Mosaic Thwarted in U.S. District Court

Mosaic Co.'s woes continue as a federal judge Monday extended an order keeping the fertilizer producer from expanding one of its Florida phosphate mines. Mosaic's stock opened the day Tuesday 5.2 percent down.

The company has vowed to fight both the ruling and a related lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club. The environmental group claims Mosaic's South Fort Meade mine operations damage not one but two watersheds.

This particular mine has about 15 years of phosphate reserves. It produces 6.5 million tons of fertilizer each year, representing a third of the company's yearly phosphate capacity and 4 percent of the world's.

Mosaic had wanted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to grant it a permit that would allow the mine's size to expand. But last year the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida put the permit on hold.

In April Mosaic said it figured the company could go ahead and expand anyway, just not in any wetlands. Company officials thought the injunction applied only to mining in wetlands. Judge Henry Lee Adams Jr., however, didn't see it that way and ruled accordingly.

"Mosaic has had ample time since the beginning of the lawsuit to reapply for necessary permits," said Adams in his ruling.