Tag: Investment

The ammonia train at the under-construction Beaumont ammonia project in Texas is now 95% complete, according to owner Woodside.

Aliko Dangote, self styled “Africa’s richest man”, has signed a $2.5 billion partnership with the Ethiopian Government to build one of the world’s largest single-site fertiliser plants in Gode, Somali Regional State. The was signed on August 28th by Dangote Group and Ethiopian Investment Holdings, the government’s strategic investment arm. Under the agreement, Dangote Group will hold a controlling 60% equity share, with EIH taking the remaining 40%. EIH says that the facility will be “among the top five largest urea production complexes globally… with production facilities boasting a combined capacity of up to three million metric tons per annum.” The project will take gas feedstock via pipeline from the Calub and Hilala gas fields, with provisions for future expansions into ammonia-based fertilisers.

Caitlyn India Pvt Ltd (CIPL) has announced a $46 million investment to build a 50,000 t/a phosphoric acid plant in India. The plant aims to reduce import dependence and boost the country’s fertiliser self-sufficiency. Commissioning is planned for the financial year 2027. The facility, to be set up in a port-accessible industrial zone in southern India, will use hemihydrate-dihydrate technology to produce high purity phosphoric acid and cleaner gypsum by-products. A captive sulphuric acid unit will also be included to support efficient operations. Initially, the acid produced will supply Indian fertiliser manufacturers, with plans for captive use in future fertiliser production.

The Belarusian government has nationalised and is fast-tracking the two million t/a capacity Slavkaliy project.

Italy’s Saipem has won a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract from Sonatrach for an integrated phosphate fertilizer project in Algeria.

New ownership structure and plant expansion for Northern Nutrients following investment by Shell Trading Canada

OCP Group subsidiary OCP Nutricrops has announced a major investment to expand its phosphate fertilizer production capacity by nine million tonnes by 2028.

Indonesia has become the epicentre of the world nickel industry, and is now seeking to raise royalty rates to capture more value from this. Will this impact upon the continuing expansion of HPAL capacity there?

Verdant Minerals says it has been granted two key productive mineral leases for its Ammaroo Phosphate Project by the Northern Territory government. The company says that this significant milestone advances one of the world's largest undeveloped phosphate resources, located about 220km southeast of Tennant Creek. Acting Chief Minister and Minister for Mining and Energy, Gerard Maley, stated, “This is a significant milestone in progressing a world-class resource project that will support jobs, drive investment, and strengthen the NT’s position as a leader in resource development.”

The Philippine government is looking to follow Indonesia’s success in attracting downstream investment by banning the export of nickel ore. The Philippine Congress could ratify a bill banning raw mineral exports as early as June. The ban would come into force five years after approval to give miners time to build downstream processing plants. This development could potentially lead to higher nickel prices in the medium term if there is a delay to building domestic capacity and the Indonesian government becomes serious about restraining ore availability.