Tel Aviv — Ampal-American Israel Corp. (Ampal) is negotiating with an international investor for the sale of a minority stake in its Gadot Chemical Tankers and Terminals Ltd. Ampal confirmed that talks were underway. Gadot is Israel’s leading fertilizer, chemical, and petrochemical distribution and storage company. The company dominates the Israeli market, and has a strong presence in Europe with tanker and storage facilities. Gadot does not publish separate financial reports, but is said to be extremely profitable. Ampal majority shareholder Yossi Maiman is facing increasing financial difficulties due to the cutoff of natural gas deliveries from Egypt, and financial industry analysts noted that a sale of a stake in Gadot could give him a much needed cash infusion. Ampal is a minority shareholder in East Mediterranean Gas Supply Corp., the sole supplier of gas from Egypt to Israel until the Egyptian government cancelled its agreement with the company earlier this year.
James “Joc” O’Rourke, 51, executive vice president of operations and chief operating officer of The Mosaic Co., Plymouth, Minn., has joined The Toro Co.’s board of directors. O’Rourke joined Mosaic in 2009 and has held senior management positions in the mining industry in Canada, Australia, and Papua New Guinea, including with gold producers Barrick Gold Corp. and Placer Dome Inc. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mining and mineral engineering from the University of British Columbia, along with a master’s degree in business administration from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.
Toro, Bloomington, Minn., is a leading worldwide provider of turf and landscape maintenance equipment and irrigation solutions. Sales were nearly $1.9 billion in fiscal 2011.
Calgary — Viterra Inc. and Glencore International plc said last week that the sole remaining regulatory approval for Glencore’s acquisition of Viterra is that of the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM) under the Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law. Glencore continues to engage with MOFCOM to ensure approval as soon as possible. MOFCOM is now expected to continue its review into September. Viterra and Glencore said they will update the market in due course when they expect closing of the acquisition to occur. It was originally hoped that all reviews would be complete by the end of July; due to MOFCOM, that was later extended to August and now September.
Ammonia release causes 781 to evacuate
Overland Park, Kan. — Sifto Canada Corp., a subsidiary of Compass Minerals, has reached a tentative agreement with the Communications, Energy and Paperworks Union Local 16-O, which represents employees at the company’s salt mine in Goderich, Ont. The union called a strike at the mine Aug. 20 (GM Aug. 27, p. 16). Union officials have now indicated that they intend to put the agreement to a ratification vote in early September. The mine’s management will continue to produce and ship rock salt to customers at reduced rates until union members ratify the agreement and return to work. “We’re pleased that we could work with union negotiators to reach a mutually beneficial tentative agreement on all matters pertaining to a new three-year collective agreement,” said Angelo Brisimitzakis, Compass Minerals’ president and CEO. “We are looking forward to our Goderich mine employees returning to work as soon as possible.”
Chicago — A major potash antitrust case, Minn-Chem Inc. v. Agrium Inc., is now back before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. Expectations are that U.S. District Court Judge Ruben Castillo will soon enter a pretrial schedule, which should indicate how long the parties have for discovery as none was originally taken in the case, which was filed in 2008. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit voted 8-0 in a decision dated June 27 to send the case back to the lower court (GM July 2, p. 1). The defendant potash producers have indicated that they may appeal the U.S. Court of Appeals decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. They have 90 days to file and the deadline has yet to expire, though it is a discretionary appeal; the Supreme Court does not have to hear it.
Denver — Intrepid Potash Inc. said Aug. 28 that it has agreed to issue $150 million aggregate principal amount of unsecured senior notes in the following series: $60 million of 3.23 percent senior notes, series A, due April 16, 2020; $45 million of 4.13 percent senior notes, series B, due April 14, 2023; and $45 million of 4.28 percent senior notes, series C, due April 16, 2025. The notes are expected to be issued on April 16, 2013. The notes were offered to institutional investors in a private placement exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The weighted average term of the notes is 9.4 years and the weighted average coupon is 3.9 percent, reflecting the historically low interest rate environment for long-term financing. Intrepid intends to use the net proceeds from the issuance primarily to support general corporate purposes, including capital investments to grow production of incremental low-cost tons, and potential investments that complement its strategy and grow its business. Intrepid says it is committed to continuing its strategy of increasing potash production, decreasing per ton operating costs, and leveraging its multi-decade reserves.
Zug, Switzerland — Foster Wheeler AG said Aug. 23 that a subsidiary of its Global Engineering and Construction Group has been awarded a contract by Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) for a world-scale grassroots gas-to-chemicals complex in Linhares, Espirito Santo State, southeast Brazil, called Complexo Gás-Químico UFN-IV. The complex is expected to produce in excess of 1 million mt/y of ammonia and urea fertilizers, methanol, and acetic acid, plus formic acid and melamine, helping to reduce Brazil’s imports of these products. Foster Wheeler will provide basic engineering design (BED), front-end engineering design (FEED), and technical assistance and training during the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) phase through to successful completion of the plant performance tests. The Foster Wheeler contract value was not disclosed. Foster Wheeler will act as integrator for the entire complex, managing the overall BED and FEED, including managing the process licensors and Brazilian subcontractors. The BED/FEED phase is scheduled for completion at the end of 2013. "Our proven experience in executing large, complex integrated chemicals projects and our ability to support Petrobras through to start-up of this world-scale facility were key to our success in winning this important contract," said Umberto della Sala, chief operating officer, Foster Wheeler AG.
Maumee, Ohio — The Andersons Inc. announced Aug. 27 that its newly constructed 3.8 million bushel elevator in Custer County, Neb., will be open for the 2012 harvest. "Opening the largest elevator in Custer County, with both train and truck loading capabilities, puts us in a great position to serve the local agricultural community," says CEO Mike Anderson. "While we realize this year’s crop is challenged due to the drought, we believe the accessibility we provide to a variety of outlets, as well as our many services, will provide added value to area farmers during this year and well into the future." Located on the Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railway, this is the first elevator The Andersons has constructed in Nebraska. With the addition of this elevator, near the communities of Anselmo and Broken Bow, The Andersons Grain Group now has capacity of nearly 113 million bushels throughout Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Nebraska.
Edmonton, Alberta — Water managers are on the wrong track concentrating on reducing nitrogen buildup in lakes to control eutrophication and the growth of algae, according to a University of Alberta biologist, who has found that the only method that has had proven success is reducing input of phosphorus. “Erroneous assumptions about ecosystem processes and lack of accounting for hysteresis during lake recovery have further confused management of eutrophication,” said David Schindler. “I conclude that long-term, whole-ecosystem experiments and case histories of lake recovery provide the only reliable evidence for policies to reduce eutrophication. The only method that has had proven success in reducing the eutrophication of lakes is reducing input of phosphorus.” And, Schindler insisted, it can be done at a fraction of the cost of controlling nitrogen. “There are no case histories or long-term ecosystem-scale experiments to support recent claims that to reduce eutrophication of lakes nitrogen must be controlled instead of or in addition to phosphorus. Before expensive policies to reduce nitrogen input are implemented, they require ecosystem-scale verification. The recent claim that the ‘phosphorus paradigm’ for recovering lakes from eutrophication has been eroded and has no basis. Instead, the case for phosphorus control has been strengthened by numerous case histories and large-scale experiments spanning several decades.” Schindler said nuisance blooms in Lake Winnipeg have nearly doubled since the mid-1990s as the result of a recent rapid increase in loading and concentration of phosphorus from rapidly increased livestock production and the use of synthetic fertilizer, along with smaller contributions from the city of Winnipeg and other development and spring floods greatly enhancing the phosphorus transfer contributions. He stressed that recovery of the lake will require reducing both agricultural and major urban sources of phosphorus and, if possible, the frequency and intensity of flooding in the Red River watershed. Flooding will be increasingly difficult to control if modeled predictions for increased precipitation under climate warming materialize. Even with targeted reductions in phosphorus inputs of 50 percent and measures to control flooding, recovery of the lake is expected to be slow because of phosphorus recycled from sediments and the climatic sensitivity of this shallow lake and the flooding of the Red River.
Boston — Behind-the-scenes negotiating in the state legislature on restricting phosphorus in lawn fertilizer gave agriculture the opportunity to set the record straight about plant nutrients being preempted from regulation in any one of the 351 towns in the state, according to the Massachusetts Farm Bureau. “It’s worth noting that we defined plant nutrients to include not just fertilizer, but micronutrients and manure as well,” Massachusetts Farm Bureau Director of Government Relations Brad Mitchell told Green Markets. The bill, now on Gov. Deval Patrick’s desk for signature, requires the use of low-phosphorus or phosphorus-free fertilizers on lawns – with an exemption for new lawns, agriculture, and turf farms. “There are some flaws in the phosphorus bill, but it’s livable since we gained a lot more than we lost.” He explained that Rep. John Fernandes had pushed for the bill to help municipalities and businesses meet strict U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines to reduce phosphorus runoff into streams and lakes. “We started with two competing bills,” Mitchell explained. “One of the bills would have put limitations on phosphorus use for lawns, and the other would have preempted municipalities and anyone other than the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture from regulating use of plant nutrients, and that would have included both fertilizer, micronutrients and manure. In the end, the legislature combined the two bills. The lawn care people said they can live with the phosphorus restrictions, and anyone who uses plant nutrients, including manure and fertilizer, won’t have to worry about the prospect of having 351 different towns imposing their will on agriculture. Overall, this is a good thing.” Governor Patrick has until Sept. 2 to sign or veto the measure, and according to his press office has given no indication one way or the other.
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