Argus August 2024 reporting said the new South Cheecham priller was finally operational after long-standing operational issues from January to May. Restored forming capacity supported higher Vancouver exports and Alberta de-blocking even as some oil-sands plants reduced production. The item is at https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news-and-insights/latest-market-news/2611033-vancouver-sulphur-exports-rise-20pc-in-aug.
The 1 April desk date is the startup-issues window, not the 'finally operational' confirmation. Intel files the August recap under an April id because that is when the plant was supposed to be running. The public fact is January-May problems, then operations, then August's 320,000 tonne Vancouver month.
Forming is the bottleneck between Alberta block and Vancouver cargo. A priller that does not run leaves pad in pad. A priller that runs lets de-blocking accelerate even if some upgraders cut Claus recovery. Recovery and forming are different hoses. Cheecham is forming.
Alberta recovered sulfur still leaves mainly through Vancouver. Heartland's later 2025 remelt expansion to 700 tonnes a day is another forming-and-remelt hose. Cheecham is the 2024 hose that started late. Volume still finished 3.35 million tonnes, up 8 percent. It might have been more if January-May had run.
Tampa $81 in March, USGS, and $76 in July, with Vancouver FOB $78 January-July, means Cheecham's late start happened in a cheap year. Forming-led de-blocking, not FOB-led remelt, is 2024. 2025 is FOB-led.
About 900,000 tonnes of molten rail to the US in 2024 did not need Cheecham prills. Molten is the other door. Tariff talk in 2025 would ask some of that molten to become prills. Cheecham is the machine that makes that ask possible.
The desk will not invent the operator's outage log. Argus said long-standing operational issues from January to May, then operational.
Figures follow Argus. Licensed weekly grids are not restated.