MELBOURNE, Australia, May 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Apatit, a subsidiary of one of world's leading fertilizer companies, PhosAgro (MSX: PHOR) and Orica (ASX: ORI) have signed a landmark, 10-year contract to supply explosives and blasting services to Apatit's mining facilities at Kirovsk situated in the Murmansk Province in north west Russia.

The large Australian mining services supply contract for the expanding Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) market, will see Orica supply up to 700,000 tonnes of bulk explosives over ten years to Apatit servicing both open cut and underground mining facilities.

Orica will work with Apatit in the construction of an ammonium nitrate emulsion plant Apatit's mine site at Kirovsk. The contract will involve the supply of up to 70,000 tonnes of explosives per annum for ten years, as well as logistics and 'down the hole' services.

Orica Executive Global Head Mining Services Craig Elkington said: "Orica is delighted to have signed this landmark contract with one of the world's leading phosphate producers. This significant contract with a valued customer aligns well to Orica's strategy of offering differentiated products and services through reliable and secure supply points for an international customer base."

"Through this agreement Orica has been able to deploy its skills, technology and know-how to forge a strong commercial long-term relationship with a global leader in the fast developing CIS region," Mr Elkington said.

Apatit Techenicacal (Technical) Director Zvonar Andrey Yurievich said: "The main priorities in production policy of Apatit OJSC are ensuring stable production of apatite ore, optimised production costs and guaranteed security, especially in blasting works. We firmly believe that cooperation with Orica, a world leader in production and application of emulsion explosives, will enable us to achieve all of the above aims on the highest level."

"The established cooperation with Orica and the explosives loading and blasting works which have begun in its framework in underground conditions, Orica's professionalism and the impressive standard and level of technologies which the company showed in this have lead to the final decision of Apatit to dedicate itself to full and comprehensive cooperation in production and application of emulsion explosives. The ultimate goal of this, as we see it, is maximum transfer of the full cycle of blasting both in open-cut and underground conditions of Apatit to Orica's specialists. The steps which we have made together up till now make us confident that our joint work will be successful and fruitful," Mr Yurievich said.

The Apatit contract will increase the number of manufacturing facilities Orica operates in Russia to seven where Orica is experiencing growth in the emerging CIS market.

A delegation from PhosAgro and Apatit is visiting Australia to inspect some of Orica's Australian east coast operations. The delegation will visit Orica's ammonium nitrate emulsion facility at Kurri Kurri in the New South Wales Hunter Region to see the technology and plant design that will be mirrored in the new facility to be built in Russia.

Digital imagery of the Apatit delegation tour of Orica's is available at AAP One image website: http://multimedia.aapnewswire.com.au/Search.aspx?search=orica

Photo Captions:
(Left) Andrei Zvonar, Technical Director, Apatit / (Right) Renaldo Maras, General Director & Manager, Orica CIS

Russian delegates from company Apatit visit Orica's Technical Centre and ANE plant in Kurri, NSW

Media contacts:
Orica: Simon Westaway,
GM Corporate Communications
M: +61 401 994 627
E: simon.westaway@orica.com
www.twitter.com/OricaLimited

PhosAgro: Timur Belov,
Press Secretary
Tel: +7 232-96-89, extension 26-52,
mobile +7 (929) 600-46-42
E-mail: pr@phosagro.ru

About PhosAgro and Apatit
PhosAgro (MCX: PHOR) is a global leading and fully integrated Russian company producing fertilizer, phosphates and feed phosphates. The holding company was established in 2001 and in the 2012 financial year generated revenues of RUB 105.3 billion. Its core line of business is the production of phosphate-based fertilisers (as Europe's largest producer), the world's largest producer of high-grade phosphate rock and a significant producer of feed phosphates, nitrogen fertilisers and ammonia. The company is based in Moscow, Russia. PhosAgro's primary assets include its subsidiary, Apatit, a company based in the Murmansk Region, which is engaged in the extraction of apatite rock. Additional information can be found at www.phosagro.com

About Orica Limited (ABN: 24 004 145 868)
Orica is a global company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Founded in 1874 in Australia, Orica is:

• The largest provider of commercial explosives and blasting systems to the mining and infrastructure markets
• A global leader in the provision of ground support in mining and tunnelling, and the leading supplier of sodium cyanide for gold extraction
• A supplier of general chemicals across a diverse range of markets, including agriculture, building and construction, food and beverage, pharmaceutical and personal care, plastics, pulp and paper and water treatment industries
• A holder of a strong portfolio of manufacturing and distribution assets strategically located across Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the CIS, Asia, Latin America and Africa which enables valuable supply chain capabilities for Orica's customers.

Orica has operations in more than 50 countries with customers in more than 100. The Company has a diverse workforce of over 15,000 people who originate from more than 130 nationalities. Additional information can be found at www.orica.com

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SOURCE Orica Ltd