New report says domestic deposits of phosphate could replace overseas imports including politically controversial sales by Morocco

Much of the phosphate used on New Zealand farms could be sourced locally, according to a new report. 

This could end New Zealand’s dependence on phosphate from land held by Morocco in defiance of the United Nations. 

Phosphorus is an essential ingredient for metabolism in plant cells. However, its natural presence in the soil is depleted by New Zealand’s practice of intensive agriculture.

So, New Zealand imported 689,000 tonnes in 2021 figures, 51% coming from Morocco and its occupied neighbour, Western Sahara. 

This trade attracted controversy in 2017 when a 54,000-tonne shipment of phosphate rock bound for Tauranga was seized in South Africa over claims it was mined illegally. 

A new report says this trade can be replaced by local product. 

The report is called Sustainable Phosphate Futures and was done by the L&M mining group and a firm of consultants, the Agribusiness Group.  It was paid for by Our Land and Water, which is one of 11 Public Science Challenge organisations.

It says despite the importance of phosphate to the New Zealand economy, phosphate mining in New Zealand is largely historic, with approximately 140,000 tons of phosphate rock mined at Clarendon in south Otago up to 1924.

There was also some mining during World War II, when phosphate rock from Nauru was unavailable.

The report says there is still rock available at Clarendon, as well as North Canterbury, South Canterbury and Waitaki, and says fertiliser from these sources would be competitive with products manufactured using imported phosphate rock.

And it would have a far lower environmental impact, with lower transport emissions.  In total, there would be 76 tonnes of CO2 equivalents emitted per tonne, which is 49% of the rate emitted from imported product.

There would also be lower levels of the cadmium than is often found with phosphate ore.

The report says these factors could be very useful if a New Zealand Government ever puts farmers into the Emissions Trading Scheme.

“In summary, the use of New Zealand-sourced phosphate for fertiliser appears to be viable and feasible, while providing potential economic and environmental benefits,” the report concludes.

It proposes undertaking a more detailed analysis of the environmental and economic impacts. In addition, phosphate should be included in a list of strategic raw materials. New Zealand has no such list, unlike the European Union and Australia. 

Information from the Fertiliser Association shows that 49% of phosphate is used on dairy farms and 43% on sheep and beef farms. Overall phosphate use is about half what it was at its peak in 2006, due to high prices and lower incomes in the sheep and beef sectors.

The most famous recent attempt to mine phosphate was aimed at the Chatham Rise, which is a spur of shallow water stretching off the east coast of the South Island.

The company that set out to exploit this was Chatham Rock Phosphate, which was denied a Marine Consent in 2015 and endured a catastrophic collapse in its market capitalisation a result.

But Chatham Rock Phosphate has not given up. In a statement to the Stock Exchange last December, it said it still has a mining permit, and has recovered a lot of its value.

It said it had raised $11.3 million from investors in nine countries.

“CRP is expecting to raise the funds required to complete the Marine Consent reapplication and to cover the costs of the Environmental Protection Authority hearing,” the statement says.

“This would come from either further share subscriptions or operating cash flows from the Korella or Avenir Makatea projects,” the statement said. 

These two projects are sited in Queensland and French Polynesia.