Governance Stories
Family Finds PotashCorp an Investment for the Future
When you're part of a family-owned business, you tend to think about the long term. That goes for your investments, too.
PotashCorp shareholder Brent Wortell owns Triton Industries, the Chicago precision metal stamping and fabrication company that his father Marvin founded. When Brent was younger, his dad purchased stocks for him to help secure his future. Over the years, Brent has added to his investment portfolio, including shares of PotashCorp stock. And – like his father – he has done the same for his children, buying "POT" shares for them.
"To me, this stock represents a chance for my children to one day pay for grad school or put a down payment on a house," he explains.
In PotashCorp, Brent sees a company that is positioned for the long haul. He likes not only its unmatched natural resources but also the way it manages those resources with an eye to the future. He says he doesn't have to worry about it on a day-to-day basis, largely because he sees open, honest governance in place.
"When you do have questions, this is a company that gives you the answers you need. It has a strong record of transparency."
Brent is also impressed by a company that is doing well by doing good. One of the reasons he has invested in PotashCorp is its proven record of safeguarding the environment and its employees while strengthening the communities in which it operates.
"I can feel good about investing in this company for more than one reason," Brent says. "Sure, they have strong financials – they had a 200 percent rise in share price in 2007 – but they have a great value system that guides their business, too.
"For my family, this is an investment in the future – not a trade. It's a stock you hold on to."
Corporate Reporting Continues to Meet High Standards
PotashCorp believes transparency is vital to maintaining public trust and stakeholder goodwill.
There is no better testimony to the company's commitment to thorough and transparent corporate reporting than the continued recognition it has received from the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA).
In 2007, PotashCorp received CICA's Award of Excellence in the Mining Category as well as Honourable Mentions for electronic disclosure and its Sustainability Report.
It is the only company to receive the CICA Overall Award of Excellence for Corporate Reporting for three consecutive years – 2006, 2005 and 2004.
"The role transparency has in building trust cannot be overestimated," said Wayne Brownlee, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at PotashCorp. "We will continue holding ourselves to the absolute highest standards possible in corporate reporting."
The CICA Corporate Reporting Awards are open to the top 50 companies per industry sector with a market cap of more than CDN $200 million, listed on the TSX and incorporated in Canada.
Tying Compensation to Long-Term Success Serves Employees, Investors
PotashCorp's Board of Directors has long been committed to linking executive pay to performance, and in recent years has made a special effort to develop a compensation program which gives particular weight to medium- and long-term performance that serves all stakeholders.
"The beauty of the program we've developed is that if our executives really want to increase their compensation, they really have to earn it," said Director John Estey. "It took a lot of work to get a program we felt had the right mix of components for employees and investors, but now we can demonstrate that the interest of the shareholders is served through this process."
The program starts with salary and annual short-term incentives that are based on a median level of what is paid by a relevant group of comparable companies. Executives may achieve total compensation above or below the median of total compensation through medium- and long-term incentive plans that tie their pay to PotashCorp's financial performance compared to stringent financial measures and against the financial results of comparable companies.
Development of the long-term portion of the incentive plan began in 2003 and included a great deal of internal and external research, Estey said.
After much study and analysis, the board determined that stock options were by far the most effective way to deliver value to employees, and motivate them. However, sensitive to shareholder concerns, it also developed a performance-based vesting feature which allows stock options to vest only upon the attainment of certain targets based on the excess of cash flow return on investment over the weighted average cost of capital. To ensure the plan is always in line with shareholder wishes, the board has decided to seek shareholder approval each year for only the number of options deemed necessary for the plan for that year.
Since 2005, this incentive has been available to all executives, senior management and other selected managers, with a three-year vesting period and 10-year option term. The value of vested options is based on appreciation of PotashCorp common stock during the option period – providing executives with an incentive to improve company performance long-term.
"Because the vesting is performance-based instead of just time-based, as used by many companies, employees can't get the best payout from the options just by the passage of time," Estey emphasized. "They need to take a long-term view by investing wisely for the future."
He pointed to the major efforts the company is making to increase potash production capacity as an example of how a long-term emphasis in compensation can empower PotashCorp management to invest in the company's long-term success.
Though the challenges of implementing such a major initiative in the company's compensation plan were large, they were not insurmountable. Considerable work with the committee's independent compensation consultants – a hallmark of good governance – was necessary to determine an appropriate plan design, vesting formulas and thresholds. Once those were determined, management and other stakeholders needed significant education about the details of the plan and the underlying policy rationale.
Though implementation of such a compensation program was not easy, it was the right thing to do as evidenced by other companies whose shareholders have complained about large pay packages that reward executives when the companies under-perform compared to their peers.
Related Link: PotashCorp Board and Management
Economic Stories
Mining Local Relationships Sustains Community
In 1967, Gary and Barb Porter started Standard Machine in Saskatoon, SK with just a small milling machine and a lathe. Today, the company has grown from two employees to more than 100, and is a full-service machine shop specializing in gear manufacturing.
"Because of our remote location, getting replacement gears could take up to a year. So we learned to do it ourselves. In Saskatchewan, businesses learn to innovate," explains Gary and Barb Porter's son, Greg Porter, now CEO & President of Standard Machine. "PotashCorp has a reputation for working with local vendors. Our mutually beneficial relationship with PotashCorp spans yesterday, today and, I'm confident, tomorrow as well," he says. "They are growing here and we plan on growing right along with them."
Currently, PotashCorp has a multi-billion dollar capital improvement program under way to nearly double its potash capacity over the next eight years. The company plans to go from actual production of 9.2 million tonnes in 2007 to a potential of 17.2 million tonnes by 2015. More than 80 percent of the increased output will come from expansion of the company's Saskatchewan operations. For Standard Machine, that meant a 25 percent increase in employees in the last five years, Porter said.
"We know we're affecting the local economy and we try to communicate our plans to local vendors so they can prepare to grow along with us," explains Clark Bailey, Vice President, Technical Services, PCS Potash. "We understand that every dollar we spend has ripples that reach further into the community, so we focus on local spending that is strategic to both the company and the economic sustainability of Saskatchewan."
"Greg and I both have adolescent children," explains Trevor Nixon, Vice President of Sales at Standard Machine. "This province used to be recognized only for agriculture. Now there's a shift and people are realizing the potential of the mining industry. Through its expansions, PotashCorp has demonstrated that the future is here. The new career opportunities emerging with Saskatchewan's growing potash industry are very attractive to our young people. More than ever, there are good reasons to keep Saskatchewan as your home."
Growing Together: How Personal Relationships Sustain Business Partnerships
When Scott and Hovey Tinsman Jr. went into business 50 years ago, forming Twin State, Inc. to sell fertilizer to farmers in Iowa and Illinois, they began by building personal relationships with their customers.
"A business like this grows on trust and respect – that's a lesson you learn fast when you're selling to farmers," said Hovey. "With our suppliers, the company names have changed, but the solid relationships stick around."
The Tinsmans began buying nitrogen products in the late 1950s from a company named Arcadian.
A decade later, their relationship with phosphate supplier Texasgulf started. Both those companies have since become part of PotashCorp, and Hovey says PotashCorp is better for it.
"Our loyalty runs strong with the people we work with and trust," he said. "We know that PotashCorp delivers a high-quality product, that their shipping is run well and timely and they're committed to working with their customers. But it's the relationships – the people – that make that kind of consistency happen."
"Twin State is a family business that operates with professionalism and integrity," says David Delaney, President of PCS Sales. "These qualities extend throughout the Twin State organization. Honesty, integrity and hard work are the cornerstones of the business that the Tinsmans have built. Their success is no accident."
Delaney's been doing business with Twin State for 20 years, and even today, when nitrogen, phosphate and potash supplies are tight, the business relationship is strong, Hovey said.
"The main thing is to be able to share what you see on the horizon, with both supply and demand," he said. "It's a two-way street. It helps to know that PotashCorp is looking to tomorrow and investing in its potash mines."
"Our business is not for sale, it's been gifted to the next generations – my sons' and nephew's families," he added. "As we grow, we want to know that our supplier is growing right along with us. Clearly, that is what PotashCorp is doing."
Fertilizing a New Crop of Business Executives
Successful businesses look to the future and to their future leaders, and that's precisely what The Executives' Club of Chicago is doing with its New Leaders Development Program and New Leaders Mentorship Program, which hone in on "New Skills for a New Workforce."
The 106-year-old Executives' Club is a business forum for thoughtful leadership, education and best business practices. It has more than 2,000 members and part of its mission is to help the Chicago business community develop future business leaders.
PotashCorp – which believes strongly in fostering executive leadership in the community – is involved in both these new programs. It sponsored the 2007/2008 development program season of five panel discussions with leading executives.
President and CEO Bill Doyle was the guest on October 2, and chatted informally about what he thought being a trusted leader was all about, and answered questions. He shared his experiences on executive presence and learned vs. inherent leadership traits, and also discussed the things he wished he had known before he became CEO.
"Bill Doyle's presentation was very refreshing, because it did not feel canned or formulaic," said Sharon Hildebrand, Senior Director of Business Development, Midwest, for Symbio Group. "I took a lot away from it because the format was more casual, like a town hall meeting. It was great to have a real dialogue with a CEO of a company like PotashCorp."
PotashCorp's Jane Irwin, Senior Vice President, Administration, is spearheading a group mentorship program that will be piloted in 2008, to let new leaders network in small settings. She has previously been an individual mentor with the leaders mentorship program.
"This program is useful because it brings several young executives together to meet each other, as well as more senior executive members," she said. "This way we all learn from each other and make valuable new connections in the business community."
"This program is personally and professionally rewarding for all those involved," Irwin said. "But it also may lead to a long-term payoff for PotashCorp as we develop lasting relationships with successful executives in the community."
PotashCorp Reaches Out to First Nations with Aboriginal Internship Program
College students on summer internships often spend their time collating documents in the copy room or doing data entry. But for Lyle Acoose, the first person hired for PotashCorp's Aboriginal internship program, the experience was anything but tedious.
From attending a Human Resources conference to taking part in a crisis communication drill, Acoose's internship duties provided him with valuable experience in a corporate environment and insight into the career path he'd like to follow.
"I want to be in a profession where Aboriginal people are currently under-represented, and I am hoping that all things lead back to PotashCorp some day," said the 32-year-old University of Saskatchewan management studies major.
The internship came about after PotashCorp representatives met several times with senior representatives from the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies – a First Nations or Aboriginal-administered post-secondary institution that provides vocational and technical training for Aboriginal people in the province.
A look at employment statistics reported by the Assembly of First Nations points out the need for such internships and employment opportunities.
Off-reserve Aboriginal people in Western Canada had an unemployment rate of 13.6 percent in 2005, more than double the 5.3 percent rate for non-Aboriginal people the same year, according to Statistics Canada.
"At PotashCorp, we have been working to increase diversity in the workplace, and our Aboriginal initiative is one way," said Lee Knafelc, Senior Director of Human Resources. "We thought that offering an internship opportunity to a student of Aboriginal descent would be a good way to bring a unique cultural perspective to our Saskatoon office."
"During the eight weeks he was in our department, Lyle brought a new and refreshing perspective to his duties," said Knafelc. "In addition, I felt I had a great resource to go to for a discussion on workplace issues and challenges that Aboriginal students face."
Acoose proved invaluable in establishing contacts within the Aboriginal community and in setting up interviews with university officials to discuss how PotashCorp could expand its offerings to attract people of Aboriginal descent to its workforce.
The end of the internship does not mean his relationship with the company has ended.
"Lyle will be telling people about PotashCorp, and we will continue to have dialogue with him," said Knafelc. "We will also be here for Lyle, recognizing that many business students need corporate contacts for school projects."
Having a contact in the Aboriginal community will be useful as PotashCorp brings on hundreds of new jobs in the coming years. The company has announced several projects designed to raise the operational capacity of potash production from 10.8 million tonnes in 2007 to 17.2 million tonnes in 2015.
"When we hire for our expansions, and to replace many employees who are reaching retirement age, we will want to pull from all segments of the community, to get the best personnel possible," Knafelc said.
Several experiences during his internship offered Acoose an insider's view of corporate life. He helped compile a cross-referenced manual of the collective bargaining agreements for the six potash mines; attended a crisis communications drill; assisted in the company's response to a crisis at the Cory mine; and helped represent PotashCorp at the Red Pheasant Games in North Battleford. He also took part in a Human Resources conference for professionals in Saskatchewan and helped the company devise strategies to enhance relations with the Aboriginal population.
"My experience this summer at PotashCorp boosted my confidence in knowing that people working in large corporations really do value what diversity has to offer," said Acoose. "Having an experienced group of professionals around me provided great role models for good work habits that I hope to incorporate into my own performance."
Customers Bring Unique Perspective to Best Practices Workshop
"Best Practices" are two very important words at PotashCorp.
Bringing employees from each production site to a multi-day meeting once a year to share successes and concerns is an important part of its Best Practices program. It's also a major component of the company's business process improvement strategy.
In 2007, the Best Practices Workshop got a unique perspective on business operations when Ohio-based ag retailer The Andersons became the first customer to participate. The collaborative effort was a resounding success with each company sharing its expertise.
"The whole idea of a workshop like this is for people at different facilities to explore how others deal with issues such as safety, communications and operating efficiencies," said PotashCorp Chief Operating Officer Jim Dietz. "By including The Andersons' outside perspective, both they and we were able to see what works and what doesn't, and share the kind of ideas that can help a facility constantly improve."
"From a customer's perspective, PotashCorp has always meant quality. During this workshop, we've also seen your commitment to an outstanding safety culture," said Denny Addis, President of The Andersons' Plant Nutrient Division. "It's one we want to emulate."
Employees of the two companies delved into subjects such as safety, leadership, internal communications, preventive maintenance and business ethics. Several presentations and interactive discussions focused on PotashCorp's successes with its safety system, which uses the Behavioral Accident Prevention Process, BAPP®.
Safety discussions proved to be so constructive that the two companies held a follow-up safety meeting at PotashCorp's Northbrook, IL office.
Customer participation in the Best Practices Workshop generated such valuable dialogue that PotashCorp has invited another customer, multi-state ag retailer Southern States Cooperative, to its 2008 meeting in Richmond, VA.
Social Stories
Bridging the Generations with a Musical Bond
The lively, melodic sound of the steel pan drum is both the national music and the national love of Trinidad and Tobago. With steel bands in every neighborhood, the music is embedded in the culture.
One of the top bands in the Caribbean nation is the PotashCorp Starlift Steel Band.
"Steel pan originated in Trinidad and Tobago and is the only truly new instrument to be developed in the world in the last 100 years," said Julia Gomes, Human Resource Manager at PCS Nitrogen – Trinidad. "It is integral to our nation's culture and that is why the company has proudly sponsored the band with contributions totaling more than $250,000."
The steel pan is a pitched percussion instrument made from a 55-gallon oil drum that is heated over fire and hammered into shape. Its curved surface is covered with oval dents that produce various tones from the musical scale. Steel pan music requires a large group of players, so Starlift has many young members.
"PotashCorp is the bread of life in our community," says Starlift member Rolph Clarke. "Their support of Starlift is a great example of how they are committed to their employees and their community."
Starlift band members also act as mentors to the Starlift Youth Band, teaching children ages 5-17 to play the national instrument while instilling discipline and respect.
"Serving the community and mentoring youth are among the Starlift band's most important accomplishments," said band captain Barry Mannett. "We want our children to keep this tradition alive and help it grow for many tomorrows to come."
Beyond sustaining an important cultural tradition, PotashCorp is committed to helping give Trinidad’s young people a vocation they can be proud of and earn a living with, whether it is as a professional pannist, a music teacher or an entertainer.
White Springs Team Called to Help Fight Florida Wildfire
At PotashCorp's White Springs facility, emergency response personnel are trained to handle most any emergency at the mine and plant. In May 2007, however, their expertise was required off-premises.
The scene was the Bugaboo Wildfire raging out of control in Columbia County near the Florida/Georgia state line. The fire was named after the Bugaboo Island area of the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge that straddles the border. Having consumed 180 square miles of brush and timberland, the wildfire was considered one of Florida's largest when the call went out to PotashCorp for help.
Specifically requested was the company's Wild Land Fire Team – a crew of experts trained and certified by the Florida Division of Forestry for just this type of emergency.
"We immediately deployed four large bulldozers with maintenance and fuel support, as well as equipment operators and supervisory personnel," said Cameron Lynch, Superintendent, Mine Planning and Services.
Keith Thornton, White Springs General Manager, and others from the site's leadership team also took steps to ensure the firefighters had ample food, water and other supplies.
"It took us three days to create an initial firebreak 125 feet wide and two miles long," said Lynch, who was also part of the on-site supervisory team. "At that time we were in the safe zone, but I'll tell you, it didn't feel very safe."
His premonition was correct as the fire soon jumped behind the team. That meant the PotashCorp bulldozer squad needed to carve an escape route by creating a firebreak between the fire and an untouched area. To assist them, helicopters were called in to dump water in an effort to control the fire and, more importantly, protect the men and equipment.
"When we had to split up our four bulldozers, two each to a fire front, I was sure hoping all that training we went through would pay off," said Chuck Adams, another member of the PotashCorp team. "Many of us have been working together at PCS since we were young men, and you want to make sure everybody comes away safe."
The team ultimately escaped danger, but it worked until 11 p.m. that night with other firefighting teams and air support to re-establish control on all flanks.
"What amazed us was how the PotashCorp team pushed the line around the perimeter of the fire; what we thought would take over two hours took them 45 minutes," said Keith O'Steen, Forest Area Supervisor with Florida's Division of Forestry. "Those big dozers are nice. What's more impressive, however, is the ability of PCS personnel to work as a team and the significant line production they achieved. The way they support our community is just overwhelming."
What gives the PotashCorp Wild Land Fire Team its edge is the day-to-day operation of those large bulldozers at the mine site.
"From initial prep of a mining area, to reclaiming land, to road and dam construction, our heavy equipment group moves some 800 acres a year," said Lynch. "All of that experience is put to use when we are out there fighting a fire.
"It's nice to receive praise from the community and forestry officials for our expertise in getting in there and taking care of some very rough areas," he added. "We were concerned with the rate of the fire's spread and were glad to help contain it. We have a responsibility to our neighbors, and I believe we demonstrated White Springs' commitment to community service during that fire."
Mine's Emergency Response Team Responds to Call from Local Fire Department
At PotashCorp's Lanigan potash operation, commitment to community may include putting out fires – literally. For the town's volunteer fire department, that means it can call in the mine's Emergency Response Team for extra firefighting help when needed.
"We don't call on them that often, but when we do, they respond," said Lanigan Fire Chief Barry Hooper. Such was the case on August 20, 2007 when he realized that a house fire his crew was fighting was too big to extinguish without more men and equipment.
"It was a big, old house, one and a half stories, with wood shavings for insulation and several rooms and levels in the attic," Chief Hooper said. "That made it difficult to fight. Just when we'd think we had the fire under control, it would reignite in another area of the roof. We were a bit short-handed, so I had someone make the call to PotashCorp."
According to Lanigan Safety Supervisor Ken Worobec, the company responded immediately with seven more firefighters, an additional fire truck and more breathing apparatus.
"When we arrived at the scene, the volunteer crew was working the blaze from the exterior," Worobec said. "We assisted with more water lines and ladders to access the roof. Once on top, we were able to cut more holes to vent heat and gases and eventually control the fire."
The company's willingness to send out its firefighting-trained employees, along with equipment, is a great assistance for small towns like Lanigan.
"Many of our employees live in this area," said Worobec. "Offering the help of our Emergency Response Team shows our commitment to support the communities our employees call home."
Chief Hooper expressed the town's appreciation.
"We only have a 20-person volunteer department and all of them have regular jobs; so when we need more manpower, especially during the day, it's reassuring to know that PotashCorp stands ready to help."
Community Involvement Awards
A number of PotashCorp sites received awards for their community involvement in 2007:
Augusta was recognized at the 2007 annual meeting of the United Way of the Central Savannah River Area in three categories: Corporate Honor Roll, Top Overall Gifts under 300 Employees and Top Employee Gifts.
Geismar achieved the 2007 Outstanding United Way Campaign Award, the United Way Jambalaya Cook-Off Championship Award, the March of Dimes Outstanding Sponsorship Award and the March of Dimes Walk America Second Place Team Award.
For the second year in a row, Cory along with Allan, Patience Lake and the Saskatoon office, received the Campaign Chair's Choice Award for the best overall performance by a workplace campaign in the 2007 United Way of Saskatoon and Area Campaign.
Aurora received the Silver award in the Craven County American Cancer Relay for Life, the Gold award from the Beaufort and Pamlico County American Cancer Relay for Life, the Marine Corps Reserve Award for Outstanding Contributions for Toys for Tots, the Community Leader of the Year Award from the Washington Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce, Children's Miracle Network 2007 Partners in Hope Award, the 2007 Hero Award from the American Red Cross and the 2007 Home Run Award from Habitat for Humanity.
White Springs was selected as the Hamilton County Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year for 2007. It was recognized for its strong support of the Hamilton County Special Olympics team that won a gold medal in the Special Olympics World Games in China. The White Springs Wild Land Fire Team was widely recognized for its volunteerism in helping to contain the Bugaboo fire.
Northbrook office was recognized in 2007 as the Top Corporate Citizen for the United Way in North Suburban Chicago for the third consecutive year.
Safety Awards
A number of sites received health and safety awards:
Allan's underground emergency response team was the Overall Underground Winner at the Provincial Emergency Response competition and its surface emergency response team was the Overall Winner at the PotashCorp Fire Fighters' Rodeo.
In 2007, the New Brunswick division received the New Brunswick Mining Association Mineral Industry trophy for the mine with the lowest injury frequency rate in the province for the year 2006. The New Brunswick division also received the CIM-New Brunswick Branch trophy for the mine with the lowest accident severity in mines in the province for the year 2006.
Patience Lake received the Saskatchewan Mining Association Safety Award for achieving a zero injury rating.
Weeping Water received the Sentinels of Safety Award from the Mine Safety and Health Administration for achieving 9,981 employee hours worked underground without a lost-time injury. The site received the Platinum Award of Honor with distinction for 12 years from the National Safety Council and the Peak Performance Award from the Nebraska Safety Council, which rated the company one of the Top 10 in the state of Nebraska. Weeping Water also received the Pinnacle Award for Chemical Transportation Safety from Union Pacific.
At Aurora, 18 departments received Safety Awards from the North Carolina Department of Labor.
Lima received three safety awards: the West Central Ohio Safety Council Award for 2007 safety performance; the Ohio Chemistry Technology Council's 2007 Excellence in Environmental, Health, Safety and Security Performance award; and an award from the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association for three years without a lost-time injury.
Why the Most Important Production Figure We'll Ever Achieve is Zero
Everyone wants a safe place to work. But safety takes on a special significance when your own son's well-being is at stake each day, 3,000 feet below the earth's surface.
Orey Hudym says he put his trust in PotashCorp's safety culture when his son Trevor joined him at the company's Rocanville, SK potash mine. He would be comfortable and proud to see his grandson follow in their footsteps, he added.
Now retired, Orey started his 35-year career working underground during the mine's construction. Trevor was an equipment operator for 10 years, and now supervises the site's warehouse. His son, Cody, just graduated from high school and is considering a career of his own at Rocanville.
"I felt as safe underground as I did on the surface, and that's pretty safe," said Orey. "I feel comfortable that my son and my grandson, if he chooses, are in good hands at Rocanville. If it wasn't safe, I wouldn't recommend it to them."
He saw many advances in safety during his career, including stricter procedures to lock out hazardous energy sources and an increasing emphasis by management and employees to make safety the top priority.
Trevor's experience includes first-hand mine rescue training. "I received well-rounded training," he said. "It's a combination of management giving us the tools we need and all the employees putting safety first, before production, or making the job easier, or anything."
Cody's already taken the mine's Family Day tour and will soon be making up his mind about whether to pursue a career at PotashCorp. "They showed us a lot of things," he said. "Even the machines they use seem really safe. It looks like a pretty good situation."
Potash Emergency Response Teams Stay Prepared Through Competitions
When emergency response teams from mining companies compete, it's not just a game. The regional contests test workers' readiness for real emergencies.
All-volunteer teams from PotashCorp's sites in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick often come out of these regional competitions as champions. Their performance is a point of pride for the site and the company, and, more importantly, it demonstrates that emergency preparedness is a top priority.
PotashCorp's Allan, Patience Lake, Lanigan, Cory and Rocanville operations all placed first in various categories in the Saskatchewan Emergency Response Competitions in 2007. In New Brunswick, mines compete only in even-numbered years so in May 2007, PotashCorp New Brunswick hosted a Participation Day with rescue teams from other mining companies. The teams worked together to respond to a simulated underground emergency.
"Safety is paramount at PotashCorp and key to our sustainable development," said New Brunswick General Manager Mark Fracchia. "In New Brunswick, by joining forces every other year instead of just competing, we familiarize ourselves with other mining teams in the area. That's useful in the event that we're called to provide mutual assistance."
In Saskatchewan, companies that mine potash, uranium, coal and gold compete annually in drills that simulate underground and surface emergencies.
"The company does well in these competitions, both because we have a rigorous program and because our volunteer crews are fully committed to safety," said Stewart Brown, General Manager at Allan, which has two emergency response teams, with 24 workers each.
One team handles underground emergencies and the other addresses those on the surface. With so many trained people, the site is ready to respond to any emergency, Brown said. With a mix of supervisors, maintenance employees and operators, each team has all the skills needed.
Often the employees on these teams become leaders in the workplace, moving up to supervisory positions, he said. "The teams build relationships and responsibility."
At competitions, PotashCorp sites work hard to win, but that doesn't mean they stack the deck with teams of "superstars," Brown said.
"Competition is not the ultimate objective," he explained. "It's getting a group of cohesive teams in which the members bring each other up to the highest levels. You can't do that if you choose your most skilled people to form a competition team."
Potash facilities and local fire departments come together each September in the town of Lanigan for the Fire Fighters' Rodeo, during which emergency teams from the mines build relationships with community fire departments. Many PotashCorp employees are also volunteer firefighters.
"Bringing us all together like that gives the local departments an opportunity to raise their skill level, and it helps with communications when it comes to providing mutual aid," Brown said.
Broadening the scope
The energy and skill-sharing that PotashCorp's potash sites gain from their competitive events have prompted the company's nitrogen and phosphate production facilities to start their own competitions. Their emergency responders have been meeting for the last two years to share best practices. In October 2008, they plan to hold a day-long competition and rescue rodeo.
"We will hold a half-day of skills-based competition in firefighting, first aid, confined space and HAZMAT response as well as a half-day of more fun emergency response events, like a speed relay," said Debe Allen, PotashCorp Director of Product Stewardship and Security. "Our objective is to recognize and advance our emergency response skills while encouraging recruitment and retention of volunteer responders at our plants."
"It will be very useful for our nitrogen and phosphate emergency responders to get together and learn from each other with hands-on activities," said John Hunt, Vice President of Safety, Health and Environment. "This event will not only improve our emergency response training, but further emphasize the importance we put on safety and safety preparation."
2007 Saskatchewan Emergency Response Competition
OVERALL
Underground Winner - PotashCorp Allan
Underground Runner-Up - PotashCorp Lanigan
Surface Winner - PotashCorp Patience Lake
Surface Runner-Up - Mosaic Potash Belle Plaine
MINE PROBLEM
Underground Winner - PotashCorp Allan
Underground Runner-Up - PotashCorp Cory
FIELD PROBLEM
Surface Winner - Mosaic Potash Belle Plaine
Surface Runner-Up - PotashCorp Patience Lake
FIRST AID
Underground Winner - PotashCorp Lanigan
Underground Runner-Up - Agrium
Surface Winner - PotashCorp Patience Lake
Surface Runner-Up - Mosaic Potash Belle Plaine
FIREFIGHTING
Underground Winner - PotashCorp Cory
Underground Runner-Up - Agrium
Surface Winner - PotashCorp Patience Lake
Surface Runner-Up - Prairie Mines & Royalty Poplar River
PROFICIENCY
Underground Winner - Cameco McArthur River
Underground Runner-Up - PotashCorp Lanigan
Surface Winner - Areva McLean Lake
Surface Runner-Up - Mosaic Belle Plaine
PRACTICAL SKILLS
Underground Winner - PotashCorp Rocanville
Underground Runner-Up - Cameco McArthur River
Surface Winner - PotashCorp Patience Lake
Surface Runner-Up - Prairie Mines & Royalty Poplar River
Life Lessons Offered Alongside Chemical Engineering Experience
To hear Crystal Blickley and David Fernandez tell it, a PotashCorp internship gives students skills they could never acquire in the classroom.
"The engineers I worked with at PotashCorp's Augusta, GA nitrogen plant made sure I was doing challenging work and not just observing them or helping out," said Fernandez, who is currently a fourth-year chemical engineering student at Georgia Tech.
He and Blickley are among more than two dozen chemical engineering students to participate in the program since Augusta launched it in 1997.
Each internship lasts two semesters and several students have completed more than one internship at the Augusta facility. The site partners with both Georgia Tech and Clemson universities on the program.
For a chemical engineering student, getting hands-on experience through an internship program is highly valuable. For PotashCorp, employee development, including development of prospective employees, is important to building and maintaining a top-notch workforce.
"The program pulls double duty," said Charles Ellis, Augusta's Engineering Manager. "It increases the value of the student's education with practical experience, and it allows the company to preview the young talent from the universities."
Blickley, a co-op student in 2004, gives PotashCorp credit for her successful post-graduation job search. She is now a manager with a major chemical company.
"When I was in Augusta, I observed a catalyst bed change out in my first semester, but in the second semester, I got to manage a similar project myself," said Blickley. "I did the calculations, created drawings, ensured safety precautions were taken ... everything. I used that experience on my resume and it was one of the first things I talked about in my interviews during my job search."
"Being given such a complex task, even though I was well-mentored, really let me know they wanted me to learn," Blickley said. "I respected them and they showed they respected me as well."
Students also learn more about the workplace than just engineering. The co-op program also focuses on communication skills, confidence building, ethical conduct and ensuring that safety is always the number one priority, said Ellis.
"It's the greatest feeling, actually contributing to the success of a project. It gives me a sense of self-worth," Fernandez added. "And PotashCorp is very open about safety and doing the right thing on the job. The first question in any meeting is 'What are we doing today, and are there any safety concerns or environmental issues?' Even as a co-op employee, I feel that I am part of the Augusta team."
Fossil Hunting Scores Big with Children Suffering from Cancer
Six-year-old Aaron Milam shrieked with joy when he discovered some sharks' teeth, which was pretty much the standard reaction among the children who dug for sea fossils as part of the Mile of Hope sea-themed weekend.
Held in early May at Pine Knoll Shores, NC, the Mile of Hope is an annual event for children afflicted by cancer and treated by the Pediatric Oncology departments of Eastern Carolina University in Greenville, the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and Duke University in Durham.
As one of the event's sponsors, PotashCorp's Aurora, NC facility trucked in remnants from its phosphate mine that were just loaded with sea fossils for the children to find.
"When the children weren't running around showing off the shark teeth they found, they were searching for more," said Ed Moore, Mile of Hope chairman. "It means a tremendous amount to our families and our special kids to have activities that relate to our sea theme, such as the fossil hunting.
"That activity went off very big with the kids."
To ensure every child left with something, PotashCorp supplied each with a plastic bag of shark teeth. Included was an information sheet describing the history of the Aurora deposit and why it contains so many sea fossils. The kids also got packs of crayons and coloring books about fertilizer nutrients.
"The fossil hunting was something right up Aaron's alley, and he found quite a few teeth," said his mother, Julie Milam.
She and her family – husband John and Brayden, 16, and Shawna, 8, as well as Aaron – were among 125 guests taking part in the Mile of Hope weekend.
But fossil hunting wasn't the only activity. The children could also take scuba lessons, participate in sandcastle building or sand sculpting, or take trips to the North Carolina Aquarium and the Lost Treasure Fun Park.
"This trip to the beach is the only vacation some of these families will have this year. So it's extremely important to them," said Moore. "It enables them to have a few precious days away from hospitals and treatments."
"Being away for the weekend at the beach made Aaron feel better," Julie Milam said. "We haven't been able to get out much since November 2006 when he was diagnosed with lymphoblastic non-Hodgkin's lymphoma."
She added, "Having our hotel room and meals provided at no cost allowed us to put our worries aside and have some fun with our children."
"When we told Kristen we were going to the Mile of Hope weekend again, her face just lit up," said Holli Cropp about her 10-year-old daughter.
Kristen, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in February 2003, has been on two other family weekends thanks to Mile of Hope. For her father, Keith Cropp, the weekend was all the more special because he works at Aurora.
"Working for a company like PotashCorp, that does so much for its neighbors, really makes me proud to be part of their team," said Cropp. "It's companies like PotashCorp that make the Mile of Hope weekend possible for children like Kristen."
The Cropp family includes Kristen's siblings, Nikolas, 9, and four-month-old Alexa.
Youth Gain Exposure to PotashCorp Through First Nations Games Sponsorship
Youth sports are an important part of a vibrant community. Athletic events motivate children and teach them the value of teamwork. That's why PotashCorp funds youth sport events near its facilities across North America, including its CDN $50,000 sponsorship of the 2007 Saskatchewan First Nations Summer Games, the games for Aboriginal people.
For five days in late July, some 3,800 athletes from 8 to 17 years old competed in the 33rd edition of the games, held at Red Pheasant First Nation in west-central Saskatchewan. The participants represented 11 tribal councils.
"Sports for youth build lifelong characteristics like participation, responsibility, determination and ambition," said Games Coordinator Kelly Villeneuve. "Those are very important values to instill in children."
They're especially important, he said, for disadvantaged children, like many of the young athletes who took part in the Saskatchewan games.
"Sponsors like PotashCorp are interested in fostering sports and all the positive characteristics that sports programs can build," he said. "Companies will always need a long-term workforce that has those attributes."
"For PotashCorp, this sponsorship was exciting because it gave us an opportunity to support youth from all across the province," said Garth Moore, President of PCS Potash. "Saskatchewan is our home, and it's very rewarding to participate in such successful events."
"The First Nations Games give Aboriginal youth the opportunity to come together from throughout Saskatchewan and to see a little more of the world. And they know the sponsors of these games are companies that support their communities, their traditions and their future," Villeneuve said.
Tony Cote and the Cote First Nation's band council launched the Saskatchewan First Nations Games in the mid-1970s. The event offers a supportive environment where First Nations youngsters can compete in a wide range of track and sporting events, including soccer, softball, golf, javelin throw, shot put, 100-meter races and long and high jumps.
Florida Special Olympians are the Best of the World's Best
They may have needed a little help to get to the Special Olympics World Summer Games in China in October, but when they hit the basketball court, the Stompers from Hamilton County, FL lived triumphantly up to their name.
They won all their games handily, and brought home the gold medal.
"Those young men just love basketball, and while they were a bit nervous during their first game in Shanghai, once we put a basketball in their hands, they forgot about the crowd and just played their best," said Helen Udell, who works in exceptional student education at Hamilton County High School and is Special Olympics Hamilton County Coordinator.
Their best was so good that they held a team of non-disabled players from nearby Jiaotong University to a 45-45 tie in an exhibition game. The university team refused to play overtime, according to the Special Olympics Florida website.
Before the Stompers qualified to represent the US at the October 2-11 Games, most of the players had never been more than 50 miles from home, and none had flown in an airplane. Now they were going to be competing halfway around the world among more than 7,000 athletes from 169 countries.
"For most of the athletes, the World Games was a once-in-a-lifetime thing," said Mike Cohen, the team's coach and a deputy sheriff with Hamilton County. "They were blown away by it all – the plane, experiencing a different culture, winning the gold medal.
"Usually it's difficult to get these guys talking, but they were talking the whole time they were there and they haven't quit talking since they got back."
They are very proud of winning the gold for the community, and for everyone who supported them – which was a lot of local people and businesses.
The Hamilton County Special Olympics organization had to raise $6,000 for each athlete to participate, plus other expenses. It held fundraisers and sought monetary and in-kind donations.
PotashCorp, which operates its White Springs phosphate mine in Hamilton County and is always actively involved in the communities where it does business, was one of the businesses that jumped to respond. It donated $2,900, and employees volunteered more than 60 hours at fundraisers.
"When the word got out about the team's chance to go to China, PotashCorp was the first company to come through with a donation," Udell said. "And each time we ran into a stumbling block, it stepped up again to help us out."
When the team's bus to the Orlando airport fell through, for example, "I happened to mention this dilemma to one of my contacts at PotashCorp," she said. "The next thing we knew, it was providing a bus at no cost to the team."
"We owe quite a bit of gratitude to PotashCorp," coach Cohen agreed. "There wasn't a time when they didn't come through for us."
Employees Build Relationships While Building Houses
In 2007 the economy was buoyant in Saskatoon, SK, PotashCorp's corporate home, and real estate prices had shot up as a result. Some homeowners might have been glad to see their home's value increasing, but the high prices made it difficult for other people to buy homes.
Two dozen PotashCorp employees volunteered last summer to make a small dent in Saskatoon's housing problem, lifting hammers and paintbrushes for Habitat for Humanity. In the process, employees from two far-apart company locations – Saskatoon and Northbrook, IL – forged new working relationships.
Eleven employees from the Northbrook corporate office joined 13 from Saskatoon for a day-long project helping to build four adjacent homes in the city's west end.
"It's a great team-building activity because we open it up to virtually anyone in the Northbrook office to be able to make the trip up to Saskatoon," said Karen Chasez, PotashCorp Vice President, Procurement. "It creates an opportunity for people who talk with their counterparts across the border on a daily basis to actually meet one another. It builds morale and improves communication."
Those improved relationships are a side benefit of the main goal – helping families in Saskatoon find a place to call home.
"A project like this is very satisfying because you can see immediate, concrete results and know you've helped," Chasez said. "There's a fence in the backyard, it's painted and I helped get that done. For any PotashCorp employee driving through that neighborhood, they'll know that their company and their co-workers were a part of a real positive step for the community and the families in need."
And that need is very real.
"We have never had such a waiting list as the one we have now," said Sharon Prediger, who screens applicants for Habitat's Saskatoon operation. "Three years ago, we were looking for families."
Prediger said she gets three to four times as many telephone inquiries as she did two years ago, and 19 approved families are waiting for homes.
Habitat for Humanity provides interest-free mortgage arrangements to low-income working families who have an acceptable level of debt, and who commit to volunteering 500 hours of work to Habitat Saskatoon.
PotashCorp Helps Preserve Mayan Ruins of Guatemala's Mirador Basin
About 2,500 years ago, an amazing Mayan civilization emerged in the northern Guatemala rainforest, which today hides hundreds of ruined cities and towns. PotashCorp has contributed $60,000 for the excavation and preservation of this important piece of the Americas' past.
Historically important, the Mayan civilization being uncovered is also an early demonstration of the importance of soil fertility. The civilization grew up around the area's special marsh mud, which farmers used to supply nutrients to their fields and terraces. It is also believed to have collapsed, in part, when the land could no longer support the growth of the society.
"These are the oldest Mayan ruins found," said Stephen Dowdle, Senior Vice President, Fertilizer Sales, an agronomist who studied cultural anthropology as an undergraduate.
This thousand-year-long civilization in the remote Mirador Basin dates to the Preclassic period (2500BC-AD150), much older than better-known Mayan ruins.
"The archaeological work in Mirador is going to need a lot of support from the private and public sectors to excavate so the world can come and see the ruins."
Long-time PotashCorp customer Roberto Dalton, a prominent local businessman, and International Sales Manager Dandan Xiang brought the project to the company's attention. Dowdle visited the area with them, accompanied by Guatemala's President Alvaro Colom.
They flew by plane and helicopter and hiked for two hours to the world's largest pyramid by volume just two days after Dowdle handed President Colom PotashCorp's check to help the work spearheaded by archaeologist Richard Hansen. The President passed it to the Asociacion de Amigos del Patrimonio Cultural y Natural de Guatemala Balam-Kan (APANAC).
"Hansen is attempting to find a sustainable way to bring tourists to the area, and not destroy it," Dowdle said. Because the 600,000-acre basin contains the largest remaining rainforest in Guatemala, it is as ecologically valuable as it is culturally important.
The ruins are all that remain of the hemisphere's first state-level society, an advanced, powerful civilization that grew up in part because of the advantages afforded by the marsh mud, believes Hansen, who has worked in the area for 27 years.
But, as the society prospered, Dowdle said, buildings became larger, requiring greater quantities of wood and limestone to make lime. The deforested highlands eroded, covering with clay the marsh mud that ensured soil fertility and the civilization quickly collapsed.
"This is just another example of how stewardship of soil fertility can define a civilization," he said. "You can relate the rise and fall of many societies to soil fertility."
For him, however, the expedition's most telling moment came when he crawled after Richard Hansen through a tunnel and put his hands in the stone prints of the man who had hung on there while plastering, 3,000 years ago. He marvels at the opportunity, "in a tactile sense, to connect with someone from so long ago."
"You don't get to do that every day."
Environment Stories
Local Farmer a Partner in Environmental Efforts
Floyd Peed has been farming more than 1,000 acres of land near Aurora, NC since the early 1960s. His father Russell farmed the land for decades before him, and his sons, Jeffrey and Scott, and their families are continuing the tradition. Floyd and his father sold some of their farmland for the phosphate mine that PotashCorp operates today near Aurora.
"It's weird, but the thought of selling some of our property never really bothered me," Floyd Peed said. "But finding a buyer we could trust scared the heck out of me. I would only sell to a true environmentalist, because they were going to be our neighbors. And with PotashCorp, all I can say is we couldn't have picked a better neighbor. We know we can trust them to do the right thing."
Today the Peeds consider PotashCorp a partner in their land conservation efforts. Together they maintain the ditches and waterways that traverse the farm and protect it from erosion and runoff.
"They work with us to keep the land both productive and protected," says Jeffrey, a third-generation Peed farmer. "Their wetland areas are beautiful, and the deer, quail and fish populations in the area are really building up. They're also not looking to become a land developer, so the land is being kept in agriculture and in natural areas. That helps everybody thrive, without overdevelopment."
Officials at the Aurora mine reciprocate their admiration.
"The Peeds are excellent farmers, they maintain their land, replace the soil nutrients removed by their crops to achieve high yields, practice no-till, pay close attention to drainage, and their crop land is identifiable because of the excellent condition it is in," said Curtis Brown, Land Supervisor, PCS Aurora.
PotashCorp Participates in Art Project Dedicated to Global Warming Awareness
In a swirl of ocean blues, green spaces and furrows of crops, the sculpted globe delivered a critical message to passengers on Spaceship Earth: "Be a green voyager."
Sponsored by PotashCorp, the sculpture, named "Green Travel," was one of 100 that made up a unique Chicago art project organized to promote education about solutions to global warming.
Created by artist Constance Mallinson, the artwork was part of an exhibit called "Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet" that was on display near Chicago's lakefront during the summer of 2007 and was seen by millions.
"Our stakeholders know of our commitment to sustainable business practices and how important high-yield agriculture is to minimizing mankind's environmental footprint," said Stephen Dowdle, Senior Vice President, Fertilizer Sales. "By keeping existing agricultural land viable, fertilizers not only help save wildlife habitats but also preserve forested areas, which hugely offset greenhouse gas emissions. By participating in the Cool Globes exhibit, we are able to join the dialogue on global warming beyond the agricultural community."
Aurora's Tex Gilmore Honored by American Geologists
For his efforts to help youth prepare for the future by studying the past, Aurora's Ivan K. "Tex" Gilmore was recently honored by his peers in the American Institute for Professional Geologists (AIPG).
Gilmore, Chief Geologist at PotashCorp's Aurora phosphate operation, was nominated by David Abbott, chair of AIPG's Ethics Committee, for the 2007 John T. Galey Sr. Memorial Public Service Award.
"He's made the case for our industry sharing with the community, and in the process reminded us how beneficial community outreach can be for the public and mining companies alike," said Abbott. "I don't think Tex fully appreciates the multiplier effect his emphasis on education has had."
Part of Gilmore's work on behalf of geological education started with his stint as a board member of the Aurora Fossil Museum. The world-class museum in the small North Carolina town contains many ancient sharks' teeth and prehistoric artifacts. Many pieces in its collection were found in PotashCorp's phosphate mine.
In 2007, Gilmore was instrumental in helping PotashCorp host more than 160 paleontologists affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution during the Carolina Geological Society's Annual Field Trip.
For the last few years, he has coached the Science Olympiad Team at Washington (North Carolina) High School in the earth science events. His help proved invaluable when the team won first place in the rock and mineral identification event at the state level. He is currently helping it prepare for the 2008 national competition.
In addition, he assists with PotashCorp's program of sending buckets of mine remnants to schools around the country to allow children a classroom experience akin to a real fossil dig. Through his membership in the AIPG, he educates representatives of other mining companies on the importance of reaching out to educators.
"This is part of sustainability," he says. "It's educating tomorrow's generations in an area that seems to be lacking – earth sciences."
It's easy to understand how school children can be fascinated by the remains of ancient sea creatures, but Gilmore says real lessons can be learned by going through those buckets of mine remnants. For one thing, they help illustrate how phosphate was deposited in North Carolina via the bones of prehistoric marine life. For another, the fossils let educators explain how the natural phosphate deposits can be converted to nutrient fertilizers used to help grow crops.
"By just sending out remnants from our phosphate mining operation, we can teach earth science, chemical science and food science," he said. "The public needs to understand the value of what we do and how it improves their standard of living.
"Kids don't realize that fertilizer is just a nutrient from the earth made into a form the plants can absorb. When I explain that only 3 percent of the earth's surface is available for farming, they quickly realize how important fertilizer is to feeding the billions of people on the planet."
Highlighting Others' Sustainable Efforts Helps Define PotashCorp's Own Mission
PotashCorp believes in sharing what it has learned about sustainability with other organizations and giving credit where it's due.
Through its Enriching program, the company salutes the efforts of its business partners. Enriching encourages sustainable business practices, while sparking discussion about sustainability and agricultural issues.
In 2007, PotashCorp's Enriching website, www.potashcorpenriching.com, featured stories about community philanthropy and environmental stewardship. Visitors to the site read about Agriculture's Clean Water Alliance (ACWA), for instance. This alliance of agricultural (ag) retailers around Des Moines, IA is working with governmental agencies to monitor and limit the amount of nitrogen that farming puts into the watershed.
"When we formed in 1999, we thought it important to be proactive about the issue of nitrogen levels in the water and agriculture's role," said Roger Koppen, Executive Vice President at Heartland Co-op and a founding member of ACWA. "We drink the same water, use the same rivers as our neighbors, and are just as concerned about water quality."
The causes of nitrogen in the Raccoon River watershed where ACWA works are complex. Fertilizer applications aren't the only reason nitrogen levels rise. Weather, rainfall and temperature are often behind such increases, Koppen said.
But ACWA took a major step on one aspect of nitrogen levels in water by creating the Code of Practice for Fall Nitrogen Application. The code ensures that ACWA member ag retailers will not sell nitrogen for fall application until soil temperatures drop to 50 degrees F. This reduces the nitrates entering the Raccoon River from nearby fields.
"It is stories like this that inspire us at PotashCorp, and hopefully others in agribusiness, to engage with their communities and address problems," said PotashCorp Director of Public Affairs Bill Johnson. "ACWA is a great example of ag retailers stepping up rather than taking a defensive posture on the issue of nitrogen runoff."
The ACWA story was developed in 2007 and went live on the Enriching website in February 2008. In 2007, the site's Perspectives section featured the stories of Missouri ag cooperative MFA Incorporated and its $10 million scholarship program; Illinois ag retailer Brandt Consolidated and its community philanthropy; and the International Plant Nutrition Institute's look at the shrinking amount of land per capita dedicated to farming worldwide.
Mine Waste Project Aims to Reduce Potash Mines' Environmental Footprint
PotashCorp has developed an innovative way to deal with one portion of its potash mine waste stream.
All but two of the potash mines in Saskatchewan produce a waste stream of water-insoluble material and primarily water-soluble sodium chloride salts collectively known as "fine tailings." These tailings are discarded from the mill in the form of salt brine that is 70 percent solid and 30 percent liquid. It naturally flows and cannot be successfully stacked as is done with mines' coarse tailings.
Fine tailings have been stored separately in shallow engineered ponds, or cells, that take up a great deal of land and remain soft indefinitely, providing little opportunity for capping with soil and then vegetation.
In 1999, PotashCorp entered into an agreement with Saskatchewan's Ministry of the Environment that allowed it to build a new fine tailings cell at its Lanigan operation, provided it did extensive research to find a more environmentally acceptable solution to fine tailings disposal by 2010.
In the eight years since, the company has invested millions of dollars in research, focusing first on two alternatives.
The first method involved ''washing" the fine tailings to remove all water-soluble materials (salts), leaving relatively clean solids that could be de-watered and stacked, or possibly distributed on farmland. It required exceedingly large amounts of fresh water and was determined not to be environmentally sound.
"So much water would be needed to wash these fine tailings that you might even find yourself drawing down underground aquifers and affecting local wells," said PotashCorp Environmental Director Mark Getzlaf.
The second method, pulling the liquid out of the fine tailings by centrifuge, was also seen as environmentally and economically unfeasible because, while conserving water and land, it was energy- and chemical-intensive.
All was not lost, however. Through this exhaustive research on removing brine from fine tailings, it was discovered that the liquid brine could be removed in situ, after fine tailings were in modified engineered tailings ponds that would allow free brine to drain from the fine tailings into brine storage ponds – essentially leaving the tailings high and dry.
The most promising approach to future fine tailings management appears to be a method in which the tailings are pumped to a containment cell and the brine is allowed to flow freely through a permeable barrier – a porous berm constructed at the downstream end of the cell. This brine is recovered and the remaining fine tailings consolidate into a solid form similar to what can be achieved by centrifuge.
"This approach still needs more testing and research, but the initial results are very positive," Getzlaf said. "Not only do we have a potential solution for new fine tailings facilities, but existing facilities can be retrofitted to this new technology.
"The fine tailings that are left over will be solid enough to stack vertically, which conserves land, and will be more easily capped and planted when the facility is ready to be decommissioned."
The ultimate fate of the fine tailings cells would be capping and revegetation. Most of the exposed surface area would be earth, which could be seeded to grass.
PotashCorp is working with another potash company in the province to test this method, which may one day be the standard way of dealing with fine tailings in Saskatchewan.
PotashCorp Develops Carbon Management Strategy to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
In response to the ever-increasing concern over the question of climate change, PotashCorp has developed a carbon management strategy to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and its operations' carbon footprint. The plan comes in the wake of the company's commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of production by 10 percent between 2007 and 2012.
PotashCorp's ambitious vision for the future is based on three guiding principles. First, to ensure compliance with future regulations in the most effective manner; secondly, to protect the company's good sustainability reputation as it develops its strategy; and lastly, to explore opportunities for generating revenue in new regulatory frameworks.
Carbon Management Strategy
The first step toward achieving a sound strategy was clear.
"Meeting our reduction goals required that we first take a look at what our overall carbon footprint looks like in order to develop a strategy for reducing that footprint," said John Hunt, PotashCorp Vice President of Safety, Health and Environment and a member of the Climate Change Subcommittee. To collect this information, PotashCorp sought out the services of URS, a respected management services company specializing in environmental solutions.
The report submitted by URS pinpointed the greenhouse gas emission footprint of each facility. It also provided the insight that enabled PotashCorp to devise a management strategy consisting of emission reduction projects for the largest emission units, as well as potential future compliance responsibilities and opportunities.
Reducing GHGs at PotashCorp
In 2008, PotashCorp budgeted to install N2O monitors at its Augusta and Geismar nitric acid plants to document its baseline rate of N2O emissions. The nitric acid plant at Lima is already operating an N2O monitor. By monitoring and establishing the baseline of N2O emitted by its nitric acid plants, the company can document its achievements in reducing those emissions. One of the potential reduction methods under consideration involves installation of low-N2O emitting catalysts for manufacturing nitric acid.
PotashCorp's Trinidad nitrogen facility has reduced its emissions on a per-tonne-of-production basis as a result of energy efficiency projects in 2006 and 2007. The company is investigating the sale of emission credits related to those emission reductions. Evaluation is ongoing in 2008.
Carbon Trading
PotashCorp has also committed to retiring more than 1,500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by the end of 2010 as part of its enrollment in the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). CCX members make a voluntary, but legally binding, commitment to meet annual GHG emission reduction targets. Companies that reduce below the targets have surplus allowances to sell or bank; those that emit above the targets comply by purchasing CO2 allowances from other CCX members.
PotashCorp's membership in CCX is yet another step in a comprehensive plan to manage its greenhouse gases, and will serve as training for the US government's anticipated adoption of some form of cap-and-trade program in the future. Since the company has significantly reduced its GHG emissions from the CCX baseline levels (1998-2002), it will have the opportunity to sell CO2 equivalent on the CCX market.
Task Force Participation
To remain on the cutting edge of this issue, PotashCorp is active in The Fertilizer Institute. In 2007, the company's Vice President of Procurement, Karen Chasez, and Senior Director of Corporate Relations, Tom Pasztor, were named to The Fertilizer Institute's new Climate Change Task Force. Chasez is the chair. The task force will monitor new and proposed GHG regulations and inform and advise TFI's fertilizer company membership about the issue.
Future Regulations
Future regulations in the countries where PotashCorp operates are still unclear, but most observers believe that climate change will be addressed through a cap-and-trade program in the US, very similar to the Kyoto regulations. Under this system, the US government would establish an emission baseline, and "cap" emission levels at that baseline amount.
Over time, the regulations would require GHG emissions to be lower for the entire country. Many of the proposed regulations reduce GHG emissions by 70 percent over 40 years. The emission levels at each plant site or company would not be important as long as the emissions for the entire country were meeting the milestones. Therefore, certain companies could sell their "allowances" to emit GHGs and others could buy allowances to emit GHGs. This is the "trading" part of the regulation. Six GHGs are mentioned in most of these proposed regulations, but the majority of emissions are from CO2, N2O and methane.
Next Steps
PotashCorp realizes that it must continue to work with all its stakeholders to address climate change concerns. With only 3 percent of the earth's surface available for farming, the company firmly believes this land must remain in use for growing crops if the world is to have sustainable food production.
The UN's Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report states that about 17 percent of the man-made GHG emissions are from land use. This includes activities such as deforestation. This is why PotashCorp believes in high-yield farming and other best practices concerning land use. The company highlights these activities and others on its Enriching website, www.potashcorpenriching.com.
PotashCorp also supports the research of the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI) to determine the science behind land use and GHG emissions. In December 2007, IPNI issued its report, Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Cropping Systems and the Influence of Fertilizer Management. PotashCorp believes that the best course of action will come by working together and making informed decisions.
The Year Without Releases
Aurora Completes 2007 on Perfect Environmental Compliance Note
The biggest environmental accomplishment last year at PotashCorp's Aurora, NC phosphate facility was what didn't happen.
In 2007, the facility did not have a single regulatory permit excursion or Reportable Quantity Release.
The site usually has very few regulatory excursions, but a perfect year is remarkable. "Just consider that the facility goes through more than 40,000 measurements annually to show that it's complying with regulatory rules and permits," said Ross Smith, Aurora Manager of Environmental Affairs. Most of these measurements test the facility's gypsum stacks, groundwater and water conveyance sources such as pipes and ditches, which are regulated by the US National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program.
"The only way to achieve this is to have total attention to detail, and a workforce that truly understands the concept of seeking no harm to the environment, every day," Smith said. "With our emphasis on discussing the facility's environmental impact, I'm sure everyone has really taken environmental compliance to heart."
The Aurora facility is seeking permits from the US Army Corps of Engineers to continue mining in the area. The process has involved community input and several environmental impact studies. The Army Corps is consulting with a review team of 11 federal and state agencies and two environmental organizations.
"As we go through this process, we are demonstrating to the community and to local, state and federal officials that we are good stewards of the land here in Aurora," Smith said. "I think our continued attention to regulatory compliance is a great example of how all of us at PotashCorp are dedicated to environmental stewardship."