Engineering & Mining Journal

JUN 2016

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FERTILIZER MINERALS 42 E&MJ; • JUNE 2016 www.e-mj.com a coincident increase in imports of these fertilizers into India. However, China's extensive phosphate rock resources are predominantly used domestically, with exports only of higher-value processed products. In October, Israel's ICL announced a joint venture with the largest Chinese phosphate-rock producer, Yunnan Phos- phate Chemicals Group, with the in- tention of modernizing and expanding the existing mines and fertilizer plants there. The move gives ICL better access to China's domestic market for both rock and fertilizers. In Saudi Arabia, Mosaic has a 25% stake in Ma'aden Wa'ad Al Shamal Phosphate Co., which is spending $8 billion to develop the country's largest phosphate-based integrated pro- ject. The mine at Al Jalamid will pro- duce some 11.6 million mt/y of rock and 5 million mt/y of fotation con- centrate, with the Ras Al Khair fertil- izer plants designed for an output of 3 million mt/y of diammonium phosphate fertilizer plus an extra 400,000 mt/y of ammonia for export. Ammonia opera- tions are due to begin later this year, with fnished phosphate products avail- able in 2017. Sulphur: The Hidden Link Not only critical to the production of phosphate fertilizers, sulphur is also an important crop nutrient in its own right. According to The Sulphur Institute, agricultural land around the world is becoming increasingly depleted in sul- phur, while dressing at levels signif- cantly lower than those needed for con- ventional fertilizers can produce major crop yield benefts. However, direct application is only a minor component of annual sulphur use. Integer Research's Meena Chauhan told E&MJ; that around 90% of world sulphur production is converted to sulphuric acid—and of that, maybe 60% is used in the production of phosphate-based fertilizers. Hence the intimate (and usu- ally unrecognized) relationship between phosphate rock and sulphur, with sulphur demand—and therefore pricing—inextri- cably linked to the fortunes of phosphates and the usage of fertilizers. In her presentation to The Sulphur Institute conference, held in Vancouver in April, Chauhan explained that future growth in sulphur production will come largely from gas developments in the Middle East, replacing the treatment of sour crude oil that has been the princi- pal source up to now. This will also in- crease, she added, but not as fast as sulphur stripping from natural gas, with new projects expected in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iran. From a mining perspective, there is not much news there, although there is one major mining-sector sulphur stock- pile. By the end of 2015, Syncrude's sulphur mountain at its Mildred Lake operations had grown to hold nearly 10 million mt, 500,000 mt more than in 2013. While this represents a major resource, the problem for Syncrude is geographical; moving the material to market is simply uneconomic. Demand for fertilizer will be the driver for future demand growth for sul- phur, Chauhan explained, illustrating the point by looking at Africa. Between 2011 and 2025, African sulphur de- mand will have more than doubled to more than 15 million mt/y, with more than 90% of this growth coming from fer- tilizer producers in Morocco and Tunisia. Surplus or Defcit? A common thread running through all of the major potash and phosphate producers' annual reports for 2015 is their caution for the short term at least. In February, Mosaic brought in a 400,000-mt reduction in phosphate production for 2016, albeit with a more positive future in sight. "Today's crop nutrient prices, including phosphates, are attractive to farmers globally and we expect a strong demand response after Figure 4—Potash (KCl) and phosphate rock quarterly price trends, 2011-2016. (Source: YCharts) Sulphur stacked at a gas-treatment plant in Alberta, ready for shipment to Vancouver for export. (Photo: Gord McKenna)

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