Will phosphate be Canada's next potash?

http://pensionpulse.blogspot.com/2011/07/will-phosphate-be-canadas-next-potash.html

excerts

"He told me that Mosaic is currently in court fighting to keep a plant in Florida open -- one that produces close to 18% of Mosaic's total phosphate production. "If that plant shuts down, fertilizer prices will shoot through the roof." As far as which countries have huge phosphate deposits, he told me that Morocco has the biggest deposits in the world but given its political climate, companies are looking elsewhere. That's where Canada comes into the picture."

Moon phosphates (from Wikipedia)

Moon rocks collected by astronauts during the Apollo program contain traces of apatite.[12] Re-analysis of these samples in 2010 revealed water trapped in the mineral as hydroxyl, leading to estimates of water on the lunar surface at a rate of at least 64 parts per billion – 100 times greater than previous estimates – and as high as 5 parts per million.[13] If the minimum amount of mineral-locked water was hypothetically converted to liquid, it would cover the Moon's surface in roughly one meter of water.[14]

Honouring Paul Smith (updated in January, 10, 2018)

Paul Anthony Smith (*12/22/1944 in England +12/25/2017 Pará de Minas,, Brasil) was a Chemical Engineer.
After graduation in late 60's, he worked in Nitrogen Industry.
With Fisons, he entered Phosphoric Acid world, either in Great Britain as also in Macedonia, Brazil, Poland and the former Soviet Union (among other international designations).
He was, in 70´s and begining of 80's, employee of Arafértil, Paulo Abib Engineering and an Independent Project Consultant for the former Quimbrasil (Bunge) in Brazil.
In late Eighties he moved to Belgium and, as Prayon Rupel Technologies' (PRT) Director, in the 90´s he consolidated PRT as Phosphoric Acid Di Hydrate Technology world leader.
Last decade up to now he has been working for Bunge-Fosfértil (now Vale Fertilizers), in Brazil, Morroco and with other international "ad hoc" assignments.
Also an Independent Consultant ("P.A.S and Associates") for Phosphoric Acid and Mineral Chemicals Plants he is involved with players of five continents.
With the same stature of his masters, colleagues and friends Archie Vivian Slack, Jean Frochen and Pierre Becker, he is building plants and generations of technicians here in Brazil and around the world.
After his 73th Birthday he passed away quietly with family members.
We pay tribute to the "Professor Emeritus" of our art!

Phosphoric Acid capacity expansions ("real" or "speculative") by CRU (Andy Young)

Morocco:
1. 375,000 t j-v plant with Bunge – 2009
2. Speculative 375,000 t OCP plant in 2012
Tunisia:330,000 t GCT j-v plant in 2012
FSU: Speculative
China: At least 2 million t new capacity by 2012/2013
Algeria: Speculative 330,000 t capacity by Ferphos by 2013
Iran: S l t/y 250 000 or 750,000 t capacity by 2013 – likely to be delayed
Egypt: Speculative capacity increase by 2011
Saudi Arabia: Ma’aden project 1.4 million t in 2011;
Speculative 250,000 t plant in 2013, Speculative 600 k t/y for 2015
Mexico:500,000 t restart of Fertinal
Speculative 150,000 t/y plant by 2013

Brazil:
1. Vale/Fosfertil 300 kt/y expansion at Uberaba - MG in 2011
2. New 150,000 t Vale/Bunge plant - 2014 (Cajati or Anitápolis?)
3. Up to 240,000 t Copebras Catlão - GO expansion by 2013/14
4. Speculative Vale/Fosfertil 610,000 t Salitre (near Patrocínio - MG) 2 plants in 2013
5. Galvani's Santa Quitéria-CE (250 k t/y) to be delayed?

The World Market for Phosphoric Acid and Fertilizers in 2012

World Phosphate Fertilizer Demand Outlook
• All world regions forecast to have steady or higher demand going forward, following a rebound from the current economic downturn – growth will be led by Brazil and Asia.
• Growth in ethanol/biofuels particularly in the US and EU is expected to promote demand there, though modestly.
• Overall, global phosphate demand growing at 2.1% per year over the medium term, slowing down over the long-term with improved technology and efficiency.
(excert of http://www.firt.org/sites/default/files/Jung_Phosphate_Outlook_presentation.pdf by Andy Young of CRU).

Darou Khoudoss, ICS, Senegal

Navoi, Uzbekistan

Port Klang, Malysia

Lam Thao, Vietnam

Navodari, near Constanta, Romania

Titov Veles, Macedonia

Agropolychim, Devnya, near Varna, Bulgaria

Vale gasta R$ 2,078 bi para fechar capital de empresa de fertilizantes

SÃO PAULO - A Vale conseguiu fechar o capital de sua controlada Vale Fertilizantes, empresa que reúne os ativos da Fosfertil, da área de nutrientes fertilizantes da Bunge e alguns ativos da Mosaic que foram comprados pela mineradora no ano passado.
O preço de aquisição foi de R$ 25,00 por ação ordinária ou preferencial e a oferta movimentou R$ 2,078 bilhões.
A adesão dos minoritários da Vale Fertilizantes à oferta pública de aquisição de ações (OPA), realizada nesta segunda-feira na B&MFBovespa, superou os dois terços das ações habilitadas para o leilão, como exige a legislação, permitindo que a companhia efetive o encerramento do registro de companhia aberta, como exige a legislação.
A Vale comprou 211.014 ações ordinárias (83,8% do capital ordinário em circulação) e 82.919.456 ações preferenciais (94,0% dos papéis preferenciais em circulação) da Vale Fertilizantes. A Vale passou a deter, através da Naque, 99,99% do total de ações ordinárias e 98,09% do total de ações preferenciais da empresa de fertilizantes.

(Téo Takar | Valor)

Avançam as ações do Projeto Serra do Salitre (Galvani) http://www.galvani.ind.br/pdfs/raizes_ed40.pdf

Após obter a licença prévia do Conselho Estadual de Política Ambiental (Copam) para o projeto em Serra do Salitre (MG), concedida em julho, a Galvani firma parcerias para a qualificação profissional da mão-de-obra.
Com investimento estimado em R$ 230 milhões, a previsão é de que a entrada em operação se dê a partir de 2011.
Para a capacitação de profissionais que vão atuar na construção, operação e manutenção da nova unidade, a Galvani assinou importantes acordos com instituições e o governo mineiro. Entre eles o convênio com a Federação das Indústrias do Estado de Minas Gerais (Fiemg), que visa à qualificação profissional por meio de duas entidades renomadas: o Serviço Social da Indústria (Sesi) e o Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Industrial (Senai), ambas ligadas à Federação. Para
viabilizar a infraestrutura necessária para as aulas, a Galvani firmou acordo com a Prefeitura Municipal de Serra do Salitre.
Ainda neste ano será assinado outro convênio com o Governo do Estado de Minas Gerais envolvendo secretarias estaduais, entre elas a do Desenvolvimento Social. A intenção é unir esforços dos setores público e privado a fim de impulsionar a formação profissional e, consequentemente, gerar mais empregos para a população da região.
Meio ambiente
A Galvani vem realizando uma série de ações ambientais para promover a conservação do ecossistema na área onde será implantada sua nova unidade de mineração.
Atenção especial está sendo dada à Convênios são firmados para promover capacitação
profissional e ações ambientais estão sendo implementadas questão da água, com a elaboração de um estudo hidrogeológico que visa garantir este insumo necessário à operação da unidade, com qualidade e volume suficientes, sem comprometer os recursos hídricos da região.
Com o objetivo de minimizar os impactos, outra ação em curso é a proteção da fauna e da flora locais, com monitoramento das espécies existentes e recomposição florestal para atender à compensação ambiental. A intenção é criar ambientes propícios ao aumento da fauna da região e ampliar a vegetação visando à proteção de rios e córregos.
O resgate arqueológico é outro ponto relevante das ações da Galvani, que estuda parcerias com institutos a fim de resguardar os objetos encontrados e viabilizar a criação de um museu na região.

Rio Verde Minerals details Sergipe´s Potash Projects

http://www.rvminerals.com/Projects/Sergipe-Potash-Project/Introduction.aspx
The Sergipe Potash Project, located in the Northeastern region of Brazil in the State of Sergipe, is one of Rio Verde’s principal projects. The project is comprised of 12 separate land holdings, over a total area of approximately 112,000 hectares. These land holdings have been grouped into ten on-shore and two off-shore prospects.
The on-shore prospects are divided into four northern prospects located just south of the Rio Sao Francisco (the northern border of the State of Sergipe) and six southern prospects located around the city Aracaju. The northern prospects consist of the Ilha das Flores Prospect, the Capela 1 Prospect, Capela 2 Prospect and the Panqueca Prospect; the southern prospects are the Rio do Sal Prospect, the Sergi Prospect, the Passagem Prospect, the Porto das Cobras Prospect, the Barra dos Coqueiros Prospect and the Orla de Aracaju Prospect. The Project’s main prospects are the Sergi Prospect, the Rio do Sal Prospect and the Capela 1 Prospect. An overview of the locations and approximate boundaries of the prospects is shown above.
These on-shore land holdings are situated in the Sergipe Basin, the same sedimentary basin as established oil producing wells and also Brazil’s only producing potash mine, the Vale’s Taquari-Vassouras mine. Vale’s mine produced 607,000 tonnes of potash in 2008, equalling roughly 10% of the Brazilian market demand at that time. These figures demonstrate the high potential for other Potash projects, like Rio Verde’s, in this area.
Rio Verde’s two off-shore prospects are the Mosqueiro Prospect and the Guacirema Prospect; both located approximately 8 km off Aracaju’s coastline.

World Phosphoric Acid Market drivers for 2012

Sulfur is tight.Balanced sulphur market conditions in the short term, shifting to increasing potential surpluses after 2012.
World phosphate rock capacity is projected to increase by an overall 20%, from 190 Mt in 2009 to 228 Mt in 2014. This growth in potential production would result from a combination of expansions at existing operations, new mines opened by current producers, and new capacity added by emerging suppliers. On a regional basis, future rock supply is projected to increase in almost all regions although additions would mainly be in Africa,West Asia and East Asia. Productive capacity is projected to decline in North America. New supply from emerging suppliers would add close to 17 Mt, of which more than half would be available for exports.
However, most new suppliers have plans for downstream processing in the longer term. If all these projects proceed as planned, there will be no shortage of phosphate concentrates in the medium term.Limited addition of “merchant grade” phosphoric acid supply in the near term Global phosphoric acid capacity is forecast to increase by a net 9.2 Mt to 55.5 Mt P2O5 between 2009 and 2014. About 90% of this net expansion would be earmarked for domestic markets and the rest sold under contracted offtake agreements. The main additions to domestic capacity would be in China, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. New merchant capacity is expected to come on stream from stand-alone units in Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia.
The net addition to merchant grade acid capacity is estimated at 1.6 Mt P2O5, of which 1.5 Mt would come from four large stand-alone units. No new tonnage of non-committed merchant grade acid capacity is expected to be available before 2014.
Relatively balanced market conditions for phosphoric acid-based products is foresseen through 2014.

Lin Fei, JinNingXian, YunNan, China

CF Industries, Geismar, Louisiana

PCS (left) and Innophos (right) at Geismar, Louisianna, USA

The Economic importance of Phosphoric Acid

Production Volume: 40 million tons per anum (of P2O5)
Unitary price: US$ 1.500 per ton P2O5
Annual "turnover": US$ 600 billion!
Phosphoric Acid is important because it is a source of "high concentration" Phosphorus for vegetables and animals (beside its Industrial Usages).
And if "we" producers of Phosphoric Acid were a "nation", its GDP would fit in the top 20!*
Or 1% of World GDP. Very important economic thing!

The figures are inacurate (but realistic)!
GDP Table World 62,911,253[4]*
European Union 16,242,256[4]
1 United States 14,526,550
2 China, People's Republic of 5,878,257n2
3 Japan 5,458,797
4 Germany 3,286,451
5 France 2,562,742
6 United Kingdom 2,250,209
7 Brazil 2,090,314
8 Italy 2,055,114
9 India 1,631,970
10 Canada 1,577,040
11 Russia 1,479,825
12 Spain 1,409,946
13 Australia 1,237,363
14 Mexico 1,034,308
15 Korea, South 1,014,482
16 Netherlands 780,668
17 Turkey 735,487
18 Indonesia 706,752
19 Switzerland 527,920
20 Poland 469,401

Mississipi Phosphate Corp., Pascagoula MS USA

Galvani e Heringer, Betel, Paulínia - SP, near Campinas

Honouring Mário Barbosa

"Vita brevis, ars longa!"
Mário Barbosa leaves Vale Fertilizantes Executive Direction
Mário Alves Barbosa Neto, 65, is a Production Engineer from Escola Politécnica da USP and MBA from FGV; was CEO of Bunge Fertilizantes S.A.; Director of ANDA – Associação Nacional para Difusão de Adubos; Chairman of Fosbrasil Board, Chairman of Fertifos and of Fosfértil and Ultrafertil S.A.; Chair person in Santista Têxtil S.A. and Bunge Brasil S.A.
Young, he married the daughter of Fernando Penteado Cardoso, founder of Manah.
As CFO of Manah he managed to build G-8 (as was called the group of Brazilian Fertilizer companies that took over Fosfertil and after Ultrafértil when they where privatized). He became Fosfértil´s CEO in 1993.
When Bunge's top management turned professional in early 90's, first with Ludwig Schmitt- Rhaden and after with Mr. Alberto Weisser, "Doctor Mário" was hired by Bunge in 1994 to sell Quimbrasil and Serrana mining chemical conglommerate as part of a concentration reengineering.
But Mário was a great consolidator and, instead, convinced Bunge to grow before selling, and work hard in Bunge Fertilizantes up to 2010 (incorporating Manah, IAP, Takenaka and Elekeiroz and later "almost" merged to Fosfértil and Ultrafértil). Bunge Fertilizers became a strong multinational (with operations in Brazil, Argentina and Morocco) and a Brazilian Fertilizer giant.
In 2010 Bunge Limited decided to sell its fertilizers mining and raw materials businesses and Vale (then with operations in Peru, Argentina and Sergipe) was searching for aquisitions. Bunge, Fosfértil and Vale where "married" in 2010. Mário Barbosa's last task as Executive Director of Vale was to consolidate Vale Fertilizantes in 2011.
Now Eduardo Bartolomeo, a Vale insider (from metals and coal), takes Mario´s place. Welcomed in "Fertilizers and Coal" after Murilo Ferreira approved a direction reshape, Bartolomeo arrives with Vale approval to a US 6 billion expansion in Moatize (coal and railways - Mozambique) and US$ 15 billion in Fertilizers (Salitre - Patrocínio - MG, Evate - Mozambique, Nitric at Cubatão, Potassium in Sergipe´s Carnalita, Rio Colorado and Antofalla - Argentina and Kronau - Saskatchewan - Canadá and revampings in Brazil in general). Good news!
Mário Barbosa´s legend in Brazilian Fertilizer Industry is iconical. And speaking of his generation, consolidation he promoted is not yet finished. His fellows like Bill Doyle, Jim Prokopanko, Mostapha Terrab and Akiva Moses are still giving cards in big companies (respectivelly PCS, Mosaic, OCP and ICL). We would like to send him congratulations for the work done and honour his enormous contributions to create and nourish Vale as a Brazilian champion in Fertilizers!
Co-workers will continue this "saga" of Brazilian and World industrial and agronomical fertilizers businesses...as started and developed among us by giants like Luiz Manuel Pinto de Queiroz, Fernando Hackradt, Herculano de Godoy Passos, Pery Igel, Clóvis Galante, Luiz Bocallato, Fernando Cardoso, Wladimir Puggina, Paulo Abib Andery, Nelson Pereira dos Reis, Dalton Heringer, Godofreddo Vitti, Germano Becker, Fernando Cardoso, Rodolfo Galvani, Eurípedes Malavolta, etc and Mário Barbosa!

Innophos S.A. de C.V

Fosfórico bruto y purificado por um processo IMI mejorado, STPP y unos abonos fosfatados.
Gran empresa que ya fué Fertimex, Troy, Albright & Wilson y Rhodia!

Coatzacoalcos y la Laguna de Pajaritos

En el Sureste mexicano, Edo. de Veracruz.
Roca del Sahara Español aún? Saludos al Chavo y a el Señor Barriga!

List of last month´s viewers countries

Brasil 273
Chile 24
Egito 24
Alemanha 18
Portugal 13
Estados Unidos 12
Rússia 9
França 6
Indonésia 6
México 3
Wide spread interest. Phosphoric acid is produced and/or consumed everywhere!

Aurora, PotashCorp

Nea Kavali, East Macedonia, Greece, near Thessaloniki

O Complexo Químico de Cajati

Visto mais de perto, pode-se definir o pátio de apatita (acima), o de enxofre (ao centro), as plantas químicas e a Fosbrasil (essa mais abaixo)...
Na extrema esquerda a enorme pilha de gesso que está sendo "vendida" cada vez mais velozmente...
Antigamente chamávamos fosfogesso de resíduo. Hoje de coproduto.
Amanhã vai ser gesso bom e pronto!

Complexo Minero Químico de Cajati

Uma chaminé intrusiva de carbonatito com apatita...
Mais uma potência da Vale Fertilizantes.
Mina, beneficiamento mineral, cimento (Cimpor, antiga Serrana) a partir do carbonato (mais argilas e areias e madeiras locais), Sulfúrico, Ácido Fosfórico, um dos maiores complexos produtores de Fosfato Bicálcico para Nutrição Animal do mundo, Ácido Fosfórico Grau Alimentício (em joint venture com a Prayon e a Israel Chemicals Limited).

Zimphos, Msasa, Harare, Zimbabwe

Phosagro (Ex Ammophos), Cherepovets, Russia

Petrokimia GRESIK, near Surabaya, Indonesia

Petrogres, Jordan phosphate to build phosphoric acid plant

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - PT Petrokimia Gresik (Petrogres) in cooperation with Jordan Phosphate Mines Co. Plc. is to construct a phosphoric acid plant with a capacity of 200,000 tons per year beginning next month. Wed, July 20 2011 21:53
"It will take 30 months to finish it," the president director of Petrogres, Hidayat Nyakman, said here on Wednesday.
He said the plant`s construction was expected to finish in 2014 to reduce the country`s dependence on imported NPK fertilizer raw materials.
He made the statement after witnessing the signing of a contract between PT Petro Jordan Abadi and a consortium of PT Rekayasa Industri-Wuhan Engineering Co.Ltd. for the construction of a phosphoric acid and its derivatives plant in Gresik, East Java.
He said Petrogres and Jordan Phosphate Mines Co. Ltd. (JPMC) had set up a joint venture company, PT Petro Jordan Abadi, with each holding 50 percent of the shares in the company.
He said the construction of the plant would cost around US$184.3 million and around 70 percent of it or US$129 million was from a loan from the consortium between Bank Mandiri and Indonesia`s export-import bank. The rest totaling US$55.3 million comes Petrogres and JPMC.
"The plant is very strategic to assure fertilizer raw material namely phosphate," he said.
He said Petrogres has so far imported around 400,000 tons of phosphoric acid a year mostly from Jordan.
Actually Petrogres has already had a phosphoric acid factory with a production capacity of 200,000 tons a year with its raw material imported from Jordan and Egypt.
"We need around 600,000 tons of phosphoric acid for producing around 2.2 million tons of NPK Phonska," he said.
To reduce dependency on imports he said Petrogres had invited JPMC as Jordan`s biggest producer of phosphoric acid to jointly build a plant in Indonesia.
"Stocks of phosphoric acid and rock phosphate in the world are limited and the price keeps rising," he said.
The world`s biggest rock phosphate producers so far are Morocco, Jordan, Egypt and Tunisia.
He said the price of phosphoric acid in the world at present reached US$1,100 per ton and the price of rock phosphate US$220 per ton.
"We are lucky we have a year-long contract with JPMC so that we could still enjoy the price of rock phosphate at US$160 per ton," he said.
The chief commissioner and CEO of JPMC, Walid Ismail Kudri meanwhile said his company has been cooperating with Petrogres as supplier of rock phosphate and phosphoric acid since 1985.
He has seen Indonesia as a big phosphate market because of its high demand. "Indonesia is a big market with its economy continuing to rise," he said.
In view of that he said besides cooperating with Petrogres in the development of a phosphoric acid plant, JPMC also plans to build a similar plant in Kalimantan and Makassar in cooperation with fertilizer companies PT Pupuk Kalimantan Timur and PT Pupuk Sriwijaya.
"We will build two more plants after this one," he said.
PT Petro Jordan Abadi, Muhammad Chadik Anis, meanwhile said the joint venture plant would not only produce phosphoric acid but also sulfuric acid totaling 600,000 tons and gypsum granule totaling 500,000 tons a year.
"The sulfuric acid produced by the new company will be totally supplied to Petrogres," he said.
Anis said he estimated the sales turnover later would reach up to Rp2 trillion excluding sales of sulfuric acid and gypsum for cement producers.
Hidayat said he plans to increase the capacity of his company`s sulfuric acid production capacity next year to reach around 300,000 tons a year.
"Next year we will conduct `repumping` in the existing sulfuric acid plant so that its production capacity will rise from 200,000 tons to 300,000 tons," he said.
He did not tell the total investment Petrogres would make for increasing the plant`s production capacity.(*)

(H-YH/HAJM/a014)
Editor: Ruslan Burhani
COPYRIGHT © 2011

Promon desafiou jovens a valorizar fosfogesso

Promon Engenharia lança desafios técnicos aos jovens por meio do Battle of Concepts
Release: Maio, 2011

A “batalha”, proposta pela empresa, desafia estudantes e jovens profissionais de 16 a 30 anos a encontrarem soluções práticas para os dois temas sugeridos, ligados a fosfogesso e a gesso anidro

A Promon Engenharia, uma das principais empresas brasileiras de desenvolvimento de projetos, consultoria, integração e implementação de soluções de infraestrutura, tem sua trajetória marcada pelo forte incentivo ao desenvolvimento da pesquisa e do estudo entre os jovens. Alinhada a essa filosofia, a companhia lança, a partir do dia 06 de maio, dois desafios de cunho técnico que compõem o que está sendo chamado de “batalha de conceitos”. A iniciativa surge em parceria com o programa Battle of Concepts - BoC, que teve origem na Holanda, em 2004, e promove por meio de sua página virtual disputas de criatividade e inovação entre estudantes universitários.

A Promon Engenharia lança dois desafios relacionados entre si que buscam incentivar os estudantes e jovens profissionais de 16 a 30 anos de idade a desenvolverem ideias, produtos ou tecnologias que proponham alternativas para o problema de acúmulo de fosfogesso, um subproduto do processo de geração de ácido fosfórico nas fábricas de fertilizantes. Para o primeiro desafio, no período de 06 de maio a 15 de agosto, serão aceitas sugestões de possíveis aplicações para o fosfogesso.

A premiação oferecida pela Promon Engenharia para esse desafio totaliza R$15 mil, sendo que o primeiro lugar ganhará R$6 mil, o segundo R$3,5 mil, o terceiro R$2 mil e o restante do prêmio será distribuído até o 10° lugar.

Haverá, ainda, um segundo desafio que completa a batalha proposta pela companhia. O conceito, neste caso, deve apresentar uma ideia de processo ou tecnologia inovadora que permita transformar fosfogesso em gesso anidro. Como a segunda questão é mais complexa, a Promon Engenharia premiará a melhor proposta com o valor de R$25 mil, caso haja um vencedor nesta categoria.

Para ambos os desafios, serão levados em conta os seguintes critérios: inovação e criatividade; alinhamento aos valores da Promon; apresentação de conceito economicamente viável, bem como conceito bem elaborado e claro. A empresa aceitará projetos individuais e de grupos formados por até três pessoas, com apenas um conceito por participação.

Para obter mais informações sobre a batalha lançada pela Promon Engenharia, basta acessar o site da Battle of Concepts - www.battleofconcepts.com.br – onde poderá encontrar o banner com todos os dados sobre os desafios, as regras e a premiação.

Sobre a Promon Engenharia – www.promonengenharia.com.br

Fundada em 1960, a Promon Engenharia, pertencente ao Grupo Promon, é uma empresa brasileira reconhecida por sua competência em engenharia, gerenciamento de empreendimentos e forte capacidade empreendedora. Sua atuação abrange prioritariamente projeto, integração e implementação de soluções complexas de infraestrutura para setores-chave da economia. Entre eles, destacam-se energia elétrica, óleo & gás, indústrias de processo, química, petroquímica, mineração e metalurgia.

Em seus 50 anos de atividade, a Promon Engenharia desenvolveu um dos mais expressivos conjuntos de projetos já realizados por uma empresa nacional nas áreas de infraestrutura. Neste período, participou de iniciativas que trouxeram impactos diretos para o desenvolvimento do país, como a construção de refinarias de petróleo, unidades petroquímicas, terminais marítimos, usinas geradoras de energia e seus sistemas de transmissão, plantas siderúrgicas e de mineração, indústrias automotiva e aeronáutica, implantação de redes de telefonia, edificações comerciais, além de grandes projetos ferroviários, rodoviários e de transportes urbanos.

A presença do Grupo Promon em todas as 13 edições do ranking das Melhores Empresas para Trabalhar, do Great Place to Work Brasil, o recebimento do Prêmio Nacional da Qualidade da Fundação Nacional da Qualidade em 2007, além de ser uma das únicas empresas presentes em todas as edições do Guia Exame – Você S/A – “As 150 Melhores Empresas para Você Trabalhar”, demonstram a solidez das práticas de gestão da companhia e atestam o sucesso de seu modelo empresarial.

A4 Comunicação – Assessoria de Imprensa do Grupo Promon
(11) 3897.4122 / (11) 9930 4862

FAO´s prospect for Phosphoric Acid production in 2012

Phosphate
Global phosphoric acid capacity is projected to increase from 45.3 million tonnes in 2008 to 53.4 million tonnes in 2012.
Capacity expansions are expected in China, India, Saudi Arabia, North Africa and Brazil.
Supply as effective capacity is projected to grow by 5.1 percent/year and total demand by 3.7 percent/year.
Although the world operating rate has increased significantly to a high of 89 percent of installed capacity, continued strong demand will mean little flexibility in global availability until a major expansion scheduled in Saudi Arabia becomes potentially operational towards the end of the projection period.

World and regional phosphate supply and demand balances
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
(thousand tonnes P2O5)
World
Phosphoric Acid Capacity 45 260 47 026 47 918 48 978 53 367
Phosphoric Acid Supply 38 724 40 466 42 296 43 762 46 493
Available for fertilizer 33 048 34 722 36 433 37 839 40 297
P fertilizer consumption 40 696 41 885 42 972 44 333 45 474
Non-H3PO4 demand 8 488 8 464 8 402 8 339 8 284
H3PO4 fertilizer demand 32 467 33 704 34 879 36 317 37 525
Potential balance 581 1 018 1 554 1 521 2 773

Africa
Phosphoric Acid Capacity 7 491 7 893 8 253 8 681 10 203
Phosphoric Acid Supply 6 333 6 813 7 318 7 664 8 517
Available for fertilizer 5 863 6 320 6 816 7 161 7 786
P fertilizer consumption 1 100 1 134 1 169 1 206 1 243
Non-H3PO4 demand 165 170 175 181 186
H3PO4 fertilizer demand 935 964 994 1 025 1 057
Potential balance 4 928 5 356 5 823 6 135 6 730

America
Phosphoric Acid Capacity 12 261 12 261 12 491 12 671 13 431
Phosphoric Acid Supply 11 781 11 948 12 132 12 299 12 664
Available for fertilizer 9 580 9 818 9 998 10 159 10 515
P fertilizer consumption 10 857 11 217 11 549 12 174 12 546
Non-H3PO4 demand 1 037 1 054 1 066 1 084 1 099
H3PO4 fertilizer demand 9 820 10 163 10 482 11 089 11 447
Potential balance -240 -346 -484 -930 -932

North America
Phosphoric Acid Capacity 9 951 9 951 9 951 9 951 9 951
Phosphoric Acid Supply 9 858 9 858 9 858 9 858 9 858
Available for fertilizer 8 798 8 797 8 796 8 793 8 793
P fertilizer consumption 4 930 5 019 5 085 5 397 5 456
Non-H3PO4 demand 0 0 0 0 0
H3PO4 fertilizer demand 4 930 5 019 5 085 5 397 5 456
Potential balance 3 868 3 778 3 711 3 396 3 337

Latin America
Phosphoric Acid Capacity 2 310 2 310 2 540 2 720 3 480
Phosphoric Acid Supply 1 923 2 090 2 274 2 441 2 806
Available for fertilizer 782 1 021 1 202 1 366 1 722
P fertilizer consumption 5 927 6 198 6 464 6 777 7 090
Non-H3PO4 demand 1 037 1 054 1 066 1 084 1 099
H3PO4 fertilizer demand 4 890 5 144 5 397 5 692 5 991
Potential balance -4 108 -4 124 -4 195 -4 326 -4 269

Asia
Phosphoric Acid Capacity 18 085 19 424 19 671 20 057 22 133
Phosphoric Acid Supply 15 430 16 503 17 596 18 497 19 920
Available for fertilizer 13 461 14 464 15 487 16 359 17 746
P fertilizer consumption 23 617 24 391 25 058 25 716 26 388
Non-H3PO4 demand 5 855 5 788 5 707 5 602 5 503
H3PO4 fertilizer demand 17 762 18 602 19 351 20 114 20 885
Potential balance -4 301 -4 139 -3 863 -3 755 -3 138

West Asia
Phosphoric Acid Capacity 2 225 2 235 2 245 2 333 4 287
Phosphoric Acid Supply 1 631 1 641 1 651 1 700 2 417
Available for fertilizer 1 250 1 250 1 260 1 307 2 019
P fertilizer consumption 1 470 1 480 1 505 1 525 1 560
Non-H3PO4 demand 132 133 135 122 125
H3PO4 fertilizer demand 1 338 1 347 1 370 1 403 1 435
Potential balance -88 -97 -110 -96 584

South Asia
Phosphoric Acid Capacity 2 121 2 150 2 150 2 287 2 287
Phosphoric Acid Supply 1 286 1 484 1 688 1 798 1 798
Available for fertilizer 1 116 1 310 1 510 1 616 1 612
P fertilizer consumption 6 946 7 333 7 694 8 055 8 416
Non-H3PO4 demand 1 042 1 027 1 000 967 926
H3PO4 fertilizer demand 5 904 6 306 6 694 7 088 7 490
Potential balance -4 788 -4 996 -5 184 -5 473 -5 878

East Asia
Phosphoric Acid Capacity 13 739 15 039 15 276 15 437 15 559
Phosphoric Acid Supply 12 512 13 377 14 256 14 999 15 704
Available for fertilizer 11 095 11 904 12 717 13 436 14 116
P fertilizer consumption 15 201 15 578 15 859 16 136 16 412
Non-H3PO4 demand 4 681 4 628 4 572 4 513 4 453
H3PO4 fertilizer demand 10 520 10 949 11 287 11 623 11 959
Potential balance 575 955 1 430 1 813 2 156

Europe
Phosphoric Acid Capacity 6 823 6 848 6 903 6 970 7 000
Phosphoric Acid Supply 4 619 4 638 4 680 4 731 4 822
Available for fertilizer 3 615 3 588 3 593 3 621 3 712
P fertilizer consumption 3 696 3 703 3 741 3 769 3 816
Non-H3PO4 demand 818 833 827 841 858
H3PO4 fertilizer demand 3 137 3 154 3 223 3 252 3 293
Potential balance 478 434 369 370 419


Central Europe
Phosphoric Acid Capacity 1 087 1 087 1 087 1 087 1 087
Phosphoric Acid Supply 602 602 602 602 602
Available for fertilizer 494 480 467 464 464
P fertilizer consumption 764 776 788 799 811
Non-H3PO4 demand 170 169 167 165 164
H3PO4 fertilizer demand 595 607 621 634 647
Potential balance -101 -127 -154 -170 -183

West Europe
Phosphoric Acid Capacity 1 200 1 200 1 200 1 200 1 230
Phosphoric Acid Supply 1 020 1 020 1 020 1 020 1 107
Available for fertilizer 319 317 314 314 401
P fertilizer consumption 2 387 2 346 2 346 2 326 2 320
Non-H3PO4 demand 358 352 328 326 325
H3PO4 fertilizer demand 2 029 1 994 2 018 2 000 1 995
Potential balance -1 710 -1 678 -1 703 -1 686 -1 594

East Europe and Central Asia
Phosphoric Acid Capacity 4 536 4 561 4 616 4 683 4 683
Phosphoric Acid Supply 2 997 3 015 3 058 3 109 3 113
Available for fertilizer 2 802 2 791 2 812 2 843 2 846
P fertilizer consumption 815 877 928 979 1 032
Non-H3PO4 demand 302 324 343 362 381
H3PO4 fertilizer demand 514 553 585 617 650
Potential balance 2 289 2 238 2 227 2 225 2 196

Oceania
Phosphoric Acid Capacity 600 600 600 600 600
Phosphoric Acid Supply 560 565 570 570 570
Available for fertilizer 529 534 538 538 538
P fertilizer consumption 1 425 1 440 1 456 1 468 1 481
Non-H3PO4 demand 613 619 626 631 637
H3PO4 fertilizer demand 812 821 830 837 844
Potential balance -284 -287 -291 -298 -306

Top ten H3PO4 producers in 2010 (source: Fertecon)

Salitre, Projeto da Vale, do site da Prefeitura de Patrocínio - MG

Será instalado no Distrito de Salitre de Minas, próximo ascomunidades de Tejuco, Mata da Bananeira e São Benedito.O objetivo é a extração de minério fosfático existente na jazida deSalitre, que tem a capacidade estimada de produção de 2 Milhõesde Toneladas/ano e reserva de 100 anos.Além da Mina e da Usina de Beneficiamento, este complexotambém será composto de instalações de apoio, pilhas dehomogeneização e áreas para espessamento e tancagem.Complexo IndustrialSerá localizado as margens da rodovia MG 230, a cerca de 18km do Complexo Mineral.O objetivo é a fabricação de ácido sulfúrico, ácido fosfórico,fosfatos de amônio e fosfatados.O Complexo Industrial terá a capacidade de produzir1,26Milhão de toneladas/ano de fertilizantes fosfatados.Este complexo será constituído pela áreas industrial eadministrativa

OCP in Jorf

Located on the Atlantic coast, 20 km to the South-West of El Jadida, the Jorf Lasfar industrial complex started production in 1986. This new unit allowed OCP Group to double its phosphate processing capacity. The site was selected for its multiple advantages: nearness of the mining areas, availability of a deep water port, access to substantial water reserves and availability of land for future extensions.
This unit, which covers an area of 1,700 hectares, produces annually 2 million tons P2O5 in the form of phosphoric acid, requiring 7.7 million tons of phosphate rock mined out of Khouribga deposits, 2 million tons of sulphur and 0.5 million tons of ammonia. The energy requirements of the complex are met thanks to a 111 MW power station using recovered heat.
The Jorf Lasfar complex is composed of three entities, including the Maroc Phosphore III-IV unit which was created in 1986. With the construction in 1997 of the Emaphos plant, in partnership with Prayon (Belgium) and CFB (Germany), OCP Group entered a new era of diversification of its finished products by producing a high value added acid, i.e. purified phosphoric acid. Two years later, the commissioning of Imacid, a partnership with Indian Birla Group, enabled it to increase its phosphoric acid production capacity by 25% on the Jorf Lasfar site.
Maroc Phosphore III-IV has an annual production capacity of 1.4 million tons P2O5 of phosphoric acid, 850,000 tons of Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) and 850,000 tons equivalent DAP of other fertilizers.
The sulphuric acid plant has 6 production units of 2,650 tons per day. The process used is double absorption Monsanto. The phosphoric acid plant is composed of 8 phosphate rock crushing units, 8 lines of 29% P2O5 phosphoric acid, 20 concentration units, 8 clarification units, 4 54% P2O5 acid filtration units, as well as a pre-treatment unit. Manufacturing is made according to the French Rhone-Poulenc process.
The fertilizer plant includes 4 DAP production units, of which 2 can also produce TSP, granulated MAP and NPK (for the local market). The basic process used is AZF double tubular reactor for DAP and AZF agitated tank with slurry pumping for TSP. This process was replaced by the pre-neutralizer and tubular reactor Jacobs process as part of the revamping programme.

New joint ventures came later: Imacid revamped 450 ktP2Oy in early 2000's, PMP (Pakistan Maroc Phosphore, 375 ktP2O5y) started in 2007 and BMP (Bunge "or Brazil" Maroc Phosphore) with the same 375 ktP2O5 in 2009.
OCP will soon build a new PhosAcid unity to join that team!
The Office Chérifien Phosphates built a new a new fertilizer production plant at Jorf Lasfar, with a capacity of 1 1 million tonnes per year. They said it is the first in a series of 4 new plants to be built between 2013 and 2015.

Maaden´s news (from Zawya)

09-Aug-2011 Maaden's Phosphate JV To Send First Shipment To India In Days

08-Aug-2011 Maaden's Phosphate JV To Send First Shipment To India In Days

19-Jun-2011 Saudi Arabia: Ma'aden starts DAP production

19-Jun-2011 Maaden Says Phosphate Project Starts Initial Production

18-Jun-2011 UPDATE: Maaden Says Phosphate Project Starts Initial Production

18-Jun-2011 Saudi Maaden Says Phosphate Project Starts Initial Production

18-Jun-2011 Saudi Arabian Mining Company, ( Maaden ) Announces The Start Of The Initial Production Of Phosphate Fertilizer

Development of Phosphoric Acid Industry

Still moving from Europe and States to Africa, Asia and South America, phosphoric acid "will never end" is a guess...
When Phosrock will peak?
When it will "desapear"?
Better to say it will be so scarce that prices will skyrocket!
There are (with less effort compared to a bigger industry, like oil) lots of technicians calculating new reserves, ratio of comsumption, making projections...
My life is short. Resources must not be.
Even thinking in a two centuries period in advance is still hard.
It is like everyone was certain of a Apocalipsis that will fix all the figures, ending Earth and all the problems we need to confront...a scapist way of thinking.
Sustainability is a word.
By sure we will evolute to enzymes that catches and solubilizes P in phtates of plants, in DNA´s and RNA´s, from the waters, again from bones, manure, I dont know yet. A "more Organic" agriculture will depend much less in concentrated phosphates!
I know that now I need to take care of each pound of P2O5.
Plants are still far from the dreamed 100% yield...
There are so many percentages points of all phosphate run of mines layed off in rejects, in lagoon bottom beds, in gypsum piles, running to rivers...and one day we will use the relativelly abundant aluminum phosphates after the calcium ones.
I would like to know the future, but I do not believe in Nostradamus...

Projeto da usina de Itataia já em análise no BNB

A instituição deve financiar R$ 380 milhões. O investimento total previsto para a mina é de US$ 350 milhões.
Já se encontra em análise no Banco do Nordeste (BNB) o projeto executivo da Galvani para a exploração, em parceria com as Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil (INB), da reserva de urânio e fosfato na usina de Itataia, em Santa Quitéria. A instituição financiará o projeto com um valor de R$ 380 milhões. O investimento total previsto para a mina é de US$ 350 milhões (cerca de 665 milhões, considerando o dólar na cotação de R$ 1,90).
De acordo com a assessoria de imprensa da Galvani, o documento, que detalha como será todo o projeto, mostrando como serão utilizados os recursos, foi entregue logo após a assinatura da parceria com a INB, no fim de julho último (de 2009).
O banco possui um prazo de 60 dias, desde o recebimento do documento, para que possa avaliá-lo e anunciar a sua aprovação. Sendo aprovado, a liberação dos recursos é feita em, no máximo, 15 dias.
Impasse
O Projeto Santa Quitéria tem previsão para entrar em operação em 2012 (como já estamos no fim de 2011, melhor falar em 2014! Nota do editor). Fora o financiamento, ainda existe um impasse para o início das obras.
O Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e Recursos Naturais Renováveis (Ibama) não reconhece a licença expedida pela Superintendência Estadual do Meio Ambiente (Semace). A jazida tem seu urânio associado ao fosfato e já possui a licença para a exploração desse segundo elemento expedida pela Semace, mas esta documentação enfrenta o impedimento do Ibama. Apesar disso, o presidente da INB, Alfredo Tranjan Filho, afirmou, quando da assinatura da parceria, que as exigências do Ibama são normais para esse tipo de empreendimento. Ele garante que o problema
será resolvido.
3 mil empregos
O projeto de Itataia deve gerar cerca de três mil empregos, entre diretos, indiretos e associados, com a implantação das atividades básicas e de apoio que se instalarão na região.
A usina terá instalações funcionando de forma integrada, no que se refere à destinação da produção de cada unidade. As instalações serão compostas por uma Unidade de Extração Mineral, onde será lavrado, a céu aberto, o minério extraído da jazida, por um Complexo Químico de Fosfatados, constituída de seis instalações industriais (H2SO4, H3PO4, Extração de Urânio, mais três unidades de Fosfatos sólidos) com capacidade na fase inicial para 180.000 toneladas/ano de P2O5 e na fase final de 240.000 toneladas/ano.
A Unidade de Urânio, que visa à precipitação, embalagem e estocagem do urânio ; com capacidade inicial prevista para 1.200 toneladas/ano e capacidade final prevista para 1.600 toneladas/ano a partir do quinto ano — e por Unidades de Apoio e Utilidades.
O projeto foi entregue na última quinta-feira ao BNB e encontra-se em fase inicial de análise, segundo a assessoria de imprensa do banco.
Sérgio de Sousa - Repórter
Fonte: Diário do Nordeste

Mr. Gard

I talk to him and discovered his is "partially" retired, far from Saint Louis, still consulting for ICL. Woodworking and playing guitar! Not bad, as he told!
Is yours the Kirk Othmer´s article on Phosphoric Acid And Phosphates.
A human P2O5 encyclopedia.
He told me he could help eventually.
I had so many questions on Thorium, Cadmium, and other...
And he told me he has read this blog.
My very Best Regards!

Mamuths and mice

Big players are whales.
Junior are sardines!

Now, mamuths are like Brazilian, Indian, Russian, Chinese, South Africans.

And I like it!

Time to buy!

There is still a place for inorganic phosphates in feed??

Inspired by Paul Anselme

Chicken, pig and cattle, dog and cats, whatever, needs phosphates.
If much, your manure will polute water and soil..
Or serve as fertilizers.

Be sure you are sure.

Put things as animals need.

Eat animals as you need.

Live your life.

And take care of our planet!

Gypsum conversion

Crystallization seems to be simple?
It is not.
From Hemihydrate to Dihydrate, calcium sulfate passes 3 distinct steps.
Afected by composition, temperature, time, agitation, impurities, etc.
Not that easy!

Petrobras e Vale negociam nitrogenados de Araucária

Publicado em 31/08/2011 no http://www.gazetadopovo.com.br

A Vale Fertilizantes anunciou ontem ao mercado que vem mantendo tratativas preliminares com a Petrobras com relação a uma potencial operação envolvendo seus ativos nitrogenados no Complexo Industrial de Araucária (região metropolitana de Curitiba). Segundo comunicado ao mercado, até agora não há qualquer espécie de entendimento definitivo entre as partes, não tendo sido celebrado qualquer instrumento vinculativo que determine os termos e condições relativos à potencial operação. O interesse da Petrobras seria de que a Vale utilizasse a unidade de nitrogenados que a mineradora herdou da Fosfértil (empresa que adquiriu no ano passado) como moeda de troca para obter a prorrogação do contrato do arrendamento das minas de carnalita, minério do qual se extrai o potássio, em Sergipe.

Os "junior players" no P&K no Brasil

MbAC é um lançamento de executivos da canadense Yamana Gold.
Aguia Resources é de origem australiana.
Torço para que os projetos em curso (a MbAC já está comprando uma unidade de Sulfúrico e uma de SSP para Arraias-TO) amadureçam rapidamente e com boas margens!

O ácido fosfórico em Santa Catarina

Imbituba já teve sua ICC...
Agora, nós os fosfateiros, sonhamos com a ativação da mina de Anitápolis e quiçá a produção local ou em municípios vizinhos de ácido fosfórico.
Dizem os colegas que trata-se de chaminé carbonatítica similar à de Cajati, sabidamente a mais pura da terra em temos de metais pesados e radionuclídeos.
Ótima para nutrição animal e humana.
Quem viver verá!

Water is a finite resource

We have to reduce, reuse and recicle water.
May be one day we will reduce to a few tons of water per ton of P2O5, but our usage is still very high.
Dégremont, Nalco, Ondeo, GE, Betz, Buckman, Veolia, Praxair, etc are at our side to develop a "dry" processing of phosphoric acid!

India phosphoric acid producers

India is home to around 13 phosacid plants.
City State Owner Capacity
Udyogmandal Kerala Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT)
Ennore Tamil Nadu Coromandel Fertilizers
Fertilizernagar Gujarat Gujarat State Fertilizes Company
Kakinada Andra Pradesh Coromandel
Mumbai Maharashtra Pnadit (with Rhodia)
....and so on...

Phosphoric Acid WPA in India (in the begning of 90's)

FACT Udogmandal set up in 1960 the first commercial, wet phosphoric acid plant with an installed capacity of 8000 TPA of P2O5. The two decades thereafter saw a significant growth in the manufacture of phosphoric acid with installed capacity increasing to 2.00 lakh TPA of P2O5 by 1970 and further to 6.60 lakh TPA of P2O5 by the end of 1980.
Over the years, the size of plants also registered an increase, going upto 1.00 lakh TPA of P2O5. Paradeep Phosphates' plant,, which is under construction, has rated
capacity of 2.25 lakh TPA of P2O5
There are presently thirteen (13) wet phosphoric acid units in the country, out of which twelve are based on sulphuric acid route and one on hydrochloric acid route.
Two of the plants are closed because of problems of equipment breakdown. Out of the three(3) thermal phosphoric acid units in the country, two have discontinued production because of high electrical power requirement resulting in very high production cost.
With the commissioning of Paradeep Phosphates and Hindustan Fertiliser Corporation's plants, the total installed capacity will increase to about 9.151 lakh TPA of P2O5 by the year 1989-90.

(lakh is a Indian multiplier thah is equl to 100.0000!)

Effluents are fertilizers?

From tipical calcium phosphates (mono, di and tri), some fluorides and fluosilicates to struvite, silicates and other phosphate or mixed salts could potentially be used as fertilizers...
You have to control toxicity, that is variable for soils, crop and its age, etc.
It is not simple, but will pay its research some day in some place.
Beside well stablished usages, new ones will appear.
It is a matter of time!
Time will tell!

South Africa

A friend of mine, Thomaz, said so many good things about Richards Bay and its Mhlathuze Water...
A state-owned water utility, was established in 1980 to design and construct a major regional water treatment plant and an offshore wastewater disposal system to service the growing town of Richards Bay in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. As a service provider and partly as part of its mandate, the organisation has increased its service delivery to local and regional municipalities, assisting the water service authorities to provide potable water to urban and rural communities. The organizations area of supply now covers 37 000 square kilometres in northern KwaZulu-Natal with assets in the region of R 3.1 billion.
Treat and serve water and collects and treat effluent, including the gypsum of Foskor.
Thomaz compared with Morocco OCP´s...
And we talk about eventually accepting a system like that in areas like northern Mozambique.
And I though it is quite acceptable!
But phosphogypsum should taken as a building material... once there there are almost no "normal" houses.
Resinated it could do great walls, if there are no radonium emanation.

Phosphate rock is like a woman

I really have discovered something at last.
But this poem and ideas were first wroten, in some foreword for another Pierre Becker´s textbook or else and was told by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, in The Yellow Wallpaper (1899).
Evereday is changing. Some paterns, but lots of changes.

"Through watching so much at night, when it changes so, I have finally found out.
The front pattern does move--and no wonder! The woman behind shakes it!
Sometimes I think there are a great many women behind, and sometimes only one, and she crawls around fast, and her crawling shakes it all over.
Then in the very bright spots she keeps still, and in the very shady spots she just takes hold of the bars and shakes them hard.
And she is all the time trying to climb through. But nobody could climb through that pattern--it strangles so; I think that is why it has so many heads.
They get through, and then the pattern strangles them off and turns them upside down, and makes their eyes white!
If those heads were covered or taken off it would not be half so bad."

Aguia REsources is looking for southern Brazilian phosphates

Rio Grande Projects
The TE (Três Estradas) and JT (Joca Tavares) Carbonatite Projects are located 325 km and 377 km respectively from the city of Porto Alegre, the capital of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost Brazilian state towards the border with Uruguay.
The region is well developed, being well serviced by roads, power, port and services. The two carbonatites were discovered by the Brazilian Geological survey (“CPRM”) and are now held by Companhia Brasileira do Cobre (“CBC”) via one exploration permit (TE) and one application permit (JT) over the carbonatite pipes.
Aguia have an exclusive option to acquire 100 per cent of the Tres Estradas (“TE”) and Joca Tavares (“JT”) carbonatite style phosphate projects from Companhia Brasileira do Cobre (“CBC”).
The projects being acquired are located within the Brazilian border control zone (150 kilometres from the international border) restricting foreign ownership of the tenements to 49 per cent. Should the option be exercised to acquire the tenements at the conclusion of the exploration program, the Company will be required to enter into a joint venture with a Brazilian owned company to develop the tenements. This arrangement is not expected to materially alter the Company’s potential economic return on the funds invested as part of the exploration program.
Tres Estradas
The TE project was historically explored for gold in a Joint Venture between CBC and Santa Elina. Three diamond drill holes that were targeting gold, intersected broad zones of carbonatites with associated phosphate mineralisation. Drill hole FD3E-03 returned 80 metres @ 3.41% P₂O₅ (from 16 metres) including 17 metres @ 4.94% P₂O₅ (from 56 metres) and drill hole FD3E-01 returned 96 metres @ 2.56% P₂O₅ (from 39 metres) including 35 metres @ 3.45% P₂O₅ (from 68 metres).
The first 15 metres of these holes were never sampled and have the potential to host higher grade oxide ore as indicated by grab surface rock samples collected by Aguia that have returned assays up to 31.70%, 25.80% and 22.90% P₂O₅.
Exploration programs of surface sampling and drilling will test the TE target over a strike length of one kilometre and widths up to greater than 100 metres.

Cargill to Sell Stake in Mosaic

Setting Off Another Fertilizer Chase (MOS, BHP, POT, AGU, MON, RIO, VALE)
Posted: January 19, 2011 at 9:54 am

Time to get ready for another chase scene in the fertilizer business. Privately held agricultural giant Cargill Inc. plans to sell its 64% stake in Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) for about $24.3 billion. The sale puts a total value on Mosaic of about $38 billion. While Mosaic could last as a standalone public company, it is more likely that another company will buy Mosaic as it is a significant supplier of potash fertilizer. BHP Billiton plc (NYSE: BHP), which failed to acquire Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) for $38.6 billion last year, is an obvious suitor.
Other fertilizer makers, such as Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU) or Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) are possible pursuers, but a purchase of that size may be beyond their means. Mining companies such as BHP, Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RIO), and Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE) are also possibilities. Any of these three could acquire either a majority share of Mosaic, or, in the case of BHP, buy the company outright. Both Rio Tinto and Vale have market caps around $140 billion, while BHP’s market cap is about $245 billion.
While BHP is the instant choice to acquire a publicly traded Mosaic, a strong case could be made for Vale. The Brazilian company has acquired a number of potash mining projects that are still in the development stage. The first to start operation is the Rio Colorado project, set to begin mining in 2013.
Vale is also sitting on about $13 billion in cash and the company’s operating cash flow in the third quarter totaled almost $9 billion. Long-term debt is substantial, at around $38 billion, but Mosaic would be such a good fit for Vale and the prospects for the future would be so bright that financing opportunities would certainly be there.
BHP could toss a monkey wrench into such a deal, and the company has already shown that it can line up enough financing to make a $38 billion deal happen. BHP, which made an offer of $130/share for Potash Corp., set off the potash chase. Shares in Potash Corp. have risen to around $174/share since the BHP offer amid rising demand for fertilizer.
An unknown, of course, is whether a Chinese buyer could appear. At the time of the BHP offer for Potash Corp., China’s state-owned chemical company, Sinochem, tried to put together a competing bid for Potash Corp., but failed to get financing from the state’s sovereign wealth fund. A bid for Mosaic would put the Chinese in the position of bidding for potash production in Canada and the US, where legislative opposition to selling strategic minerals has proven to be a show-stopper.
A final consideration is the time frame for the Cargill sale. Cargill is jumping through a number of hoops to make this a tax-free sale of its Mosaic stake. As a result, the sale will take up to two years to complete.
Any effort by Vale or any other company to acquire Mosaic will seem like a slow-motion transaction, which is likely to begin in the second quarter of this year when the deal closes, but the first sale of the Cargill-owned shares won’t happen until sometime later. That’s when a potential buyer will want to put a stake in the ground, and Vale is at the top of the list of potential buyers.

Paul Ausick

Vale vai "deixar" os Nitrogenados para a Petrobrás?

São Paulo - A Petrobras quer que a Vale utilize como moeda de troca para obter a prorrogação do contrato do arrendamento das minas de carnalita, minério do qual se extrai o potássio, em Sergipe, a unidade de nitrogenados que a mineradora herdou da Fosfértil, empresa que adquiriu no ano passado.
Segundo fontes próximas das discussões, as companhias estão próximas de um acordo. A Vale precisa de mais prazo para dar andamento aos investimentos em Sergipe, enquanto a Petrobras quer ampliar sua produção de nitrogenados para ter mais um destino para o gás natural. Nitrogênio, fósforo e potássio são a matéria-prima básica para a produção de fertilizantes, e o Brasil depende da importação de todos eles.
A Vale opera a mina de Taquari-Vassouras (SE) desde 1992, cujos direitos minerários são da Petrobras. Esses direitos vencem em 2017. A produtora de minério de ferro tenta há alguns anos argumentar com a Petrobras para que a estatal renove o prazo de exploração, mas até o momento não teve nenhuma resposta.
Caso o prazo seja ampliado, a Vale programa investimentos de US$ 4 bilhões com objetivo de elevar a produção de potássio no local das atuais 700 mil toneladas para 2,4 milhões de toneladas. Hoje, esse é o único local onde existe produção do insumo no Brasil, que responde por apenas 10% do total consumido no País; o restante é importado.
A meta da mineradora é chegar a 3,4 milhões de toneladas de potássio em 2015, considerando todas suas operações de potássio, inclusive a da Argentina.

Amônia
Além da unidade de nitrogenados que a mineradora herdou da Fosfértil, localizada em Araucária (PR), a Vale também produz nitrogenados em Cubatão (SP), outra unidade que era da Fosfértil. No Brasil, há outros dois polos para a síntese de amônia - o primeiro composto nitrogenado -, que pertencem à Petrobras: o complexo de Laranjeiras (SE) e o de Camaçari (BA).
Não é à toa que o interesse da estatal pode estar nesses ativos. A Petrobras está investindo para monetizar as reservas de gás natural do pré-sal e da Bacia de Santos. Com o investimento na produção de nitrogenados, a Petrobras conseguiria, além de aumentar a oferta nacional de fertilizantes, garantir um mercado consumidor firme para esse gás. Também nesse sentido, a estatal prevê construir outras três unidades de nitrogenados: em Três Lagoas (MS), Uberaba (MG) e em Linhares (ES).

Anglo Amercian decide não vender a Copebrás!

Anglo American CEO: To Keep Copebras;Sees Strong Demand,Returns
By Alex MacDonald

Published July 29, 2011
| Dow Jones Newswires

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Globally diversified mining company Anglo American PLC (AAL.LN) has decided not to sell its Copebras phosphates business in Brazil due to strong demand and high returns from the business, the company's chief executive said Friday.
"We continue to look at the phosphates industry. Obviously there is a strong demand in the agriculture side," Cynthia Carroll told journalists in a call about its first half results. "We are seeing high returns and high demand for the near and medium term," from the business, she added.
Copebras generated first half operating profit of $54 million, up more than four-fold on the previous period.
Anglo American had previously considered selling the asset as part of its non-core disposal program which as so far generated $3.3 billion in cumulative proceeds. Anglo American also decided not to sell its Peace River Coal unit in Canada earlier this year for similar reasons and plans to expand the asset.

Copyright © 2011 Dow Jones Newswires

A mineração de Fosfatos em Catalão - GO e conexões com o Ferro da Vale

fonte: CETEM
Na década de 1960, a Serrana S.A. de Mineração, empresa do Grupo Santista, via acabarem-se as reservas de fosfato, minério residual de alto teor que explotava em Cajati, SP.
Encarregou então o Prof. Paulo Abib Andery de desenvolver um processo de beneficiamento do minério primário, o carbonatito presente na chaminé alcalina. O esforço foi bem-sucedido e surgiu o Processo Serrana de Beneficiamento de Fosfatos. Como conseqüência, foram projetadas a mina e a usina de beneficiamento e todo um complexo químico destinado à produção de fertilizantes fosfatados solúveis.
O projeto foi executado pela equipe da Serrana e por empresas projetistas brasileiras – algo absolutamente inovador na época. As nossas empresas de engenharia eram encarregadas apenas do detalhamento das soluções desenvolvidas em empresas estrangeiras. Como essas empresas não conheciam a realidade brasileira, os resultados, via de regra, deixavam a desejar.
Convém registrar que, já naquela época, o Prof. Paulo Abib se preocupava não apenas em baixar o teor de fosfato nos rejeitos, visando à sua recuperação, mas também com o aproveitamento do rejeito do beneficiamento. O sucesso dessa providência permitiu o aproveitamento do material para a fabricação de cimento portland, num empreendimento paralelo, que muitas vezes se revelou muito mais atrativo do ponto de vista financeiro que o
empreendimento que lhe deu origem.
Em fins da década de 1980, foi desenvolvido um processo para proveitamento do fosfogesso – subproduto gerado na fabricação do ácido fosfórico. Para cada tonelada de ácido fosfórico produzida são geradas 4,5 toneladas de fosfogesso. Esse subproduto, até então sem destinação nenhuma, era acumulado ao lado das indústrias de fertilizantes formando montanhas
enormes, desfigurando a paisagem e constituindo-se num problema ambiental muito sério.
Na ocasião do desenvolvimento desse processo, o Brasil era quase que totalmente dependente da importação de fosfatos para a fabricação de fertilizantes. Não é à toa que grande número das indústrias se localiza à beira-mar. A disponibilização desse processo de beneficiamento permitiu o aproveitamento de outras reservas: Araxá, Tapira, Catalão I e II, Patos
de Minas e Anitápolis (que até esta data não chegou a ser aproveitada). Toda uma indústria brasileira de rocha fosfática, única no mundo, veio a ser estruturada a partir do respectivo desenvolvimento tecnológico. Conseqüência tão importante quanto esta foi a criação da empresa de engenharia que levou o nome de Paulo Abib .
Em 1972, um consórcio de empresas alemãs projetou a usina de beneficiamento do Cauê, para a CVRD, em Itabira, MG. Esgotando-se os minérios granulados de alto teor que constituíam a cobertura da mina, fazia-se necessário passar a explotar o itabirito, minério de teor
mais baixo e que tem como principal mineral de ganga o quartzo. Era na época a maior usina de beneficiamento do mundo, com 35 milhões de toneladas de concentrado produzidas a cada ano.
Seja por falta de representatividade da amostra estudada, seja por viés tecnológico dos projetistas, ou por falta de conhecimento da realidade brasileira, a usina apresentou insuperáveis dificuldades de funcionamento. Decidiu-se então reformá-la, do que foi encarregada a empresa Paulo Abib. A escala do empreendimento era tão grande que a usina-piloto em que o circuito foi
testado tinha capacidade para 1 milhão de toneladas por ano de produção de concentrado. Da mesma forma, tamanha era a responsabilidade da modificação que inicialmente foi modificada apenas uma das múltiplas linhas paralelas em que foi projetada a usina do Cauê, e, uma vez consolidadas todas as decisões, estendida a modificação para o restante da usina.
Esse núcleo de profissionais, ampliado, encarregou-se dos outros projetos que vieram em seqüência e que transformaram a CVRD no gigante que hoje é: Conceição, Capanema-Serra Geral, Timbopeba e, mais tarde, Carajás.
Evidentemente, apesar do papel preponderante no mercado, a Paulo Abib Engenharia não era a única. Outras empresas constituíram grupos brilhantes e tinham a sua parcela de mercado.

Phosphate rock demand into the next century: Impact on world food supply

by James R. Herring and Richard J. Fantel

Abstract
A vital and indisputable link exists between phosphate rock and world food supply. Phosphate rock is the source of phosphorus used to make phosphatic fertilizers, essential for growing the food needed by humans in the world today and in the future. We modeled the depletion of the known reserves and reserve base (which includes reserves) of phosphate rock based on various scenarios for increasing population and future demand for phosphate. Using these scenarios, the presently known reserves will be depleted within about 50 years, and the remainder of the reserve base will be depleted within the next 100 years. For this model, we used rates of growth of demand for phosphate rock of between 1 and 1.7 percent annually. We also examined demand rates that decrease over time toward demand stasis. Growthrate scenarios that stabilize demand at the year 2100 are little different from unconstrained growth. Demand stabilization by 2025 extends the reserve base by only about 50 years. Additional considerations could affect these depletion scenarios, causing them to be substantially too high or too low. Nonetheless, the incluctable conclusion in a world of continuing phosphate demand is that society, to extend phosphate rock reserves and reserve base beyond the approximate 100 year depletion date, must find additional reserves and/ or reduce the rate of growth of phosphate demand in the future. Society must: (1) increase the efficiency of use of known resources of easily minable phosphate rock; (2) discover new, economically-minable resources; or (3) develop the technology to economically mine the vast but currently uneconomic resources of phosphate rock that exist in the world (in land and offshore). Otherwise, the future availability of present-cost phosphate, and the cost or availability of world food will be compromised, perhaps substantially.

Moçambique oferece área de três Sergipes à soja brasileira

14/08/2011 - 11h59
FOLHA DE SÃO PAULO

O governo de Moçambique está oferecendo uma área de 6 milhões de hectares --equivalente a três Sergipes para que agricultores brasileiros plantem soja, algodão e milho no norte do país, informa reportagem de Patrícia Campos Mello, na edição deste domingo da Folha.
A primeira leva de 40 agricultores parte de Mato Grosso rumo a Moçambique no mês que vem. As terras são oferecidas em regime de concessão --os brasileiros podem usá-las por 50 anos, renováveis por outros 50, mediante um imposto módico de 37,50 meticais (R$ 21) por hectare, por ano.
O governo busca agricultores brasileiros por causa da experiência no cerrado, que tem características climáticas e de solo muito semelhantes à área oferecida.

How Long Will Florida Phosphate Mining Go On?

from FIPR

For decades, it has been said that the phosphate in Florida could be mined for about another 25 years. Technological advances and market changes, however, have continually lengthened the expected life of phosphate mining, allowing mining of rock that wouldn’t have been mined in previous years.
The Hawthorne Formation, which contains much of the Florida phosphate deposits, covers much of the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States. In the heart of the Central Florida phosphate district, the Bone Valley Formation overlays the Hawthorn Formation. The two are separated by a limestone layer of varying thickness. It is the Bone Valley Formation that has produced the majority of mining activity in central Florida to date. The Hawthorne Formation is being mined in North Florida. It is also the Hawthorne Formation that is being mined in the southern extension of the central Florida phosphate district.

Florida phosphate reserves alone contain about 10 billion tons of soluble phosphate rock. Based on the current mining rate in Florida, this would last more than 300 years if economic and technological conditions allow.

As we look to the future of phosphate mining in Florida many factors must be considered. For example, in the future it may take less phosphate to fertilize the earth because technological advances may result in more efficient fertilizers that could deliver nutrients to plants only when they need them. Such fertilizers would provide the added benefit of reducing the amount of nutrient runoff into surface and ground water.

Many say the factor limiting phosphate mining in Florida is not the deposit, but the number of people migrating to the state and the development they would require. There is a deposit around the Boyette area in Hillsborough County, for example, that will likely never be mined because the land over it has been developed.

In the future, technological advances and market conditions may lead us to other deposits that would not be considered today. There are large deposits offshore that have formed in the Atlantic and extensive deposits in the Western United States that are too remote to economically mine today.

History of Phosphate Fertilizer Production

from FIPR (Florida Institute of Phosphate Research)

Until the 1950s, fertilizer manufacturing facilities were relatively small and produced fertilizers tailored to the soil needs of area farmers, commonly within a 100-mile radius. Prior to 1950, only 4 million tons of primary nutrients – nitrogen (N), phosphate (P) and potassium (K) - were produced yearly. But in the late 1940s this began to change. Domestic agriculture and industry, as well as European and Western Pacific markets devastated in World War II, increasingly requested these nutrients.
In the 1960s, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the Land Grant Colleges began to promote higher analysis fertilizers so that more phosphate could be delivered to the farmers at lower costs and changed the way fertilizers were produced. In the 1960s, more concentrated phosphates began replacing normal superphosphate as the primary fertilizer commodity, turning what had been strictly a mining business into chemical production. This was especially true in Florida, which produces approximately 75% of the phosphate rock mined in the U.S. Phosphate rock is no longer sold for fertilizer manufacture. It is exclusively used to make phosphoric acid, almost all of which is used in the production of phosphate fertilizers.

Today (2005) the ammoniated phosphate fertilizer products produced in Florida allow the farmer to apply more fertilizer in one pass, which cut back significantly on labor costs. The higher analysis fertilizers also save on freight costs

Florida phosphate products today include:
DAP (diammonium phosphate): The fertilizer that quickly became the item of commerce because it had the highest concentration of phosphate and nitrogen at 18N - 46P2O5 - 0K2O.
MAP (monoammonium phosphate): This fertilizer is essentially the same as DAP, but it has a lower concentration of nitrogen at 11N - 52P2O5 - 0K2O.
GTSP (granulated triple superphosphate): This fertilizer is very similar to the superphosphate fertilizer that was the fertilizer that traditionally provided the most nutrients to the plant at 46% P2O5. Since GTSP is made by reacting phosphate rock with phosphoric acid, it also provides some calcium and sulfur to the plant.
Superphosphoric Acid: A product that is used to make a higher analysis, or a more concentrated, fluid fertilizer. Liquid fertilization was said to be the future for fertilizer in the 1970s. It did not, however, prove to be much better than traditional DAP or MAP, which both can be slurried if needed. Today the demand for the product is not high and only a few companies produce superphosphoric acid. The only Florida company producing the acid is PCS in north Florida.
Phosphoric Acid: In the past, phosphoric acid was shipped to granulation plants that flourished in farming areas. There it was mixed with ammonia to make phosphate fertilizer. Today only a few independent granulation plants exist because the phosphate companies add the ammonia themselves to produce the ammoniated phosphate fertilizer products they sell. Purified technical- and food-grade phosphoric acid are also sold for use in items such as soft drinks. This product, however, mostly comes from North Carolina and Louisiana phosphate operations.
Animal Feed Supplements: Defluorinated phosphate rock or phosphoric acid are used to make animal feed supplements. PCS, in north Florida, and Mosaic are two Florida phosphate companies that produce animal feed supplements. One way to produce the feed is to combine phosphate rock with a small amount of phosphoric acid, sodium carbonate and then calcine. The most common method, however, is to defluorinate phosphoric acid and react it with lime to get dicalcium phosphate.
Sulfuric Acid: This acid is produced at phosphate plants to be used to react with phosphate rock to produce phosphoric acid. The heat generated off the sulfuric acid production is used to power phosphate manufacturing plants and extra energy is often sold back to the area electric grid. Some sulfuric acid may be sold as a product.

Khouribga. Les émeutes du phosphate

do telquel-online.com
Les protestations ont commencé fin février.

La capitale des phosphates est sous les projecteurs depuis des mois. Les demandeurs d’emploi ne lâchent pas prise et continuent de manifester devant les installations de l’OCP. Reportage.

Samedi 23 juillet, L’mfassiss, à 15 kilomètres de Khouribga. Le soleil tapant de ce début d’après-midi n’a pas dissuadé des centaines d’habitants de cette petite bourgade de venir manifester devant l’usine de l’OCP. Objet du sit-in : demander de l’emploi. Cela fait plus de trois mois qu’ils campent devant cette unité de lavage du phosphate, la principale de la région. A quelques mètres du portail, des tentes de fortune ont été montées pour abriter les manifestants contre le soleil et les montagnes de poussière blafarde qui se dégagent des usines. Le message est on ne peut plus clair : “Mamfakinch !”. “L’Office a exproprié nos terres en contrepartie de sommes dérisoires et exploite les richesses de la ville, alors que nous, on vit dans la misère. Nous voulons juste du travail pour pouvoir survivre”, tonne Echarfi Allafi, habitant du village. Visage pâle et cernes sous les yeux, ce quadragénaire affirme qu’en dehors de l’OCP, il n’y a pas de vie au village. Comme pour corroborer ses dires, le panneau implanté devant l’usine indique que “le phosphate, c’est la vie”.

Le grand malentendu
La doléance de ce Kouribgui résume à elle seule le gap qui sépare les habitants des villes phosphatières et l’Office chérifien. D’un côté, une population jeune, pour qui être embauché par l’OCP est son droit le plus naturel. Elle fait valoir son droit sur les richesses de son sous-sol et argue les bons et loyaux services des premières générations qui ont travaillé dans les usines de l’Office. De l’autre côté, une entreprise publique, l’une des plus importantes du royaume, qui ne veut (et ne peut) pas troquer son équilibre économique contre une hypothétique paix sociale. Résultat : un décalage frappant entre l’Office et son entourage. C’est, grosso modo, le quiproquo qui explique le bras de fer opposant l’OCP et les villes phosphatières depuis des mois.
“La possibilité de migrer en Europe, qui a longtemps nourri l’espoir des jeunes de ces régions, s’est évaporée. Aujourd’hui, c’est l’OCP qui représente la porte de sortie pour cette jeunesse”, explique Miloud Kharmoudi, habitant à Khouribga et chercheur en économie sociale. “Les gens qui travaillent à l’OCP ont un niveau de vie très élevé par rapport aux autres, ce qui fait que tout le monde aspire à intégrer l’OCP”, renchérit Mostapha, un jeune habitant de Boujniba, village situé à 10 kilomètres de Khouribga. En fait, la question du travail n’est que la partie visible de l’iceberg. Les griefs que les habitants retiennent contre l’Office chérifien sont nombreux : la qualité dégradée de l’eau, les maladies dont ils souffrent ainsi que leur bétail, les pensions dérisoires des retraités...Tous leurs maux sont imputés à l’Office, ce qui rend toute solution quasi impossible.

L’emploi d’abord !
Avec le vent du “printemps arabe” qui a soufflé sur le royaume, la tension est montée de plusieurs crans dans les villes phosphatières. Les premières escarmouches entre les deux protagonistes ont commencé en février dernier. Des centaines de jeunes et fils de retraités de l’Office son sortis à Khouribga pour revendiquer “le droit à un recrutement prioritaire, immédiat et inconditionnel au sein l’OCP”. La tension atteint son summum le 15 mars quand les manifestations, pacifiques au début, prennent une tournure dramatique. Ce “mardi noir”, des centaines de Khouribgui s’attaquent aux locaux de l’OCP, dans le quartier administratif. Plusieurs départements de l’Office subissent ainsi des actes de vandalisme.
Quelques semaines plus tard, la contagion se propage aux autres villes et la ligne ferroviaire de Youssoufia, qui achemine le phosphate vers Safi, est bloquée par les manifestants. A l’origine de l’escalade, une rumeur selon laquelle l’OCP aurait recruté plus de 1000 Sahraouis et jeunes de l’Oriental. “Là où le bât blesse, c’est que les actes de vandalisme sont intervenus après l’annonce d’un vaste programme de recrutement et de formation. Une opération jamais vue au Maroc. Malgré cela, les manifestants ont continué sur leur lancée”, déplore Mohamed Soual, conseiller auprès de Mustapha Terrab, PDG du groupe. Et d’ajouter : “Le problème a deux facettes. Primo, l’Office ne peut pas dépasser ses besoins en recrutement, sinon l’équilibre de l’entreprise sera mis à mal. Secundo, l’activité de l’OCP est hautement sensible et demande un niveau de qualification de plus en plus élevé, ce que nous ne trouvons pas facilement”.

Opération sauvetage
L’Office se retrouve donc entre le marteau de sa responsabilité sociale et l’enclume de la rentabilité, dans un marché de plus en plus concurrentiel. Et démêler cet écheveau est loin d’être une mission de tout repos. Le lancement de “OCP Skills”, un programme qui vise l’emploi de 5800 personnes et la formation de 15 000 autres, en plus d’une aide à la création d’entreprise (qui coûtera à l’Office la bagatelle de 400 millions de dirhams) n’a pas apaisé les esprits. Aussitôt ce plan annoncé, il y a deux semaines, les bureaux de l’Office ont été pris d’assaut pour le dépôt des candidatures. Au total, quelque 90 000 habitants des villes phosphatières ont postulé. L’opération a cependant tourné court dès le début des sélections. Les personnes qui n’ont pas reçu de convocations ont rompu la paix provisoire. “Au début, il y a eu un cafouillage dans l’acheminement des convocations pour les 21 000 personnes concernées, vu la masse des envois qui ciblent plusieurs communes. Après, le bouche à oreille a joué et les personnes qui n’ont pas été convoquées ont embrasé à nouveau la ville”, indique-t-on auprès de l’OCP. Les jeunes chômeurs, de leur côté, affirment que l’opération ne s’est pas déroulée dans les règles de l’art. “La sélection n’a pas été transparente. Plusieurs personnes titulaires de diplômes ont été exclues alors que d’autres, sans qualifications, ont été retenues”, tonne un jeune Khouribgui. C’est dire à quel point les ponts sont coupés entre les deux parties. “Nous sommes déterminés à aller jusqu’au bout, on ne bougera pas d’ici tant que la direction de l’OCP ignorera nos revendications”, nous assure ce Khouribgui. Affaire à suivre.


Arrestation. Silence, on sanctionne !
Les violents affrontements qui ont opposé les manifestants (demandeurs d’emploi) et les forces de l’ordre se sont soldés par un bilan très lourd : des centaines de blessés (des deux côtés) et d’importants dégâts matériels. Des dizaines de jeunes, arrêtés, ont ainsi été déférés devant la justice. Mercredi 20 juillet, la Cour d’appel de Khouribga a rendu son verdict : 11 d’entre eux ont écopé d’un an de prison ferme et de 2000 dirhams d’amende. En plus, ils doivent verser 1,5 million de dommages et intérêts pour le compte de l’OCP. Le jugement a suscité l’indignation des habitants de la capitale des phosphates. A Boujniba, on affirme que les rafles se sont faites de façon aléatoire. “Quelques heures après la fin des affrontements, les forces de l’ordre sont descendues dans la rue et ont commencé à arrêter tous les jeunes qu’ils rencontraient sur leur chemin”, indique le père de Tarik Addai, un jeune détenu. Quinze autres personnes sont en garde à vue dans la prison locale de Khouribga, en attendant leur jugement.

P&K leadership

WORLD’S LARGEST P&K COMPANIES
0123456789
Mosaic
PotashCorp
Belaruskali
Israel Chemicals
OCP
K+S
Silvinit
Uralkali
GCT
Yuntianhua
MILLION TONNES PRODUCTION, 3 YEAR AVERAGE

Read more: http://www.faqs.org/sec-filings/110209/MOSAIC-CO_8-K/dex991.htm#ixzz1UFfyASiK

Where there is smoke...

Jan 21 (Reuters) - Brazilian iron ore miner Vale (VALE5.SA) (RIO.N) denied rumors on Friday that it was in talks to buy a fertilizer company.
Cargill Inc [CARG.UL] is reported to have been entertaining bids for Mosaic Co (MOS.N), the world's second-largest fertilizer producer, in which it has a controlling stake. [ID:nN19219995] (Writing by Reese Ewing, editing by Gerald E. McCormick).
Gossips says that Vale is looking for Mosaic, and or PCS, and or even a stake in OCP...future will say!

Lucro da Vale Fertilizantes no 2o Trimestre de 2011

Maior fabricante nacional da matérias-primas para a produção de fertilizantes, a Vale Fertilizantes registrou um resultado líquido positivo de R$ 115 milhões no segundo trimestre de 2011, revertendo o prejuízo de R$ 4 milhões de igual trimestre de 2010.
No primeiro trimestre deste ano, o lucro foi de R$ 114 milhões.
A receita operacional da companhia foi de R$ 1,241 bilhão, 124% maior do que os R$ 552 milhões registrados no segundo trimestre do ano passado. O desempenho da empresa vem sendo impactado pelos preços mais altos dos produtos vendidos.
Segundo balanço da companhia, o fosfato bicálcico, por exemplo, foi comercializado no segundo trimestre deste ano a preços médios 15,3% mais altos do que no trimestre anterior.
Além dos preços, os volumes também cresceram. Somente os fosfatados de baixa concentração tiveram aumento de 48,7% no segundo trimestre em relação ao primeiro.
O lucro antes de juros, depreciação e amortização (Ebitda, na sigla em inglês) também cresceu no segundo trimestre de 2011. A geração de caixa atingiu R$ 267 milhões no período, 236% maior do que os R$ 79 milhões registrados em igual intervalo de 2010.
A margem ebtida cresceu para 24,7% no segundo trimestre ante os 16% de igual intervalo do ano passado.
A avaliação da companhia, divulgada em seu balanço, é a de que após a queda significativa da demanda global de fertilizantes entre os anos de 2008 e 2009, e da recuperação em 2010, o ano de 2011 tem sido de consolidação da demanda, suportada pela forte recuperação dos mercados tradicionais e pelo sustentado nível de consumo dos mercados emergentes.

Lucro da Vale bate recorde

Rio de Janeiro, 28 jul (EFE).- A mineradora brasileira Vale obteve nos primeiros seis meses do ano um lucro líquido de R$ 21,566 bilhões, número 126,5% maior que o do primeiro semestre de 2010, informou a empresa nesta quinta-feira.
No segundo trimestre de 2011, a companhia alcançou lucro líquido de R$ 10,275 bilhões, crescimento de 54,9% frente ao mesmo período de 2010, o que é um recorde trimestral para a empresa.
A evolução do preço dos materiais a granel, como minerais ferrosos e carvão, gerou um efeito positivo no desempenho, destacou a empresa.
'O resultado reflete a qualidade superior de nossos ativos em um ambiente caracterizado pela forte demanda global e os preços elevados de minerais e metais', ressaltou a Vale.
A líder mundial em produção de ferro registrou no semestre um lucro bruto de exploração (Ebitda) de R$ 27,827 bilhões, 75,9% mais que nos primeiros seis meses de 2010.
No segundo trimestre, o lucro bruto de exploração alcançou R$ 14,802 bilhões, número 41,9% superior ao do mesmo período do ano passado.
O faturamento no semestre chegou a R$ 49,187 bilhões, avanço de 53,7%. Já entre abril e junho deste ano, o faturamento da companhia foi de R$ 25,614 bilhões, com variação positiva de 34,9%.
As exportações somaram US$ 17,434 bilhões no semestre, 69,3% mais frente aos primeiros seis meses de 2010, enquanto para o segundo trimestre as vendas ao exterior faturaram US$ 9,623 bilhões, montante 66,3% maior.
No segundo trimestre, os investimentos da companhia chegaram a US$ 4 bilhões, dos quais US$ 3,1 bilhões foram destinados à execução de projetos de pesquisa e desenvolvimento.
A Vale, com investimentos em 37 países, fechou 2010 com o lucro líquido recorde de US$ 17,264 bilhões, número três vezes maior que o de um ano antes (US$ 5,349 bilhões) e o melhor resultado operacional registrado por uma mineradora.

Top Five World Capacity in Phosphoric Acid (circa 2009)

Phosphoric acid capacity
(MMT/year P2O5)*
Country rank Capacity
1 China 14.1
2 USA 9.5
3 Morocco 4.4
4 Russia 3.0
5 India 2.1
* Excluding industrial and thermal acid production capacity.
Source: IFA.

Aurora - North Carolina - USA Phosphate Powerhouse for PCS

The Aurora phosphate operation is located at Lee Creek in Beaufort County, North Carolina, USA. The largest integrated phosphate mining and chemical plant in the world, it is wholly owned by the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (PotashCorp) and has the capacity to produce 6.6mt/y of phosphate ore, 1.3 mt/y of phosphoric acid and 0.2mt/y of phosphate feed.

PotashCorp bought Aurora from Texasgulf in 1995 as its first phosphate operation, and purchased the agricultural products division of Occidental Chemicals six months later.

Mais sobre Salitre

(Technological characterization of phosphate ore types from the Salitre Alkaline Complex, MG - Fosfertil Area)





Daniel UlianaI; Henrique KahnII; André Borges BrazIII

IMestrando do programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Mineral da Escola Politécnica da USP E-mail: daniel.uliana@poli.usp.br
IIProf. Dr. da Escola Politécnica da USP - Departamento de Engenharia de Minas e de Petróleo E-mail: henrique.kahn@poli.usp.br
IIIDoutorando do programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Mineral da Escola Politécnica da USP E-mail: andre.braz@poli.usp.br





Resumo

São apresentados os resultados de caracterização tecnológica de seis tipos de minério fosfático provenientes do Complexo de Salitre, tendo em vista definir a composição mineralógica das amostras e as características inerentes à apatita e ao minério relevantes para o beneficiamento mineral. Os teores de P2O5 variam de 9 a 25% e a proporção de finos (-0,020 mm) situa-se entre 20 e 34% em massa com perdas associadas de 17 a 22% do total de P2O5 presente. As amostras são compostas, essencialmente, por apatita, oxi-hidróxidos de ferro, ilmenita, argilominerais, carbonatos, quartzo, piroxênio, perovskita, alumino-fosfatos e outros minerais acessórios, variando apenas suas proporções relativas. Verificou-se que a apatita ocorre, predominantemente, liberada já abaixo de 0,21 mm, com superfície límpida a fracamente impregnada por oxi-hidróxidos de ferro; a parcela altamente impregnada (não flotável) varia de 6 a 9%. Do total de fósforo contido nas amostras, mais de 97% ocorre sob a forma de apatita (acima de 0,020 mm) e a recuperação potencial estimada de P2O5 na etapa de flotação é superior a 90% (recuperação global estimada entre 71-76%).

Palavras-chave: Apatita, minério de fosfato, caracterização tecnológica.

Abstract

The present study was carried out on six different ore types from the Salitre Alkaline Complex aiming to determine their mineralogical composition and the major features that are relevant in the mineral processing. The P2O5 grades vary from 9 to 25%. The slime content (-0,020 mm) varies between 20 and 34% (w/w) and carries 17-22% of the P2O5 content. The samples essentially consist of apatite, iron oxi-hydroxides, ilmenite, clayminerals, carbonate, quartz, pyroxene, perovskite, secondary phosphates and other minor accessory minerals. Below 0.21 mm, apatite essentially occurs in free particles showing a clean surface or a weak coating of iron oxi-hydroxides; the highly covered apatite (not recoverable by flotation) varies from 6 to 9%. In the deslimed fraction (above 0.020 mm) more than 97% of the total phosphor content occurs as apatite; the estimated P2O5 potential recovery in flotation concentration is over 90% (71-76% overall recovery).

Keywords: Apatite, phosphate ore, process mineralogy.