Phosphate segment – Upstream
The upstream operations in our Phosphate segment take place at Apatit, which mines apatite-nepheline ore that is processed into Phosphate rock sales in 2012 kt nepheline concentrate and phosphate rock.
In 2012, we extracted 26.6 million tonnes of apatite-nepheline ore, the same amount as in 2011. We produced 7.9 million tonnes of phosphate rock, up 2.4% from 7.7 million tonnes last year. Intra-group sales of phosphate rock for production of our own phosphate-based fertilizers and other end products accounted for 55% (4,347 kt) of our total phosphate rock sales in 2012, down from 59% (4,604 kt) in 2011. This change was primarily due to the higher volume of complex NPK/NPS fertilizers that we produced in 2012. These products generally have a lower P₂O₅ content compared to DAP/MAP and, as a result, the amount of phosphate rock we used as a raw material was lower than in 2011, despite higher overall fertilizer production and sales in 2012.
33% of the phosphate rock produced in 2012 was sold to domestic external customers and 12% to international external customers, compared with 32% and 9%, respectively, in 2011. Prayon (Belgium)and Yara (Norway) accounted for most of the exports. In December 2012, PhosAgro entered into a phosphate rock supply agreement with Yara for
Nepheline concentrate sales rose 4.5%, and production increased 6.0% y-o-y in 2012. We sell all of our nepheline concentrate to Basel Cement Pikalevo, which increased the volumes of nepheline concentrate purchased in 2012.
Phosphate rock sales in 2012 kt
Production Volumes kt
| 2012 | 2011 | Change y-o-y | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apatit mine and benefi ciation plant |
|||
| Phosphate rock | 7,903.6 | 7,719.8 | 2.4% |
| Nepheline concentrate | 1,056.7 | 997.0 | 6.0% |
Sales Volumes kt
| 2012 | 2011 | Change y-o-y | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apatit mine and benefi ciation plant |
|||
| Phosphate rock | 7,903.6 | 7,719.8 | 2.4% |
| Nepheline concentrate | 1,056.7 | 996.7 | 4.5% |
PhosAgro’s ore resources as at 1 January 2013
In 2012 we conducted further exploration of the Razvumchorr Plateau as part of our ongoing projects to expand our resource base. As a result of this exploration the volume of category A, B and C1 resources increased by 32,658 thousand tonnes, or 1.6%, compared to 1 January 2012.
| Deposit | Resources , ’000 t (Categories A+B+C1) |
Average P₂O₅ content, % |
|---|---|---|
| Kukisvumchorr | 415,971 | 14.64% |
| Yukspor | 537,012 | 14.22% |
| Apatitovy Cirque | 116,580 | 14.80% |
| Rasvumchorr Plateau | 339,828 | 12.97% |
| Koashva | 626,183 | 16.79% |
| Njorkpahk | 57,448 | 14.96% |
| Total | 2,093,022 | 14.92% |
Reserves Categories Class ification
Category A
The deposit is known in detail; boundaries of the deposit have been outlined by trenching, drilling, or underground workings. The quality and properties of the ore are known in sufficient detail to ensure the reliability of the projected exploitation.
Category B
The deposit has been explored but is only known in fair detail; boundaries of the deposit have been outlined by trenching, drilling, or underground workings. The quality and properties of the ore are known in sufficient detail to ensure the basic reliability of the projected exploitation.
Category C1
The deposit has been estimated by a sparse grid of trenches, drillholes or underground workings. The quality and properties of the deposit are known tentatively by analogy with known deposits of the same type and the general conditions for exploitation are known tentatively. This category includes resources peripheral to the boundaries of the A and B category and also reserves allocated in complex deposits in which the ore dist