Florida Phosphate Mining

Environmental groups are opposing a proposed 11,000 acre extension of a phosphate mine owned by Mosaic Company in central Florida.  The groups are arguing in federal court that the mining destroys wetlands, spoils water supplies and ruins farmland.  Phosphate is combined with sulfuric acid to produce fertilizer.

Mosaic, majority-owned by Cargill Inc., estimates its reserves are sufficient to continue mining for another 40 years in Florida. But it only has enough permits to cover about 10 years. The contested South Fort Meade extension would roughly double its permitted reserves. (WSJ, 11/30/2010, Photos: Mike Esterl/ The Wall Street Journal)