Interesting article published 27th sep 2011 - Previous reports from africa intelligence suggested that the whole tender process could have been a hoax as there were no other tenders put forth apart from Sultan's, but thinking outside of the square. If this article is beleived to have any substance- the indians would probably be better positioned than we are as they could also cememnt an off take agreement for the product with their already exisitng importing of togo phosphate - interesting for our balanced discussion wither way.
Like the constant confirmation by Sultan that they are quietly confident that their tender put forth was the best they could have completed and are confident that their financial backers add weight to their tender -
Countries rich in rock phosphate resource like Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Israel, USA and China do not normally let go their control on the mines and do not allow any joint venture investment in mining. Furthermore, they try to maximize their profits by integrating rock phosphate production with its downstream processing for production of phosphoric acid as well as phosphatic fertilizers and their trade in the international market. Following key countries have therefore been identified with rich resources of rock phosphate, potash and gas for concentrating aggressively:
Rock Phosphate from Togo: Togo, with an estimated reserve of about 130 million tonnes of rock phosphate and total annual production of 2 million MT per year, is a major source of rock phosphate. Import of rock from Togo to India is about 5-7 lakh MT per annum. IFFCO, GSFC, Godavari Fertilizers, RCF, etc., have used Togo rock. At present SSP industry in India is also using Togo Rock blending with other high quality rock. Togo does not consume rock at all and it is learnt that they desire to divest 40% stake in the Office Togolaise des Phosphates (OTP). Advantage of Togo rock is that it is available mostly on the coastline with least logistic problem in export of the material, as the shipments can be directly loaded. The P205 content of rock phosphate of Togo is generally found to be about 24-25%, which could be upgraded to 32% and above, through beneficiation. However, there is sensitivity regarding release of residues in the Gulf of Berry from beneficiation process. It is also learnt that Togo rock has the problem of Cadmium content, which poses problem for downstream processing. It is suggested that the committee as proposed to monitor the progress with Ghana may also lookafter the Cooperation with Togo also keeping in view the possibilities of NPK fertilizer project in Ghana based on Togo Rock.
source:
http://www.infraline.com/ong/downstream/petroproducts/Sales.aspx
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