Author 1:

Name & Surname: Guriev A. A.
Company: PhosAgro Holding Company (Moscow, Russia)
Work Position: General Director
Contacts: e-mail: secretgaa@phosagro.ru

Author 2:

Name & Surname: Rybnikov M. K.
Company: PhosAgro AG LLC (Cherepovets, Russia)
Work Position: General Director

Author 3:

Name & Surname: Davydenko V. V.
Company: Apatit JSC (Kirovsk, Russia)
Work Position: Director, Kirovsk Division, PhosAgro AG LLC—General Director, Apatit JSC

Author 4:

Name & Surname: Levin B. V.
Company: Research Institute for Fertilizers and Insectofungicides (NIUIF) (Moscow, Russia)
Work Position: General Director

PhosAgro is the top producer of phosphorous fertilizers in Russia. PhosAgro group of companies includes fertilizer producers and an apatite concentrate manufacturer—Apatit Mining and Processing Integrated Works celebrating its 85^th anniversary this year. Recently PhosAgro implements a series of investment projects aimed to develop the ore and raw material supplies base of Apatit and to upgrade the mineral dressing branch of the company. The emphasis in the development of Apatit is made on underground mining buildup, above all in the largest Kirovsk Mine that holds close to half of the overall nepheline ore reserves of the company. To this effect, the mine drives the second main shaft equipped with skip hoisting system, constructs an underground ore crushing plant and opens up new production levels. After the project accomplishment, the mine will reach the annual ore production of 14 Mt. The second project under implementation is introduction of emulsion explosives (EE) to underground mining. The technology of charging wet up holes with EE has been practiced to perfection. Actually, an EE manufacturing plant is under construction on the industrial site of Apatit JSC. The project is implemented jointly with Orica, Australia. Apatit is greatly concerned with the production control. In 2011 the automated motor transport dispatch system was introduced in Koashvinsky open pit mine. Each truck was equipped with a set of sensors and an onboard computer to record all technical data, malfunctions, location data etc. As early as the first operation year, the dispatch system demonstrated high efficiency expressed in terms of productiveness, fuel consumption and exhaust emission of operating trucks. In 2014 Apatit JSC is launching the same dispatch system in Rasvumchorr underground mine equipped with self-propelled load–haul–dumpers. Next in turn is Kirovsk mine. Apatit JSC actualizes a large-scale technical reequipment program at the own processing plants. The investment project of the ore milling and classifying unit remodeling is at the end. Eventually, recovery of marketable Р₂О₅ has increased while the share of fine fractions has decreased. One more project described in the article deals with the heat supply of the town of Kirovsk. By the end of 2013, the housing had been put on the heat supply by the remote Apatitskaya Thermal Power Station. This enabled closure of local fuel-oil boiling plants, which drastically improved the urban air.