Tag: Project

Ardea Resources says that its Kalgoorlie Nickel Project in Western Australia has secured a crucial renewal of its major project status from the federal government for another three years, underscoring the project’s strategic importance, granting it streamlined approvals and direct access to the country’s major project facilitation agency. Located 80 km from Kalgoorlie, the project hosts what Ardea says is the world’s largest undeveloped nickel-cobalt resource, containing 854 million tonnes averaging 0.71% (6.1 million tonnes) of nickel and 0.045% (386,000 tonnes) of cobalt.

Singapore-based Indorama Group, through its Senegalese subsidiary Industries Chimiques du Sénégal (ICS), has signed a memorandum of understanding with Senegal’s Investment and Major Projects Promotion Agency (APIX) to launch a major $210 million investment, aiming to boost Senegal’s phosphate and fertilizer production capacity, reinforcing the country’s strategic role in the regional agricultural input market.

Fertilizer International presents a global round-up of current potash projects.

Paradeep Phosphates Ltd (PPL) has announced a $400 million capacity expansion program, following its October 13th merger with Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers Limited (MCFL). This company says that the move aims to strengthen PPL's market position and enhance its production capabilities. The investment will involve increasing granulation capacity by 1.0 million t/a at the Paradeep site, as well as an additional 250,000 t/a of phosphoric acid and 750,000 t/a of sulphuric acid capacity at the company’s new Mangalore site. The expansion is expected to be completed within three years, according to PPL, and is expected to ensure 100% backward integration for fertilizer production, reduce import dependency, and enhance operational capabilities and profitability. low-contaminant phosphate concentrate that allows for easy conversion into purified phosphoric acid. The company has spent over C$100 million advancing the project and has received funding and investment from the Quebec Government.

The US Department of Energy has agreed a $1.5 billion loan for the Indiana-based Wabash Valley Resources LLC to finance a coal-powered ammonia plant in West Terre Haute. The project will restart and repurpose a coal gasification plant that has been idled since 2016. However, previous plans to include carbon capture and storage in the project, as agreed as recently as May by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), appear to have been abandoned. The loan comes from the Trump administration’s Energy Dominance Financing Program financed via the so-called “big beautiful bill”. It aims to reduce US dependence on foreign sources of fertilizer and to provide domestic sources of consumption for America’s shrinking coal industry. The facility is aiming to produce 500,000 t/a of ammonia using coal from a mine in southern Indiana as well as petroleum coke as feedstock.

Topsoe has been selected as technology provider by Sandpiper Chemicals LLC, for their new blue methanol plant in Texas City, Texas. Topsoe will license its Syn-COR™ technology, which will be combined with carbon capture & storage (CCS) for the production of blue methanol. The project, when operational will produce 3,000 t/d of blue methanol. The IEA estimates that methanol demand is expected to grow to 120-150 million t/a by 2030. Today, methanol is primarily used within the chemical industry, but growing demand is coming from the shipping industry as it looks to lower emissions.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor International Corporation says that it has successfully delivered syngas and ammonia refrigeration compressor trains for the Beaumont New Ammonia Project in Beaumont, Texas. This facility, originally developed by OCI Global as the OCI Clean Ammonia project, now owned by Woodside Energy, will be the first large-scale, lower-carbon greenfield ammonia facility in the world.

Topsoe has signed an offtake agreement to provide its Solid Oxide Electrolyser Cell (SOEC) technology for Forestal’s Triskelion green methanol plant in Galicia. The SOEC’s will be delivered from Topsoe’s manufacturing facility in Herning, Denmark, which is nearing the final stage of readiness for industrial-scale production. The agreement, which includes a 10-year service warranty program, builds on Topsoe’s existing agreement with Forestal, announced in December 2024, to provide its e-methanol synthesis technology, catalysts and engineering for highly efficient e-methanol production.

Clariant has signed a supply agreement with SYPOX to manufacture and deliver catalysts for what is claimed to be the world’s largest electric steam methane reformer (e-SMR). The project combines SYPOX’s electrical reformer technology with Clariant’s expertise to enable syngas production with significantly reduced CO2 emissions. Scheduled to begin operations in 2026, the e-SMR will use 10 MW of renewable electricity to generate approximately 150 t/d of syngas.

In this CRU Insight, Alexander Chreky reports on China’s potash industry – and reviews the country's international potash investments.