Dyno Nobel Inc. confirmed last week that it plans a $50 million expansion of its existing explosives-grade ammonium nitrate plant near Cheyenne, Wyoming. Demand from Wyoming’s growing Powder River Basin coal industry is prodding the growth.
The company is expected to increase production by 50 percent, or approximately 150,000 st/y. Current capacity is listed as 322,000 st/y by the International Fertilizer Development Center, Muscle Shoals, Ala.
Plant Manager Doug Chandler told Green Markets the construction is expected to be complete in October 2007. The expansion will be on adjacent property, the former location of an MTBE facility. An existing nitric acid and ammonium nitrate prilling plant will be brought to the site from Florida. This will bring the number of nitric acid plants at the site to four. Chandler could not confirm more specific origin of the new plants, except that they are coming from Florida. Industry observers will note that the Nitram Inc. ammonium nitrate facility in Florida went out of business a few years ago (GM Archives).
No additional ammonia capacity will be added. The existing facility currently produces 530-540 st/d of ammonia. Chandler noted that the ammonia plant uses Wyoming natural gas, which is made into products to assist in the mining of Wyoming coal.
The upgrade will add 10-15 new employees. The location currently employs 110.