2012 Annual Report: The Roots of Our Success

Mosaic is the largest integrated phosphate producer in the world. Its four world-scale mines (with two more in the permitting stage), five chemical production facilities and global distribution capabilities back a half century of rock reserves. That’s strength to build on. One place that’s happening is Peru.

“It’s pretty exciting to be the face of Mosaic for an entire country,” said Mike Williams, Manager of Quality and Management Systems. Williams leads Mosaic’s participation on the ground in the Miski Mayo phosphate mine in Peru. Mosaic is one of three joint venture partners in Miski Mayo, enabling Mosaic to supplement its North American rock resources and diversify its phosphate rock position. When running at capacity, the joint venture is expected to provide an additional 1.4 million tonnes of phosphate rock annually to Mosaic, capturing value and allowing better control over raw material supply.

Mosaic is far more than just a passive participant in Miski Mayo. As one of the lowest-cost producers in the industry, Mosaic works cooperatively with its joint venture partners to implement improvements in this new world-class mining operation.

Williams and other members of the Mosaic Phosphates management team work with Miski Mayo’s operational managers to identify barriers to smooth, efficient operations and then break through them. Their initial efforts revealed an array of factors hindering production and set the table for more than 20 potential operational improvement initiatives that have helped the mine achieve and maintain consistent production levels during the first half of 2012.

“Improvement and excellence initiatives don’t happen overnight,” said Williams. “We are coaching our teams to go full circle with the improvement initiatives and apply them for maximum impact — exploring how we use diesel fuel, seawater and electrical energy, and where we can create new efficiencies.”

To date, the Miski Mayo mine operation has achieved a 20-percent improvement in production, compared to last year’s output. “This is positive evidence of skills we learned at Mosaic benefiting other phosphate operations around the world. We believe that our joint venture partners value our engagement and participation in making Miski Mayo a success,” added Williams. “They respect Mosaic’s expertise and look to us for guidance.”