Uralkali today said in connection with the latest media reports, that the company is pointing out that one of the major tasks at the current stage of liquidation of the accident at Solikamsk-2 mine is the possibility of backfilling the worked out areas of the mine with halite waste. Currently, said Uralkali, there is no discussion of the launch of full or partial production in the mine.

“We are discussing with the Federal Service for Ecological, Technological and Nuclear Inspectorate (Rostechnadzor) the possibility to launch the western part of the underground mine complex in order to start the backfilling of areas, which can be considered potentially hazardous by specialists,” said Dmitry Osipov, Uralkali CEO.

Earlier media reports suggested that Uralkali was in discussions to restart production at half of the mine. The governor of the Perm region was also being quoted as saying there was now practically no inflow at the mine.

Russian potash producer Uralkali reported on Nov. 19 that a 30-40 meter sinkhole has been detected to the east of its Solikamsk-2 production site. Uralkali suspended all work at the Solikamsk-2 mine and evacuated personnel to above-ground on Nov. 18 after higher levels of brine inflow were detected at the mine.

Uralkali said the sinkhole is located outside of the Solikamsk metropolitan area, but access to the site has been prohibited “to ensure safety in the area of potential soil subsidence.” Uralkali’s Solikamsk-2 mine is adjacent to its Solikamsk-1 mine, and the company said it continues to closely monitor both minefields.

“The company continues to work closely with the relevant state authorities and scientific experts,” said Uralkali CEO Dmitry Osipov. “The accident is not catastrophic to the company’s operations or people living in the area. The impact is being localized and we have a clear plan to tackle the situation promptly. We will take all necessary measures to minimize the impact of the incident on the company, our investors, partners, and the inhabitants of Solikamsk and the surrounding area. At the same time, we will consider the possibility of bringing forward the commissioning of new mining capacities at Ust-Yayvinsky and Polovodovsky blocks.”

Uralkali has five mines and seven ore-treatment mills near the Russian cities of Berezniki and Solikamsk. The Solikamsk-2 mine has annual capacity of approximately 2.3 million mt, or roughly 3 percent of global capacity for 2014. Solikamsk-1 reportedly has 1 million mt/y of production capacity. Uralkali’s total capacity is approximately 13 million mt/y, and the company has been running at 90 percent utilization this year.

Uralkali has been plagued in the past by sinkholes and flooding that swallowed rail lines and damaged mines. The company’s Mine-1 near Berezniki was flooded in 2006 (GM Oct. 30, 2006), and a sinkhole in 2010 affected a railroad spur near Berezniki and swallowed at least one potash railcar (GM Dec. 6, 2010). Just this summer (GM Aug. 25, p. 12), residents of at least 11 houses in Berezniki were evacuated due to increasing subsidence or sinking. The city said then that there was risk of a sinkhole forming in 2015 should the pace of soil movements continue.

Alexander Baryakh, general director of the Mining Institute of the Urals Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, said the site of the current inflow overlaps with the site of an incident that occurred at Silvinit Solikamsk-2 on Jan. 5, 1995. “This enables us to conclude that the 1995 accident and its consequences are directly linked to the accident on Nov. 18,” Baryakh said. “There is currently no threat to the surrounding populated areas.”

Russian potash producer Uralkali announced on Nov. 18 that it has suspended all work at its Solikamsk-2 potash mine in Russia’s Perm Region after detecting higher levels of brine inflow at the site. The company has introduced an emergency plan and evacuated personnel to above ground. The concentration and volumes of brine inflow are being closely monitored, and Uralkali has informed the relevant state authorities about the incident.

Uralkali said its other facilities continue to operate as normal. Uralkali has five mines and seven ore-treatment mills in the Russian cities of Berezniki and Solikamsk. The company employs approximately 11,300 in its main production unit.

Industry analysts speculated that a permanent loss of the mine could impact global oversupply and push potash prices higher. The Solikamsk-2 mine has annual capacity of approximately 2.3 million mt, or roughly 3 percent of global capacity for 2014. Uralkali’s total capacity is approximately 13 million mt/y, and the company has been running at 90 percent utilization this year.

Sources report that TCP disqualified the offer by Dan Moody Investments of Hong Kong in the last of four tenders that closed last week. According to industry watchers, the Dan Moody Investment tender of $312.22/mt CFR was disqualified or refused because the company was missing some paperwork demanded by TCP. The second place company in the tender was Dreymoor at $316.79/mt CFR.

The Dreymoor price is more in line with the trend sent in the three previous tenders. Prices dipped from $318.72/mt CFR to $318.39/mt CFR to $317.40/mt CFR. Sources were shocked at the low-ball price from Dan Moody. As of Monday morning, TCP has not yet issued awards in the tenders, say sources in Asia.

Pinnacle Agriculture Holdings LLC reported that it has successfully acquired Reck Aviation Inc. in Ft. Lupton, Colo. Reck Aviation is a family-owned, full-service chemical application company providing aerial crop applications of fertilizers, pesticides, and fungicides.

The business will operate as part of Pinnacle’s AgOne Application Services™ brand, and will be managed by former owner and pilot Matt Reck. All employees of Reck Aviation will retain their current positions under the new ownership, and the business will remain at is present location at 13986 Weld County Road 26 in Ft. Lupton.

“My decision to unify with Pinnacle as part of their AgOne brand was largely due to their similar commitment to the success of their customers and employees,” said Reck. “They are all about putting the customer first, and that is extremely important in this industry. We are excited about expanding our product and service offerings to bring added value to our growers.”

Pinnacle said the new AgOne location will continue to provide aerial application services, plus additional agronomy offerings including a complete selection of seed, custom fertilizer blends, crop protection products, and precision agriculture services through AgOne’s proprietary OptiGro® system.

“Pinnacle and AgOne are very pleased with the recent acquisition of Reck Aviation, and thrilled with the opportunity to service Colorado growers,” said Jason White, Pinnacle’s Performance Agriculture brand president. “We believe that area growers will be very happy with the complement of products and services that will be offered. Matt and his team have a great track record for service and stewardship, and we are confident that the farmers they have served so well will experience a smooth transition and continue to receive efficient, competitive and timely service.”

The Andersons Inc., Maumee, Ohio, announced on Nov. 17 that it plans to combine its Turf & Specialty and Plant Nutrient groups into a combined operating group. The new group has yet to be named, but will be led by Bill Wolf, who currently serves as president of the Plant Nutrient Group. Tom Waggoner, current president of the Turf & Specialty Group, will assume a new role as corporate vice president, Marketing and Operations Services.

“The Turf & Specialty and Plant Nutrient groups have become closely aligned in the customers they serve, the products and services they offer, the manner in which they operate, and in their growth strategies,” said COO Hal Reed. “We believe the two groups are stronger together than separate. This move offers additional growth opportunities, enhances profitability and, most importantly, takes our customer service to the next level.”

The Andersons said leadership changes are expected to occur at the first of the year, while full integration and subsequent reporting changes to occur later in 2015. In addition to its Plant Nutrient and Turf & Specialty groups, The Andersons also operates Grain, Ethanol, Rail, and Retail divisions.

OCI Partners LP, Nederland, Texas, reported that it has pushed its planned turnaround, which will be used to tie-in debottlenecks at its ammonia and methanol plants at Beaumont, Texas, to January 2015, rather than the originally planned fourth-quarter 2014. The turnaround will take 4 weeks for the ammonia plant and 7-8 for methanol.

OCI also boosted the cost estimate for the debottleneck to $242-$250 million from the most recent estimate of $220-$230 million.

OCI Partners third-quarter net income was down 21 percent to $19 million on revenues of $90 million from the year-ago $24 million and $96 million, respectively. OCI said the performance was off due to a lower capacity utilization rate on the ammonia production line and lower methanol prices.

Israel Chemicals Ltd. reported higher revenues and sharply higher net profits in the third quarter of 2014. ICL attributed the improvement to higher volumes of potash and bromine based flame retardants. Revenues rose by nearly 8 percent to $1.559 billion versus $1.454 billion in the corresponding quarter in 2013. Net profits totaled $180 million versus $78 million or $196 million in adjusted net profits last year.
 
The volume of potash sold increased by 30 percent to 1.32 million mt versus 1.02 million mt in the third quarter of 2013. The company attributed the increase to a recovery in the potash market in all regions with particularly strong demand in China and India. Operating profit from potash grew by 17 percent to $131 million versus $112 million last year. ICL sold 440,000 mt of phosphate fertilizers, a 4 percent increase over the 404,000 mt in the third quarter of 2013. Operating profit rose to $37 million from $22 million. ICL said that improved efficiency at its Rotem plant in southern Israel led to improved operating profits and record acid production.

ICL also announced that it will invest $435 million in several stages to increase capacity and optimize production at its potash production plant in Suria, Spain. The ICL board has approved $330 million in projects that it says will reduce the average cost of production in Spain to levels closer to those in Israel.

The investment plan calls for increasing production to 1.4 million mt/y, increasing granular potash capacity to approximately 100 percent of the potash produced at the site, doubling production of vacuum salt to 1.5 million mt/y, upgrading logistics infrastructure at the mine, at the factory and the port of Barcelona to enable production, transport and export of 2.3 million mt of potash. In addition the company will take steps to reduce the environmental footprint of its operations in Spain.  ICL has also approved the carrying out of an advanced 3D feasibility study for developing a new potash mine in the franchise area in Catalonia which could eventually lead to increasing annual production by a further 1 million mt/y.