Market Insight courtesy of Argus Media. Urea: While prices mostly fell in mid-August, the main development was the massive purchase of Chinese urea by Indian Potash Limited. IPL confirmed that, out of a total tender settlement of 1.759 million tonnes, one million tonnes will be met by Chinese exporters. This far exceeded expectations and added to the already bearish sentiment of most market players.
The International Fertilizer Association (IFA) has announced that Tony Will has been elected as the new Chair of the Association. Will is president and chief executive officer (CEO) of CF Industries, a global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products for fertilizer, clean energy, emissions abatement and other industrial applications.
Tony Will, the president and CEO of CF Industries, is the new chair of the International Fertilizer Association (IFA). He was elected in June alongside a number of other executive board members and board directors.
The centre of gravity of the phosphate industry continues to shift, with Chinese exports less important, and fresh demand coming from India and Brazil.
Arafura Rare Earths Ltd has awarded Worley subsidiary Chemetics Inc the contract to install Chemetics CORE-SO2™ sulphuric acid technology at its Nolans Project in the Northern Territory of Australia. The scope of the contract is to deliver the detailed engineering and supply of the sulphuric acid plant plus associated oxygen plant on a lump sum basis. The acid plant at Arafura’s Nolans Project will be designed to meet future emission performance and clean energy transition goals, utilising CORE-SO2’s high turndown capability and the potential to idle the plant while keeping the catalyst warm for extended periods of time, allowing the acid plant to operate with 95% reduced SO 2 emissions when compared to traditional double contact double absorption (DCDA) plants. High pressure steam production within the process will allow CO 2 - free electrical power to be generated. By removing the use of a diesel or natural gas start-up burner, further greenhouse gas emissions will be prevented.
Mining major Anglo American is to invest up to $4 billion to complete its Wood-smith mine project in the UK.
Last year saw global trade in all commodities have to take into account the potential loss of supply from Russia, a key exporter of many commodities. Sulphur was no exception, with prices swinging wildly across the year.
Ammonia prices registered another week of losses at the start of January, with supply options continuing to outweigh demand in most regions. Prices have been falling steadily for the past twelve weeks, as the market rebalances after production curtailments across Europe for much of 2022. Steady falls in gas pricing over the past few weeks have put production costs firmly below today’s import price, with European production now scheduled to ramp up at many plants this month.
Fertilizer International presents a global round-up of phosphate rock, phosphoric acid and finished phosphates projects.
Advances in technology, equipment and reagents are enhancing phosphate fertilizer production. Optimisation of standard equipment is also vital for ensuring process efficiency.