President Trump’s emergency order to suspend countervailing duties (CVDs) on Morocco’s OCP Group was a headline-maker, but not a market mover.
Josh Linville of StoneX talked about the phosphate market quite fairly: “I’m thrilled that this is a step forward for free trade markets. U.S. and North American farmers have been suffering from a lack of phosphate import options.”
But what he also pointed out about the US NOLA prices for phosphate fertilizers is even more on point for this discussion: “From an economic point of view, there is very little reason for anyone to send phosphate here unless they have no other options.”
It is expensive to send a phosphate cargo to the U.S. when other markets such as the E.U., India and Brazil are paying higher premiums. The E.U. really went on a phosphate buying spree in the first half of this year, breaking through the five-year averages for phosphate imports in some months of 2026.
Phosphate is a critical mineral in both the U.S. and Canada, so what we should be talking about is how new phosphate mining projects should be developed in the near term for the U.S. market. Canadian Phosphate Limited (ASX: CP8) is a company that recently popped up on our radar. The junior phosphate mining company just acquired some assets in Utah to build up the North American phosphate supply chain strategy. The company expects to publish its Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) by the end of 2026, and with drill permits for the state of Utah still in the process of being secured, the company plans to start small and grow big.
Nevada Organic Phosphate (CSE: NOP) has a drill program underway in the state of Nevada that is linked up to advantageous infrastructure to send raw organic phosphate to U.S. West Coast markets. The drill program at Murdock Mountain has been proven with successful results in 2026 thus far, with all 9 drill holes completed in Q1 2026. The NOP stock price has been on an upward trend since the beginning of the year.
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE: AEM) will acquire a junior Canadian phosphate project in Ontario via its critical minerals subsidiary Avenir Minerals. The phosphate acquisition by Agnico Eagle is a prescient move by a mining major to acquire a junior phosphate company in Canada. We also have our own note about the Fox River Resources (CSE: FOX) acquisition: Agnico Electrifies the Phosphate Space.
First Phosphate Corp (CSE: PHOS) is getting much-deserved attention from the G7 for the company’s phosphate mining plan from Quebec’s extensive igneous rock deposits. We published our most recent update on First Phosphate in June— MRE Update & Oversubscribed Financing.
Read more about the phosphate mining sector in the Growth Minerals Review for July
