Phosphate
Nutrien is the second-largest phosphate producer in North America, with two large integrated facilities and four regional product upgrade facilities. Our high-quality phosphate rock enables the production of many products, including solid and liquid fertilizers, feed, and industrial acids.
Our Phosphate business is part of Nutrien’s upstream portfolio, which produces the food, fiber and fuel our world needs. Partnered with our extensive midstream distribution network and our downstream Retail business, we can anticipate trends, respond faster, and more effectively produce and distribute the products and services farmers need.
Find a phosphate facilityPhosphate 101
What is phosphate and where does it come from?
Most of the world’s phosphate is mined from underground deposits formed by marine sediment. Phosphorous (P) is present in every living cell. In plants, phosphate is crucial to essential energy reactions, including photosynthesis, speeding maturity and reproduction, and increasing yields. In animals, it’s a critical component in biochemical reactions necessary for muscle contraction and body growth, maintenance, and repair.
How it works
1. Phosphate ore from mine
Overburden (layers above the phosphate) is removed, then draglines mine the ore. Later on, this land will be reclaimed.
2. Processing
Ore is pumped through a pipeline to be processed if needed (screening, washing, floating, dewatering, and calcination) to create phosphate rock.
3. Sulfuric acid
Purchased sulfur is converted into sulfuric acid.
4. Phosphoric acid plants
Phosphoric acid — the feedstock for all our phosphate products — is produced from phosphate rock by adding concentrated sulfuric acid. Gypsum is a byproduct of this process.
How is phosphate produced?
Phosphate by the numbers
1.7 Mmt
Nameplate P₂O₅ capacity
2
Large integrated phosphate mines
4
Upgrade facilities
#1
largest producer of purified phosphoric acid in North America
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