WORLD NEWS
10
| WORLD FERTILIZER |
NOVEMBER 2016
IN BRIEF
USA
The DuPont 2017 Best Practices Workshop,
which will be held in Ojai, California, from
1 – 4 May 2017, has opened for registration.
Designed to address all aspects of sulfuric
acid alkylation, the 2017 workshop will cover
regulatory challenges, technology configuration
and selection, technical design considerations,
operations and maintenance, as well as
technology troubleshooting. New for 2017 is
an Operations Roundtable session in which
operators will have the opportunity to discuss
specific troubleshooting scenarios.
A
comprehensive geological programme has been initiated at Great Quest
Fertilizer’s Tilemsi phosphate project. The programme is intended to
advance the inferred resource to that of a measured and indicated resource.
A bulk sample will be obtained, additional drilling will be undertaken and a
detailed topographical survey for mine planning will be completed.
The programme duration is expected to be approximately six weeks.
It is anticipated that the company will be in a position to report both
mineral grades and revised resource calculations by the end of the year.
Jed Richardson, CEO of the company, commented: “The completion
of this work is a necessary step to secure mining permits for the
phosphate project. We believe the upgrading and granting of the permits
should advance the project to a stage where we can secure funding for
construction of our project with the aid of regional and international
development finance institutions.”
Additionally on 27 October, Great Quest Fertilizer reported in a media
release that it had successfully renewed the Aderfoul permit, one of three
concessions that form the Tilemsi phosphate project. This renewal, which
is the first of two allowed under the mining regulations in Mali, grants the
company a further two years for exploration work on the permit.
The company is currently seeking to advance from an exploration
permit to an exploitation permit and is completing the necessary work for
that purpose.
MALI
Phosphate project update
F
ollowing the start of construction of a new factory in Dunkirk,
France, in March and the opening of a centre of excellence and
pilot plant in Bulgaria in September, Belgian group EcoPhos has signed
a 50/50 joint venture (JV) agreement with the Egyptian group Evergrow
for the construction of a 110 000 tpy dicalcium phosphate (DCP) factory
to produce animal feed.
The new plant will be built in Sadat City, 95 km from Cairo, and will
require an estimated investment of US$120 million. The new complex
will include plants for the production of 100 000 tpy of low-cadmium
fertilizer, as well as a 600 tpd sulphuric acid plant and a 60 000 tpy
CaCl
2
plant.
In addition to these plants, further investment is planned for the
construction of an NPK production plant.
The JV is intended to serve local and regional demand and was
signed by Mohamed El-Kheshen, Chairman of Evergrow, and Mohamed
Takhim, CEO of EcoPhos S.A.
EcoPhos will provide the technology, equipment and the outline and
detailed engineering for the construction of the new facility.
This agreement follows the agreement already signed with Evergrow
in 2015 for the construction of a plant to produce 110 000 tpy of DCP,
50 000 t of which will be converted to technical grade phosphoric acid.
EGYPT
Partnership agreement
UK
Fertilizer importer Thomas Bell and Sons
is making additional fertilizer handling
investments at Associated British Ports’ (ABP)
Port of Immingham. The company signed a new
deal with ABP that will enable it to invest in a
new blending unit at Immingham.
As well as a
£2 million spend on undercover storage at its
dedicated fertilizer terminal, ABP will also invest
£100 000 in infrastructure to support the new
unit at Immingham Bulk Park and its agreement
with Thomas Bell has been extended to cover
this latest investment.
Brazil
Anglo American has completed the sale of its
niobium and phosphates businesses located
in
Goiás and São Paulo
to China Molybdenum
Co. Ltd (CMOC), following the agreement
announced on 28 April 2016. Anglo has received
cash proceeds of approximately US$1.7 billion,
constituting the agreed consideration of
US$1.5 billion and approximately US$187 million
of working capital and other adjustments,
subject to certain post-closing adjustments.
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