1. Background on Phosphorus Mining in Ontario
2. About PhosCan
3. Producing Monoammonium Phosphate and Super Phosphoric Acid
4. Benefits to the Canadian Economy
5. Effects of Phosphorus Deficiencies in Maize
6. Phosphorus Fertilizer Produced by Alternative Companies
2. About PhosCan
3. Producing Monoammonium Phosphate and Super Phosphoric Acid
4. Benefits to the Canadian Economy
5. Effects of Phosphorus Deficiencies in Maize
6. Phosphorus Fertilizer Produced by Alternative Companies
Background on Phosphorus Mining in Ontario
Although the phosphate industry in Ontario began in 1870 it has not remained stable since this time. Cheaper rock from Florida led to a decrease in the Ontario phosphate industry until it finally ceased in 1951 (Hewitt, 1). Although the phosphate industry returned to Canada after 1951 and continued until 2013 when they closed the final mine in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Agrium was the only phosphate producer in Canada (Overview, 2014). After the close of the Kapuskasing mine there was a significant opportunity for a phosphate production company to open in Canada since it had been questioned whether the largest phosphate reserves, which are still located in Florida, would be able to continue producing phosphate long term and compete with alternate sources due to the new time consuming measures for opening mines in Florida, the rising operating costs and the reduced quality of phosphorus from these mines (Overview, 2014).
In recent years, the chemical company PhosCan has begun exploring this opening in the market, specifically they are interested in the fact that Canada consumes 1.15 million tonnes of monoammonium phosphate each year, all of which is now imported from external suppliers, primarily Florida (Overview, 2014). When Agrium was operating their phosphate mine in Kapuskasing they were producing 700,000 tonnes of monoammonium phosphate, PhosCan aims to produce 754,000 tonnes per year (Spalding, 2008). The site PhosCan has located is 110 kilometers north-west of the Kapuskasing phosphate mine that closed in 2013. This site has been named the “Martison Phosphate Project” (Overview, 2014).
About PhosCan
PhosCan Chemical Corporation is the company developing the Martison Phosphate Project (About, 2014). One important thing to know about the phosphate industry is that since most companies that produce phosphate fertilizer are fully integrated and control the whole process from the mining and beneficiating of the ore all the way until the marketing of the finished fertilizers, it is important to own the phosphate mine for success in this industry (About, 2014). Fortunately PhosCan has full ownership of the site they are developing which already has the resources for good rail transport, power supply and a strong labor force (About, 2014).
This mine has a projected 19.3 year lifespan based on the levels of phosphate currently present in the mine and the proposed mine plan which involves “an open pit [truck-shoveling] mine, a phosphate beneficiation plant, and a slurry pipeline transporting phosphate concentrate to the phosphate plant near Hearst.”(Spalding, 2008). The initial capital investment is expected to be $1,017 million, with “a five year payback and an internal rate of return of 20.9 percent.” (Spalding, 2008). It is expected that the mine would be operating fully three years after start up and in the first year it would be operating at 65 percent and the second year it would be operating at 95 percent (Spalding, 2008). The final products, monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and super phosphoric acid (SPA) would be sold at a price of approximately $1,000 per tonne for SPA and $650 per tonne of MAP (See Table. 1) (Spalding, 2008). The primary market for these products would be Manitoba, Saskatchewan, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ohio (Spalding, 2008).
Producing Monoammonium Phosphate and Super Phosphoric Acid
After the extraction of the phosphate rock this insoluble compound must be reacted with sulphuric acid to produce a fertilizer (Spaldin, 2008). This reaction produces phosphoric acid and gypsum, in order to perform this reaction the Martison Phosphate Project would require 1.01 million tonnes of sulphuric acid (Spalding, 2008). The sulphuric acid cost $45 per tonne (See Table. 1) and would be delivered “from base metal smelters in northern Ontario and Quebec,” via tank cars (Spalding, 2008).
To turn this phosphoric acid into monoammonium phosphate it must react with ammonia, the cost of which is $400 per tonne (See Table. 1) to be delivered to the granulation plant. After this reaction the fertilizers would leave the production site by tank car or by the Canadian National Railway (Spalding, 2008). For more information on this process and proposal contact Stephen Case at 416.972.9222 or email info @phoscan.ca.
Benefits to the Canadian Economy
The mining and primary metal industry is an important part of the Canadian economy and had 3 percent of total business domestic product in 1995. Although this seems small, keep in mind that Agriculture had only just over five percent (Dungan, 73). The introduction of a phosphate mine in Northern Ontario will be beneficial to the Canadian economy as a whole. The mining industry is a productive industry in regards to the amount of labour it employs with a productivity rate in Ontario of twice the provincial average (Dungan, 93). Therefore this industry is one with worthwhile investment since the jobs provided are high quality, and there is such a high productivity level. As a primary industry there is a large requirement of labour and capital, however the outputs are refined or utilized by other industries (Dungan, 213). This industry also has a significant impact on other economic sectors through the “demand for those goods and services [provided by other sectors] as inputs to its own production,” (Dungan, 116).
The most easily noticeable example of this effect is the large quantities of sulphuric acid necessary as an input as well as the large scale use of a variety of transportation methods to transport the materials at each stage in production. These transportation methods include rail, water, pipeline and truck. Within each of these industries a significant portion of their outputs are used by the mining sector. Six percent of the Rail and Water transport industries are connected to mining, and likewise five percent of the truck and pipeline transport industries (Dungan, 143). “In 1992, the mining industry directly and indirectly employed 119,000 people,” (Dungan 213).
The fertilizer industry is poised for a boom in the coming years for all the same reasons that maximizing the yield of maize in Nepal is crucial. As the world’s population continues to increase the food demands increase while the amount of available arable land decreases, with this trend farmers are expected to produce higher yields per acre which is where fertilizers such as phosphate fertilizer come into play (Rattan, 368).
Effects of Phosphorus Deficiencies in Maize
Although the level of nitrogen a plant is able to access is the most important mineral requirement, after this phosphorus has the most impact and importance than any other individual element (Fageria, 91). A deficiency of phosphorous can stunt the growth of maize and is visible by the purplish coloring of the lower leaves. Fortunately even after the problem has begun, phosphorus can be applied to the maize showing deficiency symptoms (Maize Crop Development, 2014).
Phosphorus Fertilizer Produced by Alternative Companies
The product, monoammonium phosphate, being produced by PhosCan is also produced and sold by other companies. The prices of the compound from each supplier varies however based on the production costs from each company, the location of the mine and refining site, as well as the quality of the phosphate fertilizer (see table 2) (Global Trade, 2014).
The cost of the PhosCan Chemical Corp. phosphate fertilizer is around the average price of monoammonium phosphate. It is also important to note that it is of a high quality and compared to the other high quality products it has a lower cost.
Personally I would not suggest importing this Canadian product to Nepal because the shipping costs will be lower from China, they have phosphate of similar grade in China and it is available in larger more long term quantities, the Martison Phosphate Mine is only proposed to be open for 19.3 years, not very long term (Overview, 2014).
When a farmer is determining the amount of phosphorous fertilizer to place on their crops it is important that they take a soil test, tools to perform this would also need to be imported and marketed in Nepal, so that they do not apply too little and make it ineffective, or apply too much and waste valuable product (Fertilizing Corn, 2014). The calculations of how much phosphorus to apply are given below;
P rate (banded, lb. P2O5/A) = 48 - 5x (AB-DTPA-P)
P rate (banded, lb. P2O5/A) = 48 - 2.5x (NaHCO3-P) (Fertilizing Corn, 2014).
This is the algorithm for determining the amount of phosphorus necessary to be applied depending on which soil test was taken. If Prate is negative then the application of phosphorus is not going to be beneficial. A general rule to go off of is that if the phosphorus level is low then apply 40 lb. per acre and if it is medium apply 20lb per acre of banded fertilizer, obviously if it is high then no phosphorus fertilizer needs to be applied (Fertilizing Corn, 2014).
Although the phosphate industry in Ontario began in 1870 it has not remained stable since this time. Cheaper rock from Florida led to a decrease in the Ontario phosphate industry until it finally ceased in 1951 (Hewitt, 1). Although the phosphate industry returned to Canada after 1951 and continued until 2013 when they closed the final mine in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Agrium was the only phosphate producer in Canada (Overview, 2014). After the close of the Kapuskasing mine there was a significant opportunity for a phosphate production company to open in Canada since it had been questioned whether the largest phosphate reserves, which are still located in Florida, would be able to continue producing phosphate long term and compete with alternate sources due to the new time consuming measures for opening mines in Florida, the rising operating costs and the reduced quality of phosphorus from these mines (Overview, 2014).
In recent years, the chemical company PhosCan has begun exploring this opening in the market, specifically they are interested in the fact that Canada consumes 1.15 million tonnes of monoammonium phosphate each year, all of which is now imported from external suppliers, primarily Florida (Overview, 2014). When Agrium was operating their phosphate mine in Kapuskasing they were producing 700,000 tonnes of monoammonium phosphate, PhosCan aims to produce 754,000 tonnes per year (Spalding, 2008). The site PhosCan has located is 110 kilometers north-west of the Kapuskasing phosphate mine that closed in 2013. This site has been named the “Martison Phosphate Project” (Overview, 2014).
About PhosCan
PhosCan Chemical Corporation is the company developing the Martison Phosphate Project (About, 2014). One important thing to know about the phosphate industry is that since most companies that produce phosphate fertilizer are fully integrated and control the whole process from the mining and beneficiating of the ore all the way until the marketing of the finished fertilizers, it is important to own the phosphate mine for success in this industry (About, 2014). Fortunately PhosCan has full ownership of the site they are developing which already has the resources for good rail transport, power supply and a strong labor force (About, 2014).
This mine has a projected 19.3 year lifespan based on the levels of phosphate currently present in the mine and the proposed mine plan which involves “an open pit [truck-shoveling] mine, a phosphate beneficiation plant, and a slurry pipeline transporting phosphate concentrate to the phosphate plant near Hearst.”(Spalding, 2008). The initial capital investment is expected to be $1,017 million, with “a five year payback and an internal rate of return of 20.9 percent.” (Spalding, 2008). It is expected that the mine would be operating fully three years after start up and in the first year it would be operating at 65 percent and the second year it would be operating at 95 percent (Spalding, 2008). The final products, monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and super phosphoric acid (SPA) would be sold at a price of approximately $1,000 per tonne for SPA and $650 per tonne of MAP (See Table. 1) (Spalding, 2008). The primary market for these products would be Manitoba, Saskatchewan, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ohio (Spalding, 2008).
Producing Monoammonium Phosphate and Super Phosphoric Acid
After the extraction of the phosphate rock this insoluble compound must be reacted with sulphuric acid to produce a fertilizer (Spaldin, 2008). This reaction produces phosphoric acid and gypsum, in order to perform this reaction the Martison Phosphate Project would require 1.01 million tonnes of sulphuric acid (Spalding, 2008). The sulphuric acid cost $45 per tonne (See Table. 1) and would be delivered “from base metal smelters in northern Ontario and Quebec,” via tank cars (Spalding, 2008).
To turn this phosphoric acid into monoammonium phosphate it must react with ammonia, the cost of which is $400 per tonne (See Table. 1) to be delivered to the granulation plant. After this reaction the fertilizers would leave the production site by tank car or by the Canadian National Railway (Spalding, 2008). For more information on this process and proposal contact Stephen Case at 416.972.9222 or email info @phoscan.ca.
Benefits to the Canadian Economy
The mining and primary metal industry is an important part of the Canadian economy and had 3 percent of total business domestic product in 1995. Although this seems small, keep in mind that Agriculture had only just over five percent (Dungan, 73). The introduction of a phosphate mine in Northern Ontario will be beneficial to the Canadian economy as a whole. The mining industry is a productive industry in regards to the amount of labour it employs with a productivity rate in Ontario of twice the provincial average (Dungan, 93). Therefore this industry is one with worthwhile investment since the jobs provided are high quality, and there is such a high productivity level. As a primary industry there is a large requirement of labour and capital, however the outputs are refined or utilized by other industries (Dungan, 213). This industry also has a significant impact on other economic sectors through the “demand for those goods and services [provided by other sectors] as inputs to its own production,” (Dungan, 116).
The most easily noticeable example of this effect is the large quantities of sulphuric acid necessary as an input as well as the large scale use of a variety of transportation methods to transport the materials at each stage in production. These transportation methods include rail, water, pipeline and truck. Within each of these industries a significant portion of their outputs are used by the mining sector. Six percent of the Rail and Water transport industries are connected to mining, and likewise five percent of the truck and pipeline transport industries (Dungan, 143). “In 1992, the mining industry directly and indirectly employed 119,000 people,” (Dungan 213).
The fertilizer industry is poised for a boom in the coming years for all the same reasons that maximizing the yield of maize in Nepal is crucial. As the world’s population continues to increase the food demands increase while the amount of available arable land decreases, with this trend farmers are expected to produce higher yields per acre which is where fertilizers such as phosphate fertilizer come into play (Rattan, 368).
Effects of Phosphorus Deficiencies in Maize
Although the level of nitrogen a plant is able to access is the most important mineral requirement, after this phosphorus has the most impact and importance than any other individual element (Fageria, 91). A deficiency of phosphorous can stunt the growth of maize and is visible by the purplish coloring of the lower leaves. Fortunately even after the problem has begun, phosphorus can be applied to the maize showing deficiency symptoms (Maize Crop Development, 2014).
Phosphorus Fertilizer Produced by Alternative Companies
The product, monoammonium phosphate, being produced by PhosCan is also produced and sold by other companies. The prices of the compound from each supplier varies however based on the production costs from each company, the location of the mine and refining site, as well as the quality of the phosphate fertilizer (see table 2) (Global Trade, 2014).
The cost of the PhosCan Chemical Corp. phosphate fertilizer is around the average price of monoammonium phosphate. It is also important to note that it is of a high quality and compared to the other high quality products it has a lower cost.
Personally I would not suggest importing this Canadian product to Nepal because the shipping costs will be lower from China, they have phosphate of similar grade in China and it is available in larger more long term quantities, the Martison Phosphate Mine is only proposed to be open for 19.3 years, not very long term (Overview, 2014).
When a farmer is determining the amount of phosphorous fertilizer to place on their crops it is important that they take a soil test, tools to perform this would also need to be imported and marketed in Nepal, so that they do not apply too little and make it ineffective, or apply too much and waste valuable product (Fertilizing Corn, 2014). The calculations of how much phosphorus to apply are given below;
P rate (banded, lb. P2O5/A) = 48 - 5x (AB-DTPA-P)
P rate (banded, lb. P2O5/A) = 48 - 2.5x (NaHCO3-P) (Fertilizing Corn, 2014).
This is the algorithm for determining the amount of phosphorus necessary to be applied depending on which soil test was taken. If Prate is negative then the application of phosphorus is not going to be beneficial. A general rule to go off of is that if the phosphorus level is low then apply 40 lb. per acre and if it is medium apply 20lb per acre of banded fertilizer, obviously if it is high then no phosphorus fertilizer needs to be applied (Fertilizing Corn, 2014).
Table 1:
Table 2:
References
About PhosCan Chemical Corp. [Internet]; c2014 [cited 2014 09/10]. Available from: http://www.phoscan.ca/aboutus.aspx .
Dungan P. 1997. Rock solid: The impact of the mining and primary metals industries on the Canadian economy. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Institute for Policy Analysis.
Fageria NK. 2009. The use of nutrients in crop plants. United States of America: CRC Press: Taylor& Francis Group.
Fertilizing Corn [Internet]; c2014 [cited 2014 01/11]. Available from: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/crops/00538.html.
Global Trade Starts Here [Internet]; c2014 [cited 2014 19/11]. Available from: www.alibaba.com.
Hewitt DF. 1967. Phosphate in Ontario. Ontario, Canada: Ontario Department of Mines.
Maize Crop Development, Pests and Diseases [Internet]; c2014 [cited 2014 18/10]. Available from: aciar.gov.au/files/node/8919/maize%20manual%2072dpi.pdf.
Spalding, J. Martison Phosphate Project Preliminary Feasibility Study [Internet]; c2008 [cited 2014 19/10]. Available from: http://www.phoscan.ca/documents/technical/05-16-2008-NI43-101.pdf .
Overview of the Canadian Phosphate Industry [Internet]; c2014 [cited 2014 16/10]. Available from: http://www.phoscan.ca/documents/projects/N.%20A.Phosphate%20Industry%20Overview.pdf.
About PhosCan Chemical Corp. [Internet]; c2014 [cited 2014 09/10]. Available from: http://www.phoscan.ca/aboutus.aspx .
Dungan P. 1997. Rock solid: The impact of the mining and primary metals industries on the Canadian economy. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Institute for Policy Analysis.
Fageria NK. 2009. The use of nutrients in crop plants. United States of America: CRC Press: Taylor& Francis Group.
Fertilizing Corn [Internet]; c2014 [cited 2014 01/11]. Available from: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/crops/00538.html.
Global Trade Starts Here [Internet]; c2014 [cited 2014 19/11]. Available from: www.alibaba.com.
Hewitt DF. 1967. Phosphate in Ontario. Ontario, Canada: Ontario Department of Mines.
Maize Crop Development, Pests and Diseases [Internet]; c2014 [cited 2014 18/10]. Available from: aciar.gov.au/files/node/8919/maize%20manual%2072dpi.pdf.
Spalding, J. Martison Phosphate Project Preliminary Feasibility Study [Internet]; c2008 [cited 2014 19/10]. Available from: http://www.phoscan.ca/documents/technical/05-16-2008-NI43-101.pdf .
Overview of the Canadian Phosphate Industry [Internet]; c2014 [cited 2014 16/10]. Available from: http://www.phoscan.ca/documents/projects/N.%20A.Phosphate%20Industry%20Overview.pdf.
