Fertoz Ltd., an Australian-based organic fertilizer supplier and developer that owns the Wapiti and Fernie rock phosphate projects in British Columbia, will start mining operations at Fernie this month due to contracts and/or orders exceeding 10,000 mt in North America. Settling ponds and roads are now in the process of being installed.
Fertoz recently inked a rock contract with EarthRenew Inc., Toronto (GM July 2, p. 28). Fertoz pulverized rock phosphate 0-20-0 will be supplied to EarthRenew subsidiary Replenish Nutrients Ltd., targeting 10,000 mt/y over a period of five years. Some 500-1,000 mt will be supplied monthly beginning in July of this year.
Fertoz, the largest supplier of organic rock phosphate in North America, has extracted 2,700 mt from Wapiti and Fernie now available to buy for additional field trials in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Washington, Oregon, and California. The company is working on mine permits and bulk sample applications at both the Wapiti and Fernie mine sites for 82,000 mt for near-term extraction. The company has 25,000 mt under lease from Canada to Mexico that it can mine for processing, trials, and sales.
Fertoz also is installing a granulator manufactured in China at Butte, Mont., that will enable it to significantly reduce costs and deliver custom granulated fertilizers within a few days to growers. Nearly 70 percent of Fertoz’s fertilizer sales are granulated products, as it partners with a number of distributors to supply organic phosphate fertilizer to a range of consumers.
Fertoz CEO and Director Pat Avery told Green Markets that he also has been encouraged by Fertoz recently securing $5 million and new partnerships to accelerate development of its carbon division, which started in May, but he worries about the adverse impacts extreme heat will have on the fertilizer industry and agriculture operations should the historic drought gripping the Western U.S. and Canada continue for another six weeks. He noted the bulk of Fertoz’s mines and sales are located in that region.
Temperatures in Lytton, B.C., recently shattered record highs for the entire nation of Canada, peaking at 124 degrees Fahrenheit before a wildfire literally burned the small community to the ground due to tinder dry conditions. Avery said he is concerned that crop yields overall will suffer unless weather conditions improve before Sept. 1.
“This is the worst that I can remember,” Avery said, noting that fuel and energy costs are escalating as inflation worsens, adding additional economic stress for fertilizer manufacturers and farmers. “This is tough.”
He emphasized that all of Fertoz’s fertilizers are registered organic and sales have been picking up. Many of its customers are not 100 percent organic, but they are trying to use sustainable and regenerative ag practices, he said.
The company said dryness actually helps Fertoz because its operations concentrate on crushing, screening, and granulating organic fertilizer.
Avery said by blending organic fertilizer with their products, fertilizer companies can reduce their carbon emissions while maintaining high yields, achieving lower costs, and minimizing environmental impacts, including far less runoff and less salt in the soil.
“Our carbon footprint is very small. With the right crops and sequestration farm practices, our fertilizers can be carbon negative,” Avery said. “On May 1, we started issuing carbon certificates on every ton we sell.”
Fertoz can help validate, track, and potentially sell the credits. “Markets are still evolving. We’re small. We don’t have all the answers,” he added.
Avery said mining, coal, and timber companies have contacted Fertoz about using carbon neutral fertilizer in their reclamation and reforesting operations. The company is investigating the potential of coating seeds with fertilizer to enhance drone reforestation efforts. It has begun to offer the use of drones to plant nonproductive areas on farms, and then use satellite and drone imagery to calculate carbon dioxide sequestered across the entire farm, regardless of crop selection.
Fertoz has entered into an agreement with Trimble Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., to facilitate carbon offset trading, and executed a memorandum of understanding with DataPLP, Saskatoon, to quantify carbon sequestration through satellite and drone imagery and field testing. Canada-based Brightspot Climate Inc. also has been engaged as a consultant to assist with the development of an emission reduction methodology and registration with a recognized offsets registry.
“We want to do things right and are glad we partnered with Trimble, a top ag company, and Brightspot to get through field measurements, validation, and certification so we can participate in carbon credit trading in both the voluntary and regulatory markets,” Avery said.