By Kristen Chick, Correspondent
The Christian Science Monitor, January 24, 2013

“Laayoune and Boucraa, Western Sahara : Morocco’s mining of the lucrative fertilizer ingredient in occupied Western Sahara has sparked charges it is violating international law – and that global customers are looking the other way….(cont.)

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Tuesday, 18 December 2012, 11:52 am
Press Release: Australia Western Sahara Association

17 December 2012

The Australia Western Sahara Association (AWSA) will be protesting at the IPL AGM outside the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, 2 Clarendon St, Southbank as shareholders arrive from 1.30-2pm, Tuesday 18 December.

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By Tom Philpott,   Wed Nov. 28, 2012

“You’ve heard of peak oil—the idea that the globe’s easy-to-get-to petroleum reserves are largely cashed, and most of what’s left is the hard stuff, buried in deep-sea deposits or tar sands. But what about peak phosphorus and…(cont.)

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By Ron Guy, Green Left Weekly,
October 20, 2012

Over the past three years Christian Super, a not-for-profit industry fund, has engaged in dialogue with Australian company Wesfarmers over its sourcing of phosphate rock from Western Sahara. Phosphate is used in its production of agricultural superphosphate……(continued..)

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Western Sahara Resource Watch,  06.10 – 2012

The Australian company Wesfarmers stated in its annual report that it for the coming production year, it will avoid phosphates from Western Sahara. Its fertiliser subsidiary company, CSBP has been a main importer of the controversial resource from the occupied territory.
On 27 September, Wesfarmers published its 2012 annual report. The company, which has for over two decades been a major importer of phosphate rock from Western Sahara, wrote:
“In late 2009, the division announced an investment of almost $5million in a regenerative thermal oxidiser (RTO) to allow diversification of phosphate rock supply options…..(cont.)

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Christian Today Australia, 3 October 2012

“Over the past three years Christian Super has engaged in dialogue with Wesfarmers over its sourcing of phosphate rock from Western Sahara. Phosphate is used in their production of agricultural superphosphate…….After Christian Super and other interested parties met with Wesfarmers in 2009, Wesfarmers made the decision to invest in a technology and plant upgrade to reduce itsreliance on phosphorous rock imported from Western Sahara”…..(cont.)

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09.09 – 2012
Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW) continues to monitor phosphate rock exports from occupied Western Sahara.  This update report provides details of exports and vessels involved in the trade over the period from 1 June until 31 August 2012 (the Observation Period).

There are two Australian shipments on the list, Alycia to Impact Fertlisers in Hobart on 8 August and Maple Crystal to IPL, currently discharging 9000 tonnes of phosphate in Portland, Victoria.

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4 September 2012: Australia Western Sahara Association  PRESS RELEASE  – for immediate release

As the Margiris super trawler arrives in Australian amid controversy, another ship, the bulk carrier, Maple Crystal is due at Lascelles wharf in North Shore Geelong on Wednesday 5 September, bringing a stolen cargo of phosphate rock from Western Sahara for the Australian Fertiliser company, Incitec Pivot (IPL).

The cargo is bought by IPL from the autocratic regime of Morocco which has no ownership of these phosphates.

“We do not see how IPL can have legal title to import this mineral”, says Cate Lewis of the Australia Western Sahara Association.

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9 August 2012
The vessel ‘Alycia’ arrived on Tuesday 7 August 2012 at Risdon dock in Hobart, ready to discharge its controversial cargo of phosphate from occupied Western Sahara for the local fertilizer producer Impact Fertilisers.

The Tasmanian fertiliser company Impact has for a number of years purchased phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara.

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