EuroChem Group (Zug, Switzerland) has opened its new phosphate fertilizer production facility in Serra do Salitre, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. With a total project investment of nearly $1 billion, the new phosphate mine and plant complex was constructed in record-breaking time and will have a production capacity of 1 million metric tons per year (m.t./yr) of advanced phosphate fertilizers, significantly increasing the reliability of domestic phosphate fertilizer supplies to Brazilian farmers.
EuroChem Group’s new Serra do Salitre phosphate complex in Brazil (Source: EuroChem)
The facility offers state-of-the-art integrated phosphate fertilizer production, with low water consumption, a fully closed water circuit, and a clean energy generation system that re-uses its own steam and generates up to 40% of the entire facility’s energy needs.
“EuroChem has a long-standing and successful history in South America, a key growth market for us, where there is a high demand for our products,” said EuroChem Group President Oleg Shiryaev. “The launch of our new facility moves us one step closer to our customers and allows us to provide Brazilian farmers with access to the highest quality fertilizers via our well-established distribution network in this important global breadbasket. EuroChem operates on a mine-to-farm basis, ensuring reliability and quality across the entire fertilizer supply chain, from raw material extraction to production and delivery to the end consumer.”
EuroChem is a leading international fertilizer producer, with products ranging across all three major nutrient groups: nitrogen, phosphate, and potash. With a global workforce of 32,000 people and a sales network spanning over 100 countries, the Company helps provide food security for more than 250 million people worldwide.
EuroChem is actively investing in the development of its production facilities and, over the past few years, has launched several new production sites, including the EuroChem-Northwest ammonia plant and the Usolskiy and VolgaKaliy potash plants in Russia. An ammonia and urea plant in Russia, EuroChem North-West-2, as well as a potassium nitrate plant in southern Russia and a chemical complex in Karatau, Kazakhstan, are currently under construction.
In South America, in addition to its Salitre complex, EuroChem has blending facilities and a wide distribution network, employing over 3,000 people in Brazil. The Company has been present in the country since 2016, following the acquisition of Fertilizantes Tocantins and Fertilizantes Heringer.