-Business Co. Ltd., and make it a wholly-owned subsidiary of the newly-merged company.

A business alliance established between Mitsui and Sumitomo in March 2010 involving an overseas fertilizer raw materials import business will continue, however. The companies have also promoted cooperation in areas such as the joint allocation of vessels and logistics. It was the results achieved by this original alliance that led the two companies to explore a broader fertilizer integration.

Agrium Inc. announced today the preliminary results of its substantial issuer bid to repurchase up to C$900,000,000 of its shares. Agrium will take up and pay for approximately 8.72 million common shares at a price of C$103.00 per share under the offer. The shares purchased represent approximately six percent of the shares currently outstanding (undiluted). After giving effect to the repurchase, Agrium will have approximately 149 million shares issued and outstanding.

The purchase price paid per share is expected to be $103.00, a one percent discount to the closing price on the Toronto Stock Exchange of $103.95 on Oct. 19, 2012, the date the bid expired, and a 1.5 percent premium to the volume-weighted average price during the tender period of $101.47.

“The strong shareholder response and resulting successful completion of this significant share repurchase program demonstrates Agrium’s continued commitment to delivering superior shareholder returns. The Substantial Issuer Bid provided a means to return the excess capital from the agreement to sell the minority interest in the Medicine Hat nitrogen facility in a prompt and attractive manner, particularly for those shareholders with a preference for near-term liquidity. Meanwhile, all of our shareholders will continue to enjoy the benefits of our increased dividend and growth in the business,” said Mike Wilson, Agrium President and CEO.

Agrium’s board has also announced its intention to double Agrium’s dividend to U.S.$2.00 per share on an annualized basis and move to a quarterly payment schedule (U.S. $0.50 per quarter), as of the next scheduled dividend in January, 2013.

“This is the third significant increase to our dividend since December of last year. The increased dividend and $900 million substantial issuer bid are an indication of our confidence that our integrated business model will continue to deliver strong results for the benefit of shareholders. Agrium is committed to continuing to deliver value-added growth across the value chain and we remain confident we can achieve our future growth objectives while also continuing to grow our dividend over time,” said Wilson.

Agrium authorized the C$900 million substantial issuer bid on August 2, 2012 in conjunction with Agrium’s agreement for Glencore International plc to sell Viterra Inc.’s minority position in a nitrogen facility located in Medicine Hat, Alberta to CF Industries Holdings, Inc., on Agrium’s behalf, for C$915-million, subject to closing adjustments.
Agrium had agreed to purchase the minority position from Glencore following its acquisition of Viterra. The Medicine Hat nitrogen sales transaction is expected to leave Agrium with surplus capital when completed and is expected to enhance the attractiveness of Agrium’s prior agreement to acquire the majority of Viterra’s agri-retail business.

Agrium says it has been one of the best performing stocks in North America. The company’s share price in U.S. dollars has increased 56 percent year-to-date and by 87 percent over the past three years on the NYSE, versus 14 percent and 31 percent respectively for the S&P 500.

Morgan Stanley Canada Limited and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as dealer managers in connection with the offer in Canada and the United States, respectively, and as financial advisor to Agrium.

Shareholders had the opportunity to tender shares until 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Oct. 19, 2012, by electing an auction tender at a price of their choice between $95.00 and $107.00 per share or, alternatively, by electing a purchase price tender at which they could sell their shares at the purchase price determined by the corporation.

Prospect Global Resources Inc., Denver, and Sichuan Chemical Industry Holding (Group) Co. Ltd., Chengdu, China, today jointly announced a more than $2-billion agreement, over a 10-year period, under which Sichuan will purchase at least 500,000 mt tons of potash annually, or 25 percent of the projected output of Prospect Global’s American West Potash field in Holbrook, AZ.

The conservative deal valuation reflects current market prices of about $475/mt for a total of 5 million mt. The contract is take-or-pay, backed by a letter of credit. The agreement also provides an option for American West to sell and Sichuan Chemical to purchase an additional amount of potash.

The parties said they believe this to be the largest-ever purchase and sale contract – in price and volume – for a potash mine under development in the United States. It is also believed to be one of the largest potash export contracts in U.S. history.

Prospect Global believes that this bankable offtake agreement enhances the attractiveness of the project to lenders. The current timetable calls for the American West site to be in production by late 2015 or early 2016.

Pat Avery, Chief Executive Officer of Prospect Global, said: "This agreement is a major vote of confidence both in the long-term potential of our American West Potash site as a mineral resource and in Prospect Global’s ability to create a state-of-the-art mining operation to capitalize on that potential. Bankable offtake contracts are a top priority in our detailed strategic plan, and we continue to execute on key drivers."

From the perspective of Sichuan Chemical, a state-owned enterprise that is one of China’s largest fertilizer manufacturers and its third-largest chemical company, the accord provides a large – and independent – new source of a commodity that is critical to meeting the challenge of feeding the world’s largest nation. This year’s record drought in North America and Europe has cut grain harvests, squeezing global food reserves and raising prices. In that context, obtaining dependable supplies of potash, which raises agricultural productivity without depleting soil nutrients, is vital to China’s food security.

Xiaojun Chen, Chairman of Sichuan Chemical, said: "This agreement with Prospect Global has important long-term strategic benefits for Sichuan Chemical and also will make a significant contribution to the economic development of Sichuan Province and the Chinese potash industry. We are honored to work with Prospect Global and look forward to a prosperous future."

Devon Archer, a Prospect Global director who acted as Prospect Global’s lead negotiator, commented: "Today’s agreement is the product of six months of negotiation and due diligence carried out in China and the United States. That process has resulted in a high level of trust and respect on the part of both parties. As we look forward to a long relationship with Sichuan Chemical, we are proud of the role that Prospect Global can play in helping to bring food security to China while meaningfully impacting the US/China trade balance over the next decade."

The American West Potash field is located in the Holbrook Basin of eastern Arizona. A new interim engineering report by the international engineering firm of Tetra Tech Inc. shows Prospect Global to be on track to meet key targets within previous expectations as to capital and operating expenses, infrastructure, permitting, and site plan for its American West Potash project in Holbrook. Prospect Global’s next major developmental step is a bankable feasibility study, scheduled for the first half of 2013. Further information on Prospect Global’s estimated potash reserves can be found at www.prospectGRI.com.

Once the mine is in production, it will create an estimated 700 U.S. domestic jobs in