Mississippi Phosphates Corp. said Friday its recently idled sulfuric acid plant here will experience additional downtime while it deals with defects in earlier repair work.

A boiler at the plant, which is one of two 1,500 ton-per-day sulfuric acid facilities at the company’s phosphate fertilizer facility, suffered a major failure in July 2007 that required extensive repairs, Mississippi Phosphates Corp. said in a statement.

“The repairs were completed and sulfuric acid production was resumed in late August,” the company said. “However, production was again interrupted in early September due to the faulty repair work.”

The company said the latest repair work is expected to be completed by Oct. 1.

“While the Company is cautiously optimistic that the defective work can be repaired, as a precautionary measure, it has ordered materials for a replacement component for the boiler,” the statement said. “If required, the fabrication and installation of a replacement component could take up to approximately two months.”

The company said that based on the projected availability of sulfuric acid, diammonium phosphate, or DAP, production should range between 1,300 and 1,500 tons per day during the shutdown. The company said it expected to meet all outstanding commitments to its customers and suppliers during the repair period.

Mississippi Phosphates Corp. produces DAP fertilizer at its production facility in Pascagoula. The Company distributes its fertilizer to both domestic and international markets.