All language subtitles for Tomorrows.World.Today.S07E04.1080p.WEB.h264-FREQUENCY_track3_[eng]

[narrator]
On Tomorrow's World Today,

we explore
the cutting-edge advances

that are shaping
four different worlds.

The world of inspiration,
where the wonders of

the natural world amaze
and inspire us.

The world of creation,
where ideas come to life from

traditional arts.

The world of innovation,
where ideas and inventions move

us all forward.

The world of production,
where innovations

are mass produced
to improve our lives.

From Inventionland World
Headquarters, here's your host,

George Davison.

Hi everyone,
I'm George Davison.

You know, as our global
population continues to surge,

with projections reaching
over 9 billion people by

the year 2050,

food scarcity and security
concerns are becoming a more

critical issue than ever.

You see, two minerals,

phosphate and potash,

they're going to help us to
produce 70% more food globally

by the year 2050,
while using only 90% of

our existing agricultural lands.

You see, phosphate helps us
to enrich our soil and acts

as a catalyst.

It's going to ensure that
our crops receive the right

amount of phosphorus
for optimal growth.

Potash, on the other hand,
is commonly referred to as

the regulator of
crop nutrients,

and it's the guardian
of crop health,

and it optimizes yields,
quality, and resilience.

Together, these two elements
are crucial for farmers,

and it's gonna contribute to
a sustainable and efficient

farming practice.

So I'm gonna send Greg
to the world of production just

outside Tampa, Florida, to
explore how these two minerals

are mined and why we should
have a newfound appreciation

for the complex world
that's beneath our feet.

There's an old saying
in the mining industry that if

something can't be grown,
it has to be mined.

And by and large,
that's true.

But today, we're going to put
a fresh spin on that old adage

and look at things that are
mined to help things grow.

I'm at the Mosaic Company's
Four Corners Mine in Florida to

explore how they are
sustainably and responsibly

mining phosphate,
one of the key ingredients in

fertilizers that will help
farmers feed our ever-growing

population
in tomorrow's world.

Jody, the human population
is on the rise.

We're on track by the year 2050
to have over nine billion

people on planet Earth.

So food scarcity,
food security, these are issues

that are gonna be even more
important then than they are

now, and phosphate and potash
are an important part

of the solution.
-They are.

In fact, we're gonna have to
produce about 70% more food

than we do today globally.

And we're gonna have to produce
that on about 90% of the land

that's already in production.

And the way that we do that is
with increased yields.

And to get increased yields,
we use fertilizer.

Okay, well, that brings us here
to Four Corners, where you mine

for phosphate.

Tell me,
how abundant is phosphate,

and how hard
is it to get to?

[Jody] It's not
too difficult to get to.

It's about 30
to 60 feet underground.

So we surface mine it.

We provide the North American
market with about two-thirds of

the phosphate fertilizer.

[Greg]
What's the role that phosphate

plays in the fertilizer itself?

[Jody] So phosphate
helps the plant grow.

It helps with
a strong root system.

It helps with photosynthesis,
so getting the energy from

the sun and converting that
into food.

It also helps
to stave off disease.

So phosphate
doesn't do this alone.

It actually works
hand-in-hand with potash,

which you also produce.
-We do.

We make about eight million
tons of potash that we produce

and sell around the world.

Potash is similar to phosphate
in that it helps with a strong

and healthy root system.

It helps plants fend off
disease, as well, but it also

helps a plant use water more
efficiently and helps a plant

to deal with
extreme temperatures.

Excellent, well, what else do
you have to show me down here?

I would love to show you
our automated pit area.

This is where we take phosphate
rock and slurry it and send it

through our pipeline to
the beneficiation facility.

Excellent,
let's go take a look.

So Jody, this is
the slurry pit behind us.

It is, and these water guns
operate at about 325 PSI.

They're controlled by operators
about 40 miles from here in

our integrated
operations center.

[Greg] That's amazing,
and I'm hoping

to get a look
at that during my visit,

but I wanna change
the subject a little bit

and ask you about the 4R
Nutrient Stewardship Program.

Tell me about that.

Yeah, so this is something
we're really excited about,

where we work with farmers
to ensure that they apply

the right fertilizer
at the right rate,

at the right time,
in the right place.

Okay, so when you say the right
fertilizer, we're obviously

talking about
sustainable fertilizer.

So what's
the difference between

a sustainable fertilizer
and a regular old fertilizer?

So we do have
specialty products.

One of them is
a MicroEssentials product.

And the neat thing about this
product is we have different

sulfur molecules
that activate in the plant

at different times
in the growing season.

So that would be a way to
manage that area effectively.

What are
the advantages to that?

So potassium and phosphate
are non-renewable resources.

And so that means that we want
to use them

as efficiently as possible.

So we're working with farmers
during this 4R Nutrient

Stewardship program
to ensure that we're using

those fertilizers in the most
effective way we can.

[Greg] What are some of
the consequences of not

doing it the right way?

So if we sell a fertilizer,
and a farmer over applies it to

their crop,
that can move

the nutrients away from
the cropping system.

How is
your outreach program with that?

I mean, you've got to talk to
the farmers and make sure that

they are doing things
the right way.

How are you doing that?

We do work
directly with farmers.

We educate them.

We work with local
agronomist experts.

We also like to work with
the future farmers, so the FFA,

Future Farmers of America,
and 4-H clubs, where we can

teach future generations
to farm sustainably.

That's great, well, I know
you've got some things you want

to show me at Bartow,
so why don't we head there now?

Sounds great.

[Greg] At Four Corners,
we learned about phosphate

and potash mining

and how important
that is to farmers.

Here at
the Mosaic Bartow facility

just outside Tampa, Florida,
we're going to

learn more about sustainable
fertilizer production.

So Jody, this is the finished
product, but how does it get

from the mine to this?
-First, we make sulfuric acid.

Then we take the sulfuric acid,
and we react it with

the phosphate rock
from the mine.

That creates
phosphoric acid.

From there,
we take the phosphoric acid

and mix it with ammonia,
and that creates

diammonium phosphate.

And there's a bit of a chemical
process that goes on

with that then, isn't there?
-Yes.

Whenever people hear the term
chemical process, they think of

some environmental issues.

So let's talk about that
a little bit.

ESG,
which stands for

environmental, social,
and corporate governance.

What are the ESG targets that
Mosaic has set for itself?

So this is something that makes
me really proud to work

for Mosaic.

We have a target to reduce
our fresh water usage by 20% by

2025 per finished product ton.

We also have a goal to reduce
our greenhouse gas emissions by

20% by 2025.

[Greg] How does that work within
the regulations that are

already in place for
the mining industry?

[Jody] We have local,
state, and federal regulations.

In fact, the Environmental
Protection Agency

could use our regulations
in the state federally.

Unfortunately, not all
companies throughout the world

are regulated the same way,
so our environmental standards

that we hold here are not
necessarily held across

the world, but we do feel it is
important to make sustainable

fertilizer for the world.

Right, and that works
hand-in-hand with

the reclamation
that you have in place

for land, water, and air.
-[Jody] That's right.

So we reclaim every acre of
land that we use at Mosaic.

It's important to remember that
when we mine, it's a temporary

land use because of
that reclamation.

We have surface and groundwater
monitoring programs, as well.

[Greg] Okay, well, I know you
wanted to show me the IOC,

so why don't we go
take a look at that?

Sounds great.

Hey, Ryan, thanks for joining us
all the way from Canada.

Hi, Ryan.

Hi, thank you
very much for having me.

So Ryan,
we're in the IOC

or the Integrated
Operations Center.

Tell me how the IOC
is helping Mosaic achieve

its sustainability goals.

The IOC is going to be
an integral part of

our company's fabric as we move
forward and as we become more

of a sustainable
and safer company.

Part of being sustainable is
really being a safe, reliable

operation, and part of
why we're implementing IOCs

across our company is your IOCs
bring together all the most

recent information, all
the real-time data, that's going

on throughout our entire
facility and allowing us to be

making the most optimum
decisions for not only

our business needs
but also from an environmental

and sustainability effort.

Have there been any
difficulties integrating these

new systems into an industry
that has been around

for a very long time?

[Ryan] There's always going
to be challenges as you roll

new technology out,
and you have to have it work

with existing infrastructure.

I think one of the bigger
challenges as we do any kind of

changes within our industry is
how do we include our frontline

workforce that the change
is going to affect the most?

And so that's one thing we've
really tried to do is bring in

our frontline workforce into
the decision-making up front.

And so that as we roll out
these changes,

it's actually a better product
for our frontline operators in

our new world.

[Greg] So as you move along
through remote operation to

semi-autonomous to fully
autonomous, you're not

significantly reducing
your workforce.

They're just working in
different areas.

I think the exciting part is
we have changed the way we do

the work around our site.

As we implement new autonomous
machines, we are able to pull

some of our frontline workforce
away from

those hazardous conditions,
up-skill their knowledge,

and allow them to actually
help run the machines via

the automation
and the control side.

And so our workforce numbers
have not changed, just the way

we do the work has.

So Jody, what does it look like
when you up-skill an employee?

So up-skilling is part of
our automation strategy.

So we can have an employee
that starts as a laborer,

and they can go through

the Mosaic
Apprenticeship Program.

They can become
a mechanic or an electrical

instrumentation
and automation specialist.

Well, Ryan, can you give me
an example of a job that was

maybe traditionally done on
site but is now either done

through remote operation
or semi-autonomously?

[Ryan] Yeah, so I think a great
example that's relatable across

all of our sites really is
valve operations, right?

So historically, we've gone out
into the field, turned on

valves to adjust
our flows, right?

So now if we pull those into
the IOC, we have those on

automated systems where
the valve can fluctuate based

on its control scheme.

And then it just requires
our operator to observe

and maintain the flow rates
associated with that change.

What do you think this is gonna
look like in the future?

And how soon do you think
you may be able to move to

fully autonomous operation?

Yeah, I think as I look at
automation in the context of

Mosaic, it's really gonna be
continuous iterations.

And there's really
three forms of automation

we'll continue to look at it.

You have remote control,
you have semi-autonomous,

and then you also have
fully autonomous.

And I think we'll continue to
explore all three of those

areas and advance as much as
possible as that technology

evolves with
our business needs.

Ryan,
thanks for your time.

We're gonna head out now
and check out the rest

of the IOC.

Well, thank you very much,
and have a safe day.

Bye, Ryan.

Well Greg, welcome to
our Mining Integrated

Operations Center,
and we have Aaron here.

He's our Senior Operations
Manager at the IOC.

-Hi Aaron.
-Hey, how you doing?

-Hey Aaron, nice to meet you.
-Nice to meet you too.

So give me a quick overview of
this high-tech wonderland that

you're running here.

Yeah, so this is
the Florida Mining Integrated

Operations Center.

This is the tactical hub for
our day-to-day operations for

three of our mining facilities
in Florida --

our Four Corners facility,
South Fort Meade facility,

and Wingate facility.

So the slurry pit that
we were at in Four Corners,

that's about 40 miles from here,
and you're actually running it

from this location.

Yeah, so we operate all
the locations at Four Corners

and South Fort Meade
from this location.

Historically,
those were operated on-site.

Back in 2020, we transitioned
over here to run remotely.

Well, what are the chances I
can jump in one of these chairs

and give it a run?
-Sure, no problem.

-Go ahead, yep.
-Thanks a lot, Aaron.

So this is actually the slurry
pit from Four Corners that

we saw previously.
-That's right.

So you can move the screen down
on your left there,

and these joysticks
are just like regular joysticks.

So you have two guns on
the left and right, and you just

move them right, left, up,
down, and your goal here is to

turn the phosphate rock into
a slurry that we can send to

our beneficiation facility.

What's it being mixed with
to turn it into this slurry?

Right, so we've got
those high-pressure water guns,

and we've got
phosphate rock and clay

and other rock that we will

remove in
the beneficiation process.

So basically, the slurry that
we're making here is gonna

go through this pump system,
and more or less get washed,

and turn it back into just ore.

That's right, so you, along with
the other pit operators here,

will process tons of product
a day that we send to be

further processed
in the fertilizer

production facilities.
-[Greg] That is amazing.

This is some pretty advanced
technology, but I want to learn

some more
about the future of mining,

so why don't we get on
out of here?

Well, Jody, let's talk about
advanced technologies.

What are some of
the cutting-edge breakthroughs

that are changing
the mining industry?

Yeah, so we're really excited
about so many technologies

here at Mosaic.

We have condition-based
monitoring, and this is a way

that we can proactively monitor
our rotating assets for things

like vibration.

We have
a steam optimization system,

so we used
machine learning

to develop the program,
and now it gives our operators

a notification if they need to
tweak the system for

more efficiency.

We have
a crystallization circuit in one

of our operations,
and there's an automated

freshwater addition,
and we've been able to use

machine learning
to optimize this, as well,

so it's great for
sustainability.

[Greg] One of the goals with
sustainability is getting more

out of a particular mine
or a particular plot of land.

How are these technologies
helping you do that?

So one of the future
technologies for phosphoric

acid that we talked about
earlier that makes fertilizer,

that could be further purified
to use in batteries,

for example,
for electric vehicles.

We also have byproducts,
and one of those is

phosphogypsum or PG.

There are over 20 countries
around the world that use PG.

They use it for bases for
roadways, they use it for

reforestation, and also
for rare element extraction.

Along with that, are you using,
say, maybe drone technologies

and things like that to explore
places where you would

traditionally either have to
send someone in

or could not go?

Yeah, that's another
great question.

So if we're working for wetland
conservation, for example,

if there's an area that's
a little bit harder to get to,

we'll use drone technology
for that.

We have many,
many miles of pipeline as well.

So we'll program the drones to
fly over the pipeline so we can

test those.

So really exciting opportunity
with drone technology.

[Greg] With all of this
information technology systems

being put together and robotics
and drones, it sounds like

there are a lot of jobs in
the mining industry that

weren't there before.

One of the great things about
the mining industry is there's

jobs we've had for decades,
and we'll continue to have

those types of jobs
for decades to come,

but we also have more jobs.

So we've got data analytics,
we've got machine learning,

and it's not just about
the jobs per se,

it's also about having all
different kinds of people

working in Mosaic
within the mining industry.

So one of the things that
I'm really excited about with

Mosaic is we have employee
inclusion networks.

We actually
have six of them.

So those networks encourage
people to bring their whole

self to work.

So we've got veterans networks,
women's network, we have

race and heritage,
diverse abilities,

we've got pride,
we've got generation.

And the point of those networks
is to make people

feel included.

And so when people feel
included, they can be more

creative, they can be
more collaborative.

Those aren't the only qualities
we're looking for.

We're looking for people
who are interested in change

and working hard.

We work hard around these mine
facilities, but they are

changing all the times because
we have so much innovation,

and if we have people that are
interested and willing to

change along with us,
that's great.

We'll also teach them, so we'll
have employees that can come in

and learn through Mosaic,
through the programs that

we talked about earlier.

So it's just a really exciting
place to work and really

exciting industry
to be in right now.

That's excellent -- well,
this has been really great.

I appreciate
you taking the time.

It's been a great visit --
I've got to get back

to Inventionland,
so will you show me out?

Let's go.

Hey, Sarah!

-Welcome to Inventionland.
-Hi, George, how are you?

-I'm great, thanks for coming.
-Thank you for having us.

What did you bring?

So these are very cool --
they're shark's teeth that

we find when we're mining
phosphate in Florida.

And the reason that we have
potash and phosphate is because

millions of years ago, there was
oceans, and these were left

behind by the prehistoric
animals that used to swim in

those oceans.

So when we mine in Florida,
we find these, and I brought

some here for Inventionland.
-They're huge.

They are, and when we find
these, we often give them to

schools or museums
so that kids can learn about

prehistoric animals.
-Oh, that's great.

You know what, if I can keep
them, I'll put them in

our museum when the kids
are coming through.

We would love
for you to keep them.

Well, thank you.

And so you know I love to talk
about the future, so can

you talk a little bit about
where the industry

and Mosaic's going?
-We are gonna be

taking the phosphate and further
-Okay.

processing it to make
a component called

purified phosphoric acid.

And it's actually put
into electric car batteries.

Really?

So what you were mining before
and adding to our food source

for making better food, to now
helping with the EV market?

Absolutely.

Fossils from millions of years
ago are helping us pave the way

for the future.
-I love it.

-Thanks, Sarah.
-Thanks so much.

[George] And remember,
tomorrow's world is where

inspiration and creation drive
innovation and production.

See you next time.