Consolidation is ongoing in the Chinese fertiliser minerals mining sector, with China’s biggest fertiliser producer Sinofert Holdings buying the entire equity interest in Xundian Lomon Phosphorus Chemical Co for $219 million, which is the owner of a number of phosphate mines and deposits in Yunnan province.

Sinofert said it intends to “tap the region’s large phosphate reserves and hopes to become a leading phosphate producer in China through the acquisition.” The deal takes Sinofert from being mainly a trader and manufacturer of fertilisers to having the phosphate mining resource base to back it up. According to Sinofert, “Xundian Lomon is the only company in the PRC that has a production capacity of 300,000 t of MDCP/MCP [mono-dicalcium phosphate/dicalcium phosphate] with stable and reliable production quality that meet international standards.” It has one phosphate mine with a mining licence in Yunnan Province, with four additional phosphate mines with exploration licences, also in Yunnan, for which it is in the process of applying for mining licences.