Mbac turns to Itafos

A long waited project is coming to life again.
The SSP plant at Arraias Tocantins got the right financing and is schedulled to re start in early April.
Brazil and world phosphate welcome this junior to the major's club!

Warehouses of phosphate

Radon exhalation should be measured to  eventually avoid high concentration of this radioactive gaseous element.

Fire breaks out at Vale fertilizer unit, production halted

SAO PAULO, Jan 5 (Reuters) - A fire broke out on Thursday at a Vale fertilizer unit in Sao Paulo state, the company confirmed. It was not immediately clear what, if any, damage, there was, but production at the facility halted.

G1, the website for Globo TV, reported that an explosion was heard just before the fire broke out and that ammonium nitrate was spewing from the facility in the industrial city of Cubatao.

There was no immediate word on deaths or injuries. (Reporting by Roberto Samora; Editing by Jonathan Oatis).

A conveyor belt suposely started a small quantity fire and blast. Investigation is underway.

A warehouse was dammaged.

Environmental spills and fumes where minor in front of the inventory of some 10.000 ton of both Ammonium Nitrate and Ammonia.

Phosphate where colaterally affected due to minor dammage in MAP and Phosphoric Acid had stopped for some days. Investment should be done to refurbish and improve intrinsec safe. Projects are done accordingly, looking for the sale of these unities that are in Vale´s order of the day.

Phosphoric and phosphate world 2016

A year of depressed prices and demand.
Welcome to the new 21rst Century.
Still "abundant" we can pay less for P (N and K also) fertilizers.
One day it will be gone.
Scarce thing in some decades.

Copebrás in Chinese hands

On the 28th April 2016 China Molybdenum Co. Ltd. (CMOC) reached an agreement to purchase Anglo American's Brazilian niobium and phosphates assets, Anglo Fosfatos, in a transaction worth US$1.5 billion. While it was ultimately the niobium assets that were the draw card, leading to CMOC paying a premium of around US$500 million, many of the bidders, including EuroChem, Mosaic, Vale and the various private equity firms involved, had shown a keen interest in the phosphate assets. These are seen to be profit-making operations with easy access to a market with promising long-term demand growth. The unexpected conclusion has prompted a number of questions, including: 

• Who is CMOC and why is it interested in phosphates?
• Why did Anglo American sell its phosphate assets?
• Why did CMOC pay a premium over other bidders?
• Will CMOC continue to operate the fertilizer unit or will it spin it off?
• Are there any structural changes that could be made to the business once the transaction is completed? 
• Does the breadth of bidders point to a renewed interest in phosphate assets? 
• How can potential bidders understand the core businesses better in other diversification or spin off opportunities? 

CRU's cross-commodities coverage of metals, mining and fertilizers, in addition to our detailed and robust cost modelling work, can help to answer some of these questions.

Vale Fertilizantes or Vale Fertilizers: ascention

At that time Lula was Brazilian President.
They told Bradesco´s Agnelli, then Vale´s CEO, to buy fertilizers.
Vale bought Bunge Fertilizantes, Fosfértil and Ultrafertil and Mosaic Cubatão plus the stakes of both Yara and Mosaic in Fosfértil.
US$ 6 billion (3.7 in Bunge, the rest mostly to Fosfértil and afiliates).
With Vale´s peruvian and mozambican phosphates and potash in Brazil, Canada and Argentina (projects) it would be one of big five.
But there will be history.
Dilma is ousted and rumours say eventually Vale will change direction.
The fact is that the conglomerate have Uberaba´s impressive complex, plus Cajati and Cubatão´s phosphoric and phosphates plants. Plus Araxá and former Petrobrás and Ultrafértil nitrogenate plants in Cubatão.
And now all news agencies say they are on sale.
Mosaic is not the sole bidder.
The fact is that there will phosphate plants in Brazil.
Eventually plants will be done from scratch again.
Now is time to buy cheap old plants.
And put money and be profitable soon.
Ciclycal business in cyclical environment.
I hope I will be there for a while, speak about Bayóvar, Catalão and Morocan rocks.
Phosphate, in fact, is more in fault than water and energy.
It is the salt of the Earth.

Bloomberg says Vale's fertilizer busines sale is iminent

Deal for potash and phosphate assets said by Bloomberg to close coming weeks.