Fort Meade, Fla. — JDCPhosphate Inc. (JDCP) said Feb. 25 that it has raised an additional $8 million to advance and expand its development and commercialization activities, through the issue of shares to existing shareholders. JDCP raised $39 million to fund the development, construction, and operation of its 12,000-ton-per-year demonstration plant in Fort Meade, Fla., and to begin the process of commercializing its technology. JDCP says the technology produces high purity phosphoric acid using low-grade phosphate rock, without the production of solid or liquid waste. JDCP reported its first full operation of the demo plant in November 2013. Since then, it reports positive results. JDCP will also be working to more fully evaluate and market a companion product produced by the process technology – an aggregate branded J ROX. “I am excited about the significant progress the company has made and appreciate the continued support of our investors,” said Tip Fowler, JDCP CEO. “This capital will allow us to accelerate our efforts to refine operations at our new Ft. Meade facility and to begin to shift our focus to commercialization of the technology.” One investor, Australian junior company Minemakers Ltd., used the opportunity to invest another US$900,000 in JDCP and increase its stake to 7.5 percent.
Lincoln, Neb. — According to study findings published online by Nature, fertilizer could be too much of a good thing for the world’s grasslands. The worldwide study found that while on average additional nitrogen increases grass output, a smaller number of species thrive and crowd out others better adapted to survive harsher times. "More nitrogen means more production, but it’s less stable," said Johannes M.H. Knops, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln biologist and one of the paper’s international co-authors. "There are more good years and more bad years. Not all years are going to be good, and the bad years are going to be worse." The three-year study monitored real-world grasslands at 41 locations on five continents, including China, the U.S., Switzerland, Tanzania, and Germany. Researchers found common trends among grasslands around the world, including that different species on natural, unfertilized grasslands, produced more consistently over time; fertilized land saw a decline in the numbers of species compared to unfertilized plots; and fertilization tended to weaken the species diversity seen in unfertilized plots. Knops said that overusing fertilizer could intensify the effects of drought on grasslands and have ripple effects during bad years by reducing plant cover, which in turn increases erosion. The Nature article is one of several research articles on the relationships between grassland diversity, productivity, and stability generated by the Nutrient Network experiment, http://www.nutnet.org.
Cedar Park, Texas — With hopes of surpassing last year’s record-breaking attendance of 1,600 individuals from 18 countries, the Southwestern Fertilizer Conference (SWFC) on Feb. 26 officially opened registration for this year’s premier networking event in San Antonio on July 19-23, announced SWFC Executive Director Pat Miller. “There’s a lot to be excited about this year – both in the industry and at the conference,” said Miller. “We’ve ramped up our technology and increased our meeting room capacity to accommodate the demand for even more networking and sales opportunities.” Miller notes that “everyone’s there because everyone’s there” has become the Southwest’s unofficial motto as the number of attendees – upper management and sales personnel representing fertilizer manufacturers, distributors, brokers, and dealers – has continued to grow. This success has enabled the SWFC to contribute substantial scholarships, grants and research funding to agriculture-and food-related charitable organizations. To date, the SWFC has made donations in excess of $170,000. “Philanthropy is an important part of the SWFC,” said Miller, who supports the all-volunteer leadership of the association. “We want to support our industry, both now and in the future, by funding research, the education of tomorrow’s agricultural leaders, and hunger-relief efforts, in general.” Registration, accommodations, and reservations for suites and meeting rooms can be made on the SWFC’s new website: www.swfertilizer.org. In the coming weeks, more information will be posted about the top industry leaders confirmed to speak at the conference, the Annual Charity Golf Tournament and the special Spouses’ Program. For more information about the conference, contact Pat Miller at 1.512.259.2118 or SWFC@SWFertilizer.org.
Keene, N.H. — Green Markets, publisher of recognized independent pricing benchmarks international and North American fertilizers, has launched a new Weekly U.S. Fertilizer Price Index, a new analysis tool that identifies the weekly pricing trends in fertilizer. The index has a starting date of Jan. 7, 2002, an associated starting value of 100, and is updated each week on www.FertilizerPricing.com. “This value-weighted series uses U.S. Gulf Coast Urea, Cornbelt Potash and NOLA Barge DAP prices as benchmarks,” says Neil Fleishman, CFA, Green Markets Senior Industry Analyst. “The index is weighted against the annual global demand of each nutrient since 2002. For current year pricing, we use fertilizer demand forecasts from the Green Markets Global Supply & Demand models.” For more information on the U.S. Fertilizer Price Index or to learn how Green Markets can help eliminate your uncertainty in pricing trends of fertilizers, contact Jonathan Wentworth-Ping, director of sales, at jping@Green-Markets.com or call 1.603.357.8160.
Amman — Jordan’s opposition Islamist party has called for the cancellation of the deal signed between Arab Potash Corp. and Jordan Bromine Co. with the Tamar consortium for natural gas supplies from Israel (GM Feb. 24, p. 13). The party said the deal serves the Israeli economy, comes against the interests of the Jordanian people, and betrays the Palestinian cause.
Tel Aviv — Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL) unions representing workers at its various subsidiaries have again threatened to impose sanctions. Earlier this year workers ceased operations at Rotem Amfert, as well as other facilities, and briefly shut down the company’s Ashdod port facility. The difficulties in negotiations between unions and management over a recovery plan for the company re-emerged in recent days after management sent out dismissal notices to several workers. The unions charge that management wants to implement large-scale layoffs at a number of subsidiaries and not just at Rotem Amfert. The unions said they are opposed to layoffs and will support only agreed-upon early retirement with increased benefits. The unions argue that profits in 2013 declined, but are still substantial. ICL management said that a recovery plan is necessary in order to deal with the huge increase in costs the company is facing as a result of Israeli government action involving increased royalty payments and the salt harvesting project at the Dead Sea.
Toronto — Canada’s Allana Potash Corp. is considering listing its shares on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The possible move follows a decision by Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL) to take a 16 percent stake in the company for $23 million, with an option to increase its stake to 37 percent. ICL signed a cooperation agreement with Allana to jointly develop the Danakhil potash mine in northern Ethiopia. Allana currently trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange. According to Israeli financial sources, the proceeds from the listing would be used to develop the mine. The shares would likely be sold to Israeli institutional investors.
Victoria — The British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines has approved a permit to allow Fertoz Ltd., an Australian company, to extract a surface bulk sample from Wapiti East of up to 7,500 metric tons of phosphate rock during the Canadian winter. Fertoz will access the Wapiti East site across Red Deer Creek via an ice bridge. It has extended its holding at Wapiti East by 1,252 acres, so parts of the access road, the camp, and phosphate storage area are all on company tenements. The bulk sample is scheduled for collection in March, but exact timing will be dependent on weather. A permit for a further bulk sample in the warmer months also is underway. “The Wapiti East project is proceeding to schedule. The next steps after the collection of the bulk sample are to commence farm trials and to continue with laboratory testing in relation to organic certification of the Wapiti rock phosphate,” Managing Director Les Szonyi said. The British Columbia approval comes on the heels of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management approving the transfer of operating rights for the Dry Ridge Phosphate Project in southeastern Idaho from Solvoy USA Inc. to Fertoz USA LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fertoz Ltd. (GM Feb. 24, p. 14). Fertoz has five projects in Canada – Wapiti (East and West), Barnes Lake, Crow’s Nest and Marten – all in British Columbia, in addition to its operations in Australia. It recently secured the Marten Project, an underground exploration phosphate mine in B.C. The company is targeting small, high grade resources in North America that can be commercialized relatively quickly and inexpensively with high grade product sold to organic farmers or third-party fertilizer plants.
Pocatello — The J.R. Simplot Co. has submitted a request to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ) for an air quality permit to allow the company to conduct lab-scale research to determine the feasibility of removing sulfur from gypsum via thermal decomposition. It also wants to gauge whether the project is suitable for larger scale operations. The research will be conducted at Simplot’s Engineering and Manufacturing Technology site near its phosphate fertilizer complex west of Pocatello. It will be done by operating an existing bench-top kiln that was issued an air permit last December to research the thermal beneficiation of phosphate ore. No more than 7,000 pounds of gypsum will be stored at the EMT building at one time. Simplot officials told IDEQ no combustion sources are associated with the lab-scale test, and testing is expected to occur no more than 1,300 hours per year. Gypsum from Simplot’s Pocatello and/or Rock Springs, Wyo., fertilizer plants will be heated to produce calcium oxide and sulfur dioxide. Kiln temperatures are expected to be between 500 and 1,100 degrees Celsius. Project work is set to begin the first of May or sooner, depending upon the permit issue date. No construction is needed because existing laboratory equipment will be used. A 30-day public comment period will be provided on the proposed permit if a written request is submitted to IDEQ by 5 p.m. MST, March 12.
Tel Aviv — Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL) has lost a case on revealing the details of its arbitration with the Israeli government over the payment of past royalties from its Dead Sea Works subsidiary. The Supreme Court ruled that the company would be obliged to release the minutes of arbitration hearings that have been going on for the past few years. The arbitration involves a March 2011 suit filed by Israel’s Finance Ministry against ICL and its Dead Sea Works subsidiary demanding $291 million plus interest for the back payment of royalties from the company for the production of potash at the Dead Sea. The Finance Ministry charges that Dead Sea Works failed to transfer to the ministry all data pertaining to the mining operations of potash under the terms of the company’s concession. The ministry said that this prevented it from presenting the court with an exact amount in the suit that pertains to royalties from 2000-2009. ICL has denied any wrong doing and rejects claims that it owes the state money. The two sides agreed to arbitrate the dispute, and this has been taking place for over a year. A final decision on the arbitration is due in the coming months.
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