Mineral Development (MDL) is the world’s leading producer of high-grade phosphate rock produced from secondary recovery of tailings on formerly mined lands. The company’s operations are focused in the Bone Valley region of Central Florida known worldwide for its high-grade phosphate rock produced over the past century. The secondary recovery process has been recognized as the most eco-friendly method of mining phosphate rock with many benefits to the restoration of formerly mined lands and no use of harmful chemicals.
The company is a key player in feeding the world in an environmentally friendly way.
That large tank on the left side is our 1.3mm gallon feed tank. Each one of the five product piles are approx. 40,000 tons of material. The steel structure is 90’ high and it covers about 2 acres.
The $70 million dollar construction project is scheduled for completion in the Fall, 2022, with the construction being done by local contractors. The plant is located in the heart of Central Florida’s Bone Valley.
The plant is designed to process 1.2 million tons per year of high grade phosphate concentrate. Mineral Development, LLC will hire 55 direct employees at the plant and will have another 50 through third party contracts (truckers, material handling / reclamation, engineers, regulatory consultants, etc.).
When completed, the plant will be the City of Bartow’s largest consumer of electricity with an average of $8 million per year usage. That is approximately 35 percent of the utility’s total capacity..
The plant is expected to be in operation 20+ years.
Eco-Friendly Plant
Secondary recovery reprocesses old mine tailings into high-quality feedstock for fertilizer production. The project only extracts material from land that has been previously mined, the vast majority of which was disturbed before mandatory reclamation regulations, and MDL will reclaim this land according to modern reclamation standards. Secondary recovery is an efficient and responsible way to provide the world with the resources it requires to feed its growing population. It creates jobs for the community, supplies high-quality products to support farmers, and improves the land.
MDL production and product quality upon startup:
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Produce 1.2 million short tons of high-quality phosphate rock concentrate
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Range of qualities from 29% to 34% P2O5
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Low heavy metals including cadmium
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Low metals including magnesium, aluminum, and iron
Environment
Since all MDL’s activities are on previously mined land with no green-field mining, the process has been well received by regulatory agencies, activist groups, local authorities, neighbors, and landowners. Most of the material recovered was originally mined prior to the 1975 mandatory reclamation laws so the land was reclaimed to various standards or not at all. MDL complies with DEP standards of today which will restore the land to its original state with native vegetation and enhanced surface water flow. MDL uses primarily surface water in its process with no harmful chemicals or runoff. Importantly, MDL’s operations require no clay settling areas, which ensures that the land will be efficiently and promptly returned to productive use – conservation, recreation or responsible development.
For more information about Mineral Development, LLCs new plant, please visit this site.
