Mineral Development, LLC (MDL), the only dedicated producer of secondary recovery phosphate rock in the world, has broken ground on its $70 million production facility in Polk County, Florida. The plant is designed to produce 1.2 million tons of high-quality phosphate rock per year in a range of qualities from 29% to 34% P2O5. MDL’s facility is the first independent phosphate beneficiation plant built in the US in over 30 years.
“This is a very clean and eco-friendly project involving only previously mined lands,” said MDL President and CEO Lance McNeill. “We are very proud of what we’re doing.” The company will extract phosphate from previously mined lands on Clear Springs property in Bartow, Florida via secondary recovery. Secondary recovery reprocesses old mine tailings into high-quality feedstock for fertiliser production.
The project only extracts material from land that has been previously mined, the vast majority of which was disturbed before mandatory reclamation regulations. MDL’s operations will primarily use surface water from existing ponds, employ state-of-the-art water recycling methods, and restore the old mining land to current DEP reclamation standards. The process helps restore the land to its original state with native vegetation and natural surface water flow while providing high-grade phosphate essential to feed the world’s growing population.
Clear Springs President Fred Boling said, “Clear Springs is very pleased to be in a partnership with MDL in the development of these lands.”
The project will produce new job opportunities for the City. MDL will primarily use local companies, vendors, and suppliers during construction and operation. McNeill said that during operations, MDL will directly employ 55 full-time people at the plant, and another 50 jobs will be created indirectly through full-time contractors needed for operations, logistics, and other professional services.
“The opportunity that MDL’s operation presents to the city of Bartow is significant,” said Bartow Mayor Scott Sjoblom. Because MDL will be connected to the city of Bartow’s utility network, the city benefits from their power purchases. “When its facility is operating, MDL will become Bartow’s biggest consumer of power, generating important revenue for the city.”
