Mosaic will temporarily curtail production at its Esterhazy mine in Saskatchewan, which when combined with a previously announced potash curtailment, brings total curtailments to up to 600,000 metric tons (mt). The curtailment is not expected to impact the pace of development at the Esterhazy mine K3 project.
The company said the increased curtailment is based on increasing inventories as a result of a short-term slowdown in global potash markets and increased risks of a delay in Chinese contract settlement. If the full amount of the curtailment is realized in lower fourth-quarter 2019 sales, it would result in a negative impact of approximately $150 million in adjusted EBITDA.
“While near-term fertilizer markets remain challenging, we continue to expect a very strong application season in Brazil and North America, and a better supply and demand balance in 2020,” said Joc O’Rourke, president and CEO, Mosaic.
