Mosaic cuts estimate on Florida mine legal woes

Fertilizer producer Mosaic Co (MOS-N) has cut in half the estimated cost of keeping a Florida phosphate mine effectively shuttered due to a judge's order.

Last week a U.S. judge extended an injunction that keeps Mosaic from expanding production at its South Fort Meade, Fla., mine.

On a conference call with investors on Tuesday to discuss the company's quarterly earnings, Mosaic executives said the damage could now be $100 million US due to excess phosphate capacity they have found at other Mosaic mines.

Just after the ruling was issued, Mosaic said the ruling could increase its annual costs by $200 million. Most of that would have come from buying phosphate rock on the open market from competitors.

Mosaic has asked a higher U.S. court to cancel the injunction, though the company does not expect a ruling until the fall.

The South Fort Meade, Fla., mine has about 15 years of phosphate reserves and produces 6.5 million tons of the fertilizer each year. That represents a third of Mosaic's yearly phosphate capacity and 4 percent of the world's.