LSB Industries and Freeport Minerals: low-carbon supply contract signed

150,000 tons per year ammonium nitrate solution from El Dorado

LSB will supply up to 150,000 tons per year of low-carbon ammonium nitrate solution (ANS) to Freeport Minerals Corporation for five years, starting in 2025. The ANS will be manufactured from low-carbon ammonia feedstock produced at LSB’s El Dorado, Arkansas plant, where retrofits are underway to enable the production of CCS hydrogen, and subsequently ammonia. With project partner Lapis Energy to construct and operate the CCS infrastructure, the project will:

…capture and permanently sequester more than 450,000 metric tons of CO2 produced annually from El Dorado’s ammonia production. The carbon sequestration is expected to result in more than 375,000 tons of low carbon ammonia that LSB can sell or upgrade and sell to customers in the form of other low carbon nitrogen products, such as ANS. The project is expected to commence operations in 2026 pending approval by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of LSB and Lapis’ Class VI permit application, which the companies expect to receive in the second half of 2025.

Details of the El Dorado CCS project from LSB’s official press release, 22 May 2024

As indicated in the announcement, the partners are awaiting approval of their Class VI permit application by the US EPA. A Class VI permit is required for the construction and operation of CO2 injection wells. In February, Wabash Valley Resources was the first ammonia project developer to be awarded a Class VI permit. LSB’s application is one of a number of projects deep into the technical review stage of the Class VI process, with a public comment and final decision stage to follow.

This important agreement validates our belief that our industrial and mining customers will identify the low carbon nitrogen products that we plan to produce as an important part of their decarbonization journeys and value them accordingly. We view this contract with Freeport as a major step towards attaining our vision of becoming a leader in the global energy transition and look forward to partnering with them as a strategic supplier as they advance toward their net zero aspiration.

Mark Behrman, LSB President and CEO in his organisation’s official press release, 22 May 2024

Freeport will use the low-carbon ANS for its copper mining operations in the USA. ANS is used worldwide to produce blasting agents for mining, and several other organisations have already announced their intentions to develop low-emission ammonia production projects to decarbonise the overall supply chain, including Enaex in Chile and Orica in Australia.