Section: CRUFI Market & Features

Anglo American’s CEO Duncan Wanblad spoke in detail about the company’s new strategy for the Woodsmith mine during an annual results presentation on 23rd February. Selected highlights are provided below.

New methods for low-carbon ammonia production are emerging, while project activity is also rising rapidly.

Single superphosphate (SSP) is relatively easy and cheap to make. Yet traditional gas scrubbers often limit production and create plant maintenance issues.Fortunately, an innovative scrubbing technology developed by Armatec Environmental can overcome many of these problems. Based on high efficiency void towers, this new approach helps SSP producers meet stringent global emissions standards, explains Armatec’s Shane Pope , while simultaneously maximising production and improving worker conditions.

The Sustainable Fertilizer Academy (SFA) offers everyone within the fertilizer industry access to education on sustainability via a certified e-learning programme. More than 150 students have registered to date and over 40 alumni have graduated from the academy since it opened in September last year.

Anglo American recently unveiled the long-awaited strategy update for its large-scale Woodsmith mine project in the UK. Initial production of the company’s POLY4 polyhalite fertilizer is now scheduled to begin in 2027. The mine’s ultimate annual output has also been increased to 13 million tonnes.

In September last year, one of the largest mining equipment and technology deals in history closed when FLSmidth finally completed its purchase of thyssenkrupp Mining. We look at the implications for the fertilizer sector and phosphate and potash mining.

Evaporation and crystallisation are widely used throughout the fertilizer industry. These powerful production processes are helping fertilizer manufacturers diversify their product portfolios, improve profitability and meet sustainability goals.

Market Insight courtesy of Argus Media. Urea: Scarcity continued to drive urea prices higher in some markets at the end of April. The US market remains short on urea and prices spiked to reflect this. Nola barges for April were trading as high as $450/st f.o.b. ($490/t cfr), 55 percent up on this year’s low point. Southeast Asia remains short on urea too, amid planned and unplanned turnarounds, with one cargo trading at around $345/t f.o.b.

A complete listing of all articles and news items that appeared in Fertilizer International during 2022

More than 1,000 delegates from 500 companies and 60 countries gathered at the Sheraton Grand Rio Hotel & Resort, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 29 January – 1 February, for the 2023 Fertilizer Latino Americano (FLA) conference. The event was hosted by CRU in collaboration with Argus. With attendance at record levels this year, we present selected highlights from this year’s four-day FLA event.