Mosaic Company’s unit said on Tuesday it resumed mining operations at its Catalao mine in Brazil, following suspension of production in April.
The unit, Mosaic Fertilizantes, had stopped production at its Tapira and Catalao phosphate mines after failing to obtain a deadline extension for providing stability certification for three of its tailings dams.
Mining regulations in Brazil have been affected by a dam disaster in January, involving miner Vale SA that killed hundreds of people, prompting new rules to avoid recurrence of such accidents. Brazil has dozens of tailings dams, which hold back byproducts generated during the extraction of mineral resources.
The Catalao mine was not in operation for two months as the company worked to bring its mine tailings dam into compliance with new Brazilian regulation, Mosaic said.
The company, which produces concentrated phosphates, expects to return to fully fledged operation across its Brazilian mines by the end of the third quarter, Chief Executive Joc O’ Rourke said.
Phosphate is a crucial fertilizer ingredient and Mosaic’s operation is the largest in Brazil.
Also, the company has received safety certificate for one of its two dams at the Tapira mine, and expects to get safety clearance for the second dam during the third quarter.
(By Arundhati Sarkar; Editing by James Emmanuel)
