Mosaic to close phosphate units

Mosaic Co. will close its South Pierce and Green Bay, Fla., phosphate fertilizer plants and its Fort Green, Fla., phosphate mine this month. The closures will result in about 700 lost jobs and after-tax charges of up to $400 million. Mosaic says the plants were its highest cost plants in Florida and that it will continue to operate nine phosphate facilities in Florida and Louisiana. The Fort Green mine has an annual capacity of 4.9 million metric tons of phosphate rock. The Green Bay plant has 1.3 million metric tons of ammonium phosphate capacity. The South Pierce unit can make 730,000 metric tons of triple superphosphate per year.