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another pump for rock phosphate from the speculater this week. mak is surely in a better position than Krucible going forward:

"FOSTER Stockbroking has started covering Krucible Metals, which operates in one of Pure Speculations favourite sectors, phosphate and potash. Analyst Michael Evans puts a "speculative buy" on the stock.

Evans shares our optimism about the phosphate outlook. Prices will be helped by the concentrated supply base and the imposition by China of a 135 per cent export phosphate tariff. That means no more Chinese exports for the foreseeable future.

The key is the land squeeze. As Evans puts it, "with the worlds arable land per capita decreasing there is continued pressure on increasing the yield per unit of land". Krucibles phosphate is low in impurities; this together with the fact that Australia is a net importer of both rock phosphates and fertilisers and a large nearby market in Asia, means good potential for Krucible to achieve sales prices significantly above the industry standard Moroccan price, the report said.

Krucible has 19.3m tonnes at 19 per cent phosphate located next to the Phosphate Hill deposit in Queensland owned by Incitec Pivot . Moreover, the higher grade component (30.8 per cent phosphate) can be sold without the need for beneficiation.

Krucible closed at 37c on Friday. Evans gives a price target of 80c. But there is another wild card: given Krucibles deposit being on Incitec Pivots doorstep, Evans is not ruling out an opportunistic takeover move or assets purchase by ICP."

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/meridian-minerals-in-a-cherry-picking-mood/story-e6frg9ex-1225812241116