Floated at 120p on June 08 raising 33.6m to fund the development of a fertiliser factory, has used $5.9m for adquisitions September 08 and said it still had $26.9m left at 30 June 09.

The company has a phosphorous rock deposit in Kazakhstan totalling 800 million tonnes capable of producing fertilisers for the next 56 years.
The deposit lies in a flat lying position on the Kazakh steppes close to surface so will be cheap to mine and the world still needs fertilisers.
Positive points
1. Shallow - 1 to 3m depth. Ultra low cost to extract.
2. Close to Tengiz oil field which has high sulphur content, hence cheap source of sulphuric acid.
3. Located at junction of two main railway lines giving direct access to Russia/China.

Sunkar is suppose to be one of the lowest cost producers in the World at sub $125 per DAP (die-ammonium phosphate) tonne. The average is circa $200 with some producers as high as $300.
The case for phosphate deposits is population growth means more agriculture means more fertiliser needed in the future.
RESUME SKR produce phosphate for DAP fertilizer and have licenses and acrage in Kurdistan to last 50-70yrs producing in excess of 100M tonnes of raw material each year. 160m shares in issue, directors own a significant chunk. Also they have a cheap source of sulphur required to produce the DAP

Phosphorus - its role and nature
Phosphorus (chemical symbol P) is an element necessary for life. Because phosphorus is highly reactive, it does not naturally occur
as a free element, but is instead bound up in phosphates. Phosphates typically occur in inorganic rocks.
As farmers and gardeners know, phosphorus is one of the three major nutrients required for plant growth: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K).
Fertilizers are labelled for the amount of N-P-K they contain.
Most phosphorus is obtained from mining phosphate rock. Crude phosphate is now used in organic farming, whereas chemically treated forms such
as superphosphate, triple superphosphate, or ammonium phosphates are used in non-organic farming.
The current major use of phosphate is in fertilizers. Growing crops remove it and other nutrients from the soil... Most of the world's farms do not have or
do not receive adequate amounts of phosphate. Feeding the world's increasing population will accelerate the rate of depletion of phosphate reserves.
and...
resources are limited, and phosphate is being dissipated. Future generations ultimately will face problems in obtaining enough to exist.
It is sobering to note that phosphorus is often a limiting nutrient in natural ecosystems. That is, the supply of available phosphorus limits the
size of the population possible in those ecosystems.

13 May 09 conference - fertilizers link about SKR ....minesite

Intraday
3 month Candlestick with volume

3 month Bollinger Bands,RSI, S Stochastic and 50 days MA

Charts - 2 days

Plus market trades Number of people who have visited this thread    

Such as

i was asking you lol....just a thought..

Will UPTREND hold?

looks to be very little trade in the stock today,but another down day for the market. This at least suggests that people do not want to sell.Omens for the sector are certainly very positive.

From the Observer

Resource wars: the global crisis behind BHP Billiton's bid for Potash CorpThe battle for the fertiliser giant points to a near future in which world food supplies may need to rise by 70%

BHP Billiton's 28bn hostile bid for Canada's Potash Corporation sets the scene for one of mining's biggest takeover battles. But this is more than a clash between multinationals intent on self-aggrandisement.

Certainly, the usual arguments are wheeled out by the predator about diversification, synergies and the prospect of fatter profits, while the target company complains about the offer price being pitched too low.

But behind the rhetoric is a bidding war that lays bare the global struggle for resources on a planet struggling with water and food shortages, overpopulation and pollution. And it highlights a question that overshadows the 21st century: how to provide enough food for a global population that is set to rise from 6.8 billion to more than 9 billion by 2050, according to the United Nations.

Potash Corporation, based in Saskatchewan, is the biggest producer of potash, a key component of fertilisers used to maximise the supply of healthy crops. The company also makes nitrogen and phosphate, two other primary constituents of fertiliser products.

With demand for grain rising and less farmland available per person, "the need for fertiliser especially potash has never been greater," says the Potash Corp website.

Giles Parkinson of the Australian business news website Business Spectator says BHP's bid is not just an attempt to diversify: it's a major bet that rising food demand will cause a significant growth in the use of the fertiliser.

According to Potash Corp, more people are eating meat, and as incomes rise in developing nations, millions of people are switching from starch to protein-based diets. "Every pound of beef requires seven pounds of grain to produce, and this has a substantial impact on demand," says a Potash official.

Analysts agree the use of fertiliser is bound to rise in the attempt to feed the world's growing population. A report from HSBC flagged up its growing importance as extreme weather events increasingly disrupt production. This year's failure of the Russian wheat harvest, as well as the flooding in Pakistan, are cases in point.

Experts say crop yields are low in many regions, partly due to the historical under-application of fertiliser in many developing countries. China has 20% of the world's population but just 6% of its arable land which has dwindled as Chinese industry has ruined previously fertile tracts of ground through pollution and heavy industrialisation. The Fertiliser Institute in Washington says China and India use only half as much potash on their fields as American farmers.

A recent paper published by the Royal Society says there are limits on the amount of land that will become available for crops even though it estimates that global food supplies need to increase by 70% in the next 40 years. But better fertilisers and chemicals could hugely increase yields and cut water use.

No wonder Potash Corp boss Bill Doyle is holding out for a higher price from BHP, the Anglo-Australian colossus headed by Marius Kloppers. Doyle is sitting on a valuable asset, says Charles Kernot, mining analyst at Evolution Securities. "We expect more demand [for fertiliser] from China and other parts of the world where agricultural land must become more productive," he says.

Before its bid for Potash Corp, BHP had been spending millions in Canada buying up potash deposits and acquiring small producers such as Athabasca for C$340m (210m). But developing a potash business from scratch is viewed as more expensive than buying a business that already accounts for nearly a quarter of global production.

"In one fell swoop, BHP could become one of the most important players in the industry," says Kernot. "High entry costs favour major acquisitions over digging new mines. It can take seven or eight years to build a new site."

But Kloppers will almost certainly have to return with a higher price to woo Potash Corp's investors. The Canadian firm issued a statement last week claiming: "BHP Billiton intentionally launched its proposal just as the fertiliser industry emerges from an unprecedented demand decline associated with the global slowdown in order to seize the value that Potash Corp is poised to create for its shareholders."

The market for potash plummeted in 2009 as farmers put projects on hold. But the signs are that demand is rebounding after sales fell by a half to 30m tonnes a year ago: Potash Corp's profits in the first half nearly tripled. In 2008, the price of potash was hovering close to $1,000 a tonne, way above the current price of $374. But analysts believe that the cycle is about to change.

Corporations believe it too. Merger and acquisition activity was on the rise months before BHP's move on Potash Corp: in March, US-based CF Industries agreed to buy rival Terra for $4.7bn. That deal trumped Canadian company Agrium's hostile bid for CF, closing a year-long bid battle.

The bidding war for Terra, which produces nitrogen-based fertilisers, came at about the same time as Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov acquired stakes in Uralkali and Silvinit as part of an attempt to combine the two to create the world's second-largest potash producer and to establish a Russian champion.

What is happening in the fertiliser sector mirrors the scramble for natural resources throughout the world, as governments and corporations jockey for position to satisfy rising consumption.

For companies, there is the lure of huge profits via consolidation. In the last week alone, there have been two big moves by resources firms. First, Agrium launched a A$1bn offer for AWB, the Australian wheat trader. Then India's ambitious minerals group Vedanta Resources announced plans to buy a controlling stake in Cairn Energy's Indian oil fields. It is the Indian company's first major investment in oil and marks a milestone in its development as a diversified commodities producer.

In Africa, the Chinese are forging mining joint ventures and investments linked to China's hunt for resources to fuel its fast-industrialising economy. Africa is also seeing a land grab that has been likened to Europe's carve-up of the continent at the end of the 19th century. An Observer investigation earlier this year established that 50m hectares more than double the size of the UK had been acquired in the last few years by foreign governments and wealthy investors with state subsidies.

Ethiopia alone has approved 815 foreign-financed agricultural schemes since 2007. Saudi Arabia is thought to be the biggest buyer as it turns to Africa to meet domestic demand, a move that helps it to conserve water at home.

Charities have complained that foreign expansion has been at the expense of African smallholders and that overseas investment exacerbates hunger as land is increasingly turned over to growing crops for export. There have also been reports of evictions without compensation, bullying and rising crime.

Some of the African deals have been eye-wateringly large: China has signed a contract with the Democratic Republic of Congo to grow 2.8m hectares of palm oil for biofuels. Before it fell apart after riots, a proposed 1.2m-hectare deal between Madagascar and South Korea's Daewoo would have included nearly half the country's arable land.

It is against this backdrop that BHP's move on Potash Corp should be viewed. Its foray is not without risks, as new technology and GM crops could also play an important role in helping to secure larger and more reliable food supplies. But that is a distant hope at the moment.

BHP has been eyeing Potash Corp for around a year, insiders say. Kloppers knows he will be under pressure if he fails, after his company was forced to withdraw a bid for rival Rio Tinto in late 2008 as the credit crunch worsened.

Potash Corp is bound to seek a white knight in its efforts to extract a higher price, with Chinese competitors and Vale of Brazil possible counter-bidders. But BHP, the world's largest mining multinational, has more than 7bn of cash and will be hard to dislodge.

Kloppers knows he is on to something big. As food prices head north, fertiliser will play an increasingly important role in boosting supply something that is critical in a time of uncertainty. HSBC says: "Hoarding and trade barriers for wheat and other soft commodities are a real threat. In the longer term, climate change is likely to increase the frequency of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, flooding, and droughts with knock-on implications for food output."

The stakes could scarcely be higher.

A very good article.
The point that caught my eye was that it takes 7 lbs of grain to produce 1 lb of beef

more potash news .........

Potash board rejects BHP Billiton offer

Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan's board has voted unanimously to reject the hostile $130 per share offer by BHP Billiton.

The board believes the offer substantially undervalues PotashCorp and fails to reflect "both the value of our premier position in a strategically vital industry and our unparalleled future growth prospects".

The board recommends that shareholders reject the offer and do not tender their shares.

There much more potash

Interesting points from above link.

"The argument for an upward trend in potash prices stems from the rising consumption of wheat and meat in the developing world that is expected to translate into greater demand for fertilizer in the coming years. The price peaked at $1,000 US per tonne in 2008, dropped as low as $200 and is now sitting at $375. Now, with grain prices expected to rise as a result of growing demand, potash is seen as undervalued.

That would explain why BHP wants to get its hands on the world's largest producer of potash, but also why the Russians are also making moves of their own to grab a bigger share of the market.

On Wednesday it was announced that the former head of Uralkali, a Russian potash producer with 10 per cent of the global market, had been named to lead rival Silvinit, the world's fifth biggest producer. Current speculation has it that Russia's endgame is to merge the two companies, which, along with Belarus' Belaruskali, would control 45 per cent of global potash production -- second to Potash Corp.

It wasn't so long ago that Russia was using its oil and natural gas reserves to flex its muscles on the international stage. Today, with natural gas prices lagging, it appears the focus has now shifted to potash."

Although featured in potash article in "shares" mag have bought a few SKR today as no doubt this flavour of the month BLT story will run for a while.

No doubt about it.If people are starving ,there is bound to be a push on ways to increase food production.
SKR is a BUY in this weeks' Shares.

Potash seems to be the new, trendy commodity. SKR & SXX both tipped to benefit.

Harry you are quite right SKR moving up nicely on demand for potash related shares.

A good push up though not supported by trades or volume.

MMs started the day with higher prices on the order book and large spread.

I thought that this baby might take off.
Now up over 50% in a very short time.
Could be a lot more to come I reckon.

Another strong day on this considered BREAKOUT

This looks very positive for SKR,reflecting the urgency of the of the need for increased fertilizer production.

Sunkar Resources PLC
MoU with Eurasian Development
RNS Number : 2451S
Sunkar Resources PLC
07 September 2010
SUNKAR RESOURCES PLC
Memorandum of Understanding with Eurasian Development Bank Signed

Sunkar Resources plc (AIM:SKR) is pleased to announce that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding ("MoU") with Eurasian Development Bank ("EDB"), an international financial institution established by Russia and Kazakhstan to develop market economies in its member countries. The MoU reflects EDB and Sunkar's common interest in financing Sunkar's Chilisai Phosphate Fertilizer Project in Kazakhstan.
The MoU envisages EDB providing up to $200 million in debt financing for a term of up to 12 years. EDB requires certain conditions to be met including the project meeting a suitable equity to debt ratio, promoting economic integration in EDB's member states and, agreeing and executing suitable documentation.
Nurdin Damitov, Director of Corporate Development of Sunkar, commented:


"The signing of this MOU with EBD confirms our determination to develop the Chilisai Fertilizer Project in line with our current strategy and timetable. We are currently preparing a Bankable Feasibility Study aimed at securing project finance and this MOU is an important milestone in its achievement. It signals a significant level of confidence in the project - many successful financings of large scale projects, including agri-industry developments, have been assisted by support from development banks such as EDB which recognise the regional or national structural importance of these projects as well as the immediate commercial benefits. I am therefore very pleased that EDB with its track record is working with us to realize our aim to be one of the lowest cost producers of phosphate fertilizer in the world."
For further information please contact:

Sunkar Resources plc

Serikjan Utegen, CEO
Tel: +44 20 7930 8678

Donald Sinclair, CFO
Canaccord Genuity Limited

Andrew Chubb
Tel: +44 20 7050 6500

Bhavesh Patel

GMP Securities Europe LLP

Andrew Young
Tel: +44 20 7647 2800
Bankside Consultants

Simon Rothschild
Tel: +44 20 7367 8888

Louise Mason
Editors Notes
Sunkar Resources plc
Sunkar Resources plc, through a wholly owned subsidiary Temir Service LLP, operates a phosphate rock mine in Aktobe Oblast, North West Kazakhstan. Temir Service LLP holds a Subsoil Use Contract to part of the Chilisai Phosphate Rock Deposit. The contract area is estimated to contain 800 Mt of phosphate ore.
Sunkar's strategy is to build a world class integrated ammoniated phosphate fertilizer plant with low operating costs. Sunkar's low cost base derives from its near surface phosphate rock deposit, access to sulphur from the nearby North Caspian oil and gas fields and regional long-term marginal priced gas.
The Chilisai Phosphate Rock Deposit is ideally located on a transportation hub that spans the agricultural markets from Western Europe through to China.
Eurasian Development Bank
EBD is an international financial institution, established by Russia and Kazakhstan in January 2006 to promote development of market economies of member states, their sustainable economic growth and expand mutual trade-economic relations. The share capital of EDB is above one and half billion US dollars. Bank's member states are Russian Federation, Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic of Armenia, Republic of Tajikistan and Republic of Belarus.

To know more detailed information regarding the Bank please visit: http://www.eabr.org
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

Opening up 3.75 points at 33.75

and now 36p +6p

after being in Auction from the start

where there is muck there is brass!! lol

starting to like fertilizer - and in fact it is logical the sky high demand which is escalating daily - glad to be in here & sxx
gla

APPOINTMENT OF ADVISOR

The Board of Sunkar is pleased to announce the appointment of Closed Joint Stock
Company Unicredit Securities, Moscow ("UniCredit Securities"), part of the
UniCredit Group, as its advisor in relation to the structuring and raising of
strategic equity finance to further its Chilisai phosphate fertilizer project in
Kazakhstan. Initially, UniCredit will be assisting the Company in a strategic
partner search and negotiations.

Serik Utegen, Chief Executive Officer of Sunkar, commented:

"We are delighted to announce the appointment of UniCredit as our adviser. With
our Bankable Feasibility Study progressing well, Sunkar is at an important stage
in its development. Our strategy to find a strategic partner with the capacity
to move the project to the construction phase makes the appointment of an
advisor of this calibre a priority marking a significant step in the project's
development. UniCredit Group is a global financial institution and we rate their
experience in Kazakhstan and Russia very highly."