7 • Mosaic Co.

[Photo: Mosaic Co.]

Publicly held phosphate company (NYSE-MOS)
Florida acres: 254,000
Headquarters: Plymouth, Minn.

Formed in 2004 by a merger of Cargill Crop Nutrition and IMC Global, Mosaic is the largest phosphate supplier in the world and mines 100% of its phosphate from Florida. In January, Cargill announced plans to sell its 64% stake in Mosaic. The tax-free transaction is meant to satisfy terms of various charitable trusts and foundations set up by Cargill family heirs. Richard Mack, executive vice president and general counsel, says the sale should give the company the liquidity and flexibility it needs to plan and invest in the long-term future of its Florida lands.

Roughly two-thirds of Mosaic's Florida holdings have been mined.

The company expects to keep mining a portion of the remaining third for the next few decades as it develops new business models, which will include creating upscale eco-resorts on reclaimed land. Mosaic's first move is the luxury resort Streamsong, pictured above in an artist's rendering. The resort is under construction in southwestern Polk County on 16,000 acres of former phosphate land near Fort Meade and the Hardee County line.