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PhosAgro PAOAnnouncement

01/09/2015 07:00

For Immediate
Release                                                                                           
31 August 2015

PhosAgro commissions Main Shaft No. 2 at Apatit JSC's Kirov mine


Moscow - PhosAgro (Moscow Exchange, LSE: PHOR), one of the world's leading
vertically integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producers, has commissioned
Main Shaft No.2 at Apatit JSC's Kirov mine.

The commissioning ceremony for Main Shaft No. 2 was attended by Governor of the
Murmansk region Marina Kovtun, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of
PhosAgro and Vice-President of the Russian Union of Chemists Andrey Guryev, CEO
of PhosAgro-Cherepovets Mikhail Rybnikov, CEO of Apatit Vladimir Davydenko, as
well as management and employees of the Kirov mine and PhosAgro Group employees
from Cherepovets, Balakovo and Volkhov chemical plants.

Kirov mine's Main Shaft No. 2 is a sophisticated underground crushing complex
and shaft head complex that delivers ore from the underground mine to the
surface from a depth of approximately 350 meters.

The most time-consuming and costly element of the project was the mine footage
works, which began in 1999. The mining department spent several years of hard
work, to bore deep in the mountains a cavern the size of a seven-storey
building (20 metres in height) for the delivery of equipment and other
functions: unloading skips, haulage, cleaning up spillage, etc.  The cavern is
situated at between 68 meters and 90 meters in the mountain.  Overall, objects
of the crushing complex stretch from -24 meters to 90 meters. 

The above-ground complex consists of the shaft head building, the conveyor
gallery and the loading hopper building.  The shaft head building contains the
unloading complex and the winding machine.  The two 50-tonne skips are the
first ever to be used at Apatit (Main Shaft No. 1 uses 14-tonne skips).  Ore
will be transported up on these skips from a depth of 300m.  The conveyer
gallery contains conveyers for transporting ore to the loading hoppers, which
will be used to load rail dump-cars.  The construction of the underground
shafts included more than excavation work:  Tippers, crushers, blasting leads
and loading hoppers were all moved into place through a specially-dug shaft. 
In addition, water, air and electric supply systems were built as part of the
mine - the mine is ventilated, water is pumped out, and elevator shafts have
been equipped with elevators.

Apatit CEO Vladimir Davydenko said: "Everyone worked well to make this happen.
Main Shaft 2 is the most progressive of its kind in Russia, using the very
latest technology.  We see scope for future development through the increase of
ore production. The perfect blend of youth, experience and ambition will allow
us to achieve our goals, and continually to strive towards new horizons." 

PhosAgro-Cherepovets CEO Mikhail Rybnikov said: "The launch of production at
Main Shaft No. 2, which has a nameplate capacity of 8 million tonnes of ore per
year, will enable us both to compensate for capacities that are being shut down
and to increase the capacity of the Kirovskiy mine from 13 million tonnes to
16.5 million tonnes of apatite-nepheline ore per year.  Total investments in
Main Shaft No. 2 amounted to over RUB 13 billion."

PhosAgro Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors and Vice-President of the
Russian Union of Chemists Andrey Guryev said: "I am very happy to see that the
goals PhosAgro and Apatit set before themselves are being successfully
implemented.  This is thanks to the excellent employees.  PhosAgro's employees
are its greatest asset.  In the past two years this company has seen
significant changes in staff makeup, with a team of young, creative people
implementing major production programmes.  The advances achieved in recent
years include completion of work on Main Shaft No. 2 and commissioning of new
capacities that will make it possible to increase phosphate rock production for
Russian fertilizer producers.  And with fertilizers we can ensure the country's
food security.

Murmansk region Governor Marina Kovtun said: "Today we are witnessing the start
of a new chapter in Apatit's history.  The completion of this project will not
only replace old capacities - it will also enable the enterprise to increase
ore production.  This means that fertilizer producers can be assured they will
have timely access to raw materials, which enables agricultural producers to
receive high-quality fertilizers for many years to come. Guaranteed fertilizer
supplies will make it easier to undertake import substitution programmes."

For further information please contact: 

OJSC PhosAgro
Irina Evstigneeva, Head of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations
ir@phosagro.ru
+7 495 231 3115 

Timur Belov, Press Officer
Anastacia Basos, Deputy Press Secretary
+7 495 232 9689

EM
Sam VanDerlip
vanderlip@em-comms.com
+44 7554 993 032
+7 499 918 3134
For further information on PhosAgro please visit: www.PhosAgro.com



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