The 5000-tonne shipment, on board FW Excursionist, is due at Lyttelton next Monday and Dunedin next Thursday. It comes from the newly commissioned Ardmore Mine in Queensland and will be tested and processed at the company’s Christchurch and Dunedin manufacturing sites.
In a statement, Ravensdown general manager supply chain Mike Whitty said the trial was part of an ongoing strategy to front-foot global supply chain challenges.
While it was early days, the Ardmore phosphate rock had potential to form part of Ravensdown’s nutrient offering, helping to firm up local supply of superphosphate for farmers and growers.
"If the last few years have proven anything, it’s the value of having more options. We’re operating in an ongoing environment of instability when it comes to managing supply chain risks and increasing costs.
"It’s a culmination of familiar factors, including the conflict in Ukraine, political tensions in other parts of the world, and we’re seeing that Covid-19 has a very long tail.
"The lasting effects of the pandemic reach beyond simple shipping delays — we’re also seeing less commodity exports as countries like China intensify their focus on internal food security," he said.
Ravensdown would continue to investigate and trial other sources of phosphate rock closer to New Zealand, he said.
