North West Phosphate has signed an MOU with major conglomerate Adani Enterprises to facilitate the supply of long-term, high-grade phosphate rock to India.
The agreement was inked this week in New Delhi, India by North West Phosphate managing director John Cotter as part of an official trade delegation to India and Japan lead by Queensland Premier David Crisafulli.
Mr Cotter said the trade mission was an excellent opportunity to revisit the relationship that North West Phosphate had been fostering with Adani for some time to sign a formal MOU.
“North West Phosphate has a long and proud relationship with Adani and this MoU highlights the depth of our shared values,” he said.
“As Australia’s largest holder of phosphate rock and last remaining domestic fertiliser miner, North West Phosphate is passionate about supplying high-grade phosphate rock to boost agricultural productivity and deliver food security domestically and abroad.”
With the global phosphate market dominated by supply out of Africa, fertiliser companies are looking to secure alternative rock supplies and the quality of the rock deposits in North-West Queensland provides a distinct advantage.
Fertiliser is essential for food security and the forecasted growth in India reinforces the importance of this agreement.
“India is clearly an important growth market and North West Phosphate and Adani Enterprises recognise the importance of securing long-term access to high grade phosphate rock,” Mr Cotter said.
Mr Cotter said North West Phosphate had already secured offtake agreements, letters of intent, and MOUs with several prospective customers in the Southeast Asian region.
North West Phosphate’s Paradise South project, 130km north-west of Mount Isa, is already selling phosphate rock at the mine gate to be used in domestic fertiliser production.
This is just the introduction to a larger planned operation which will produce 1Mtpa of beneficiated phosphate rock to the domestic and international markets, with a minimum mine life of 50 years
Late last year, North West Phosphate shared news of an agreement with Sibanye-Stillwater (SSW) to enter into a potential joint venture to repurpose Century zinc mine infrastructure, including the slurry pipeline, to support this operation.