Section: CRUSU Industry News

Four Chinese-operated nickel plants at the Indonesian Morowali Industrial Park have temporarily ceased operations following a fatal landslide in February, in a development that will significantly reduce regional demand for sulphur and sulphuric acid. The shutdowns affect facilities run by China’s GEM Co. and its partners, which together account for 30% of Indonesia’s high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) capacity. The move comes amid heightened regulatory scrutiny. The largest of the four plants, PT QMB New Energy Materials, could remain offline for up to three months.

The North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), which operates the huge Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan, has said that it is seeking international arbitration to resolve its ongoing dispute with the government of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan has imposed a swingeing $4.6 billion fine for alleged violations of sulphur storage regulations at the NCOC site. In December, a special administrative court in Astana turned down an appeal by NCOC, although it also granted leave to appeal in a higher court. NCOC, a partnership between Shell, Eni, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, China National Petroleum Corporation, Inpex and Kazakh state oil and gas company KazMunayGaz, continues to maintain that its sulphur handling operations have been conducted in compliance with Kazakhstan’s laws and that it had the required permits in place.

Taseko Mines’ Florence Copper project, featuring Metso’s copper solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX-EW) technology, is ramping up its commercial operations in Arizona. The successful harvesting of the first copper cathodes at the end of February 2026 is an important milestone for Taseko Mines and Metso, marking the first new greenfield copper production in the United States since 2008. The project caters to the rapidly growing copper demand while supporting the transition towards more environmentally responsible copper production in North America.

Prayon has opened a new sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP) production unit at its Engis complex in Belgium. The €30 million investment is designed to strengthen the company’s position in the food and technical phosphates market. The new 10,000 tonnes per annum (t/a) capacity Engis unit complements Prayon’s existing SHMP unit at its Les Roches-de-Condrieu site in France and will double the company’s SHMP’s output capabilities.

Grupa Azoty has launched DuoS® , a new nitrogen–sulphur fertilizer. Its formulation is based on ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate and anhydrite and includes two forms of nitrogen – nitrate and ammonium; two sulphur sources – ammonium sulphate and anhydrite; and calcium to support crop resilience and the quality of produce. The new nitrogen–sulphur fertilizer with added calcium is designed to improve nutrient use efficiency and reduce leaching and other nutrient losses. It is recommended for pre-sowing and top dressing on winter and spring cereals, winter rapeseed, sugar beet, potatoes, legumes, grassland, as well as vegetables and fruit crops. Grupa Azoty says it is introducing DuoS® in the current season as part of a strategy to develop its fertilizer business and focus on specialty products.

The Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has awarded global oilfield services firm SLB a five-year integrated contract worth about $1.5 billion for the next phase of development at Kuwait’s Mutriba oil field. The contract covers design, development and production management work and builds on SLB’s existing subsurface studies of the Mutriba field. It includes development of high-pressure, high-temperature reservoirs with sour conditions, expanding SLB’s scope as the project moves into more technically complex stages. SLB says that the award reflects its long-standing partnership with KOC and gives the company end-to-end responsibility for planning and execution as field development progresses.

First Phosphate Corp. says that it has finalised an agreement for a C$16.7 million non-repayable contribution from the Government of Canada via Natural Resources Canada’s Global Partnerships Initiative. The company says that the funding will accelerate the development of its phosphate project in Bégin-Lamarche by developing the technical and engineering parameters – including processing circuits and equipment – needed to validate the ability to produce a phosphate concentrate that meets the quality requirements of the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery market. The work will be conducted based on parameters established under the contract between First Phosphate and its definitive offtaker.

Coromandel International says that it has started trial production at its new sulphuric acid and phosphoric acid plants in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. The company says that this marks a crucial step towards transforming the unit into a fully integrated facility

The current block to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz places global fertilizer supply chains at risk, warns the International Fertilizer Association (IFA).

Experts from CRU's Assets team will provide an overview of the most and less impacted value chains across the fertiliser, aluminium, steel raw materials and base metals industries.