Phosphate

All monetary amounts are in US dollars.
All units of measure are English.

White Springs

Operations

White Springs mines phosphate ore and refines it into phosphate rock, which is mixed with sulfuric acid to produce phosphoric acid.

Annual capacity — 4.0 million tons of phosphate rock, 1.1 million tons of phosphoric acid, 0.4 million tons of phosphate feed and 0.5 million tons of monoammonium phosphate

Performance

Significant Events

• Achieved 1 million employee hours without a lost-time injury and increased safety observations by 25 percent year-over-year
• Curtailed production at our Suwannee River Chemical Plant for the first half of 2009 due to a lack of demand, but without layoffs, as we were able to keep employees working on other projects
• Reduced staff by 168 employees in December 2009, which represented 20 percent of the workforce, due to streamlined product mix and production rate to meet reduced demand
• Completed a four-year union contract in 10 days
• Conducted leadership training for 30 supervisors or senior hourly employees in conjunction with the University of Florida’s Leadership Development Institute
• Discovered a sinkhole in the Swift Creek Chemical phosphogypsum stack in December; continuing to investigate, monitor and take corrective actions in cooperation with regulatory officials; no impact on the community, including drinking water quality, has been detected

Community Relations

• Communicated openly with employees, communities and local governments about the decision to lay off 168 employees; all laid-off employees received compensation that exceeded legal and union requirements
• Continued to work closely with all local, state and federal agencies to address groundwater concerns around the sinkhole discovered in December
• Participated in meeting of the Hamilton County Technical and Planning Working Groups discussing mining and reclamation activities and issues
• Hosted a tour of reclamation areas for the Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners
• Attended 12 meetings with Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners and quarterly meetings with Hamilton County representatives

Community Donations

• Donated $102,000 to community organizations in the tri-county area, including the United Way of Suwannee Valley campaign, Lake City Community College Education Foundation, Hamilton County School District, Hamilton County Education Foundation and the Suwannee Valley Regional Science Fair
• Contributed $105,000 of in-kind goods and services to community organizations, including Valdosta State University, Suwannee School District, Stephen Foster CSO, Suwannee River Regional Library, St. Francis High School, Hamilton County Recreation Department, Town of White Springs, Hamilton County High School, Hamilton County FFA and Hamilton Chamber of Commerce

Education Initiatives

• Awarded 10 scholarships worth a total of $6,800 to students in the community
• Completed sixth year in the Hamilton County High School Vocational Partnership
• Remained active with Lake City Community College Educational Foundation
• Continued the Adopt-a-School program with South Hamilton Elementary
• Continued as member of Suwannee County Educational Foundation, Hamilton County Education Foundation, Hamilton County School District School Advisory Committee, South Hamilton Elementary School’s Advisory Council, and Suwannee Hamilton Technical Center Vocational Education Advisory Board
• Remained a business partner with South Hamilton Elementary, our adopted school

Awards

• Received a plaque from South Hamilton Elementary for support as a key business partner
• Received Platinum Award for site’s support of the United Way of Suwannee Valley
• Received Platinum Sponsor Award for support of the Hamilton County Chamber of Commerce
• Received a Certificate of Appreciation for support of Hamilton County Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Coalition
• Received a Silver Medal Award from Hamilton County Special Olympics
• Appreciation Award from Hamilton County Future Farmers of America for activities support
• Recognized as a March of Dimes Principal Sponsor
• Received a Public Service Award (12th year) from Life South Blood Bank, Suwannee Valley Region; employees made 235 donations in 2009
• Achieved a Norfolk Southern Railroad’s Thoroughbred Award, which is presented to each company or facility that ships more than 1,000 carloads of hazardous chemicals without incident

Energy and Environment

• Reclaimed about 931 acres in 2009, almost double the 560 acres mined
• Expanded the habitat for the threatened gopher tortoise away from operational areas by about 75 acres

Local Procurement

• Made local purchases in 2009 of $80.6 million, or 71 percent of total expenditures (excluding major expansions, raw materials, energy and transportation)