Houston, 13 May (Argus) — Mosaic said it will indefinitely suspend the final 2mn t/yr potash of expansions at its Belle Plaine and Colonsay mines in Saskatchewan, Canada, citing unfavorable market conditions.
Feasibility studies for Belle Plaine's 1.5mn t/yr expansion and Colonsay's 0.5mn t/yr expansion are complete, and work will continue as needed when conditions allow, the Minnesota-based fertilizer producer said on a conference call.
However, Mosaic said it is still on track to add 0.6mn t/yr this year at Belle Plaine and 0.5mn t/yr at Colonsay. This will bring the mines' capacity to 3mn t/yr and 2mn t/yr, with product from each being available starting in the company's 2015-2016 and 2014-2015 fiscal years, respectively. Belle Plaine's production capacity will eventually expand by an additional 1.5mn t/yr while Colonsay's will increase by another 0.5mn t/yr once market conditions improve, Mosaic said.
The delay will not impact expansion at the company's Esterhazy K3 mine, which is still scheduled to receive 0.9mn t of additional annual operating capacity by 2017, according to Mosaic.
Mosaic's potential ammonia project in Faustina, Louisiana, is still undergoing front end engineering and design (FEED) work and the company will make a final decision later this year, chief financial officer Larry Stranghoener said. Ammonia produced at the plant would be used in phosphate fertilizer production.
Mosaic also expects to start two more phosphate rock mines in Florida that will replace mines forecast to be exhausted over the next 10 years. Planned mining tonnage at Ona and De Soto will total 393.5mn t of rock. Ona will provide 245.5mn t of rock with 29pc P2O5 content over 29 years while De Soto will yield 148mn t of 29.7pc P2O5 rock over 16 years, Mosaic said. The company expects construction at Ona and De Soto to start in the latter half of this decade, with production feeding phosphate production by the end of decade.
Material from the future mines will replace production from the South Fort Meade mine, which currently has less than 10 years of operating capability at 5.5mn t/yr, as well as the Four Corners mine, which has less than nine years of life available at 7mn t/yr.
Mosaic also expects reserves from its Hookers Prairie mine in Florida to be exhausted by the end of its 2014 fiscal year. Total production capacity Mosaic's four active Florida mines equals about 16mn t/yr.
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