Mosaic's performance in fiscal 2011 clearly demonstrated a company-wide commitment to success. As the overall market recovery was taking hold, we entered the year with ambitious goals and high expectations — and completed the year with great integrity and a resounding sense of accomplishment. This past year we were awarded the Minnesota Business Ethics Award, recognizing Mosaic for the principled and ethical culture
we've built.
Continued investment in expanding potash production capacity is fundamental to our future. In fiscal 2011 alone, we invested an additional $600 million in these projects. This multi-year effort will expand Mosaic's annual proven peaking production capacity from over 10 million tonnes today to more than 16 million tonnes by 2021, including the reversion of tolling agreement capacity. During the year, we made considerable progress on expansions at our Belle Plaine, Colonsay and Esterhazy potash production facilities.
In Mosaic's Phosphates business, fiscal 2011 was marked by a relentless focus on operational excellence, important strategic achievements, and record earnings and margins. We have enhanced operating margins through disciplined operational improvements in spite of significantly lowered production at one of our Florida mines. Phosphates is a stronger business — both structurally and operationally — than it was a few years ago, and financial results support this. During the year, we closed on the sale of an investment in Fosfertil and our operations in Cubatão, Brazil. The sale of these interests and assets helped us fund another strategic initiative — acquiring an additional source of phosphate rock through an investment in the Miski Mayo mine in Peru. Investment in this mine bolsters Mosaic's position as the leading integrated phosphate producer in the world. Rock shipments from this world-class phosphate mine have already begun, and the mine offers significant expansion potential in the years ahead.
Mosaic is also committed to the development and refinement of premium products, and fiscal 2011 was a breakout year for us in this category. We have built a global leadership position in next-generation crop nutrients, and the growth rate in this category is remarkable. In fiscal 2011, sales of MicroEssentials®, a phosphate product that contains essential micronutrients such as sulfur and zinc, jumped to over one million tonnes, an increase of 54 percent over the prior year. The sales growth rate for MicroEssentials validates our continued investments in production capabilities, product innovation and the global testing platform we've established to help ensure these crop nutrient formulations are effective around the globe.
