Continued Excellent Agronomic Results

RNS Number : 0849O

Harvest Minerals Limited

16 August 2017

 

Harvest Minerals Limited / Index: LSE / Epic: HMI / Sector: Mining

16 August 2017

Harvest Minerals Limited

("Harvest" or the "Company")

Continued Excellent Agronomic Results from the Arapua Fertiliser Project

Harvest Minerals Limited, the AIM listed fertiliser development company, is pleased to announce that it has received further positive results from ongoing agronomic test work conducted on its direct application natural fertiliser and remineraliser product, KPfértil, produced at the Company's 100% owned Arapua Fertiliser Project in Brazil.  The tests were conducted by the Federal University of Uberlândia ('UFU'), an institution approved by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply ('MAPA'), and will form part of the Company's official registration of KPfértil to MAPA in Q4 2017.

Highlights

·     Tests to determine if plants could use the nutrients in KPfértil when applied to the soil and comparing these results with either no fertiliser or conventional fertilisers

·     Results continue to demonstrate that KPfértil works as a fertiliser and has a positive agronomic efficiency

·     Rice crops applied with KPfértil demonstrated a substantial increase in dry matter production

o  No fertiliser - from 3.98g per plant

o  Conventional source of potassium ('KCI') - from 5.03g per plant

o  KPfértil - up to 59.44g per plant

·     Compared to conventional sources potassium ('K') and phosphate ('P'), applying the same dose of K and P as KPfértil in clayey soils produced up to 73.09% of the dry matter produced using expensive, conventional fertilisers

·     Further results are expected in the coming months

·     Continued focus on sales with product ready for delivery

·     Brazilian Government has set a target to be fertiliser self sufficient by 2020

Harvest's Executive Chairman, Brian McMaster, said, "The test results continue to exceed our expectations and are proving the potential of KPfértil, which is  completely  natural, slow release, single product fertiliser.  We are working closely with a number of academic and corporate entities in order to begin official registration and certification of KPfértil in the coming months.  When achieved, and on the basis farmers recognise the tangible economic benefits in introducing it to their fertiliser rotation, we believe KPfértil has the potential to replace significant amounts of conventional and more expensive fertilisers and become a staple product in the Minas Gerais agriculture belt in Brazil. 

"With product ready for delivery, an indicated and inferred resource of 13.07Mt at 3.1%  K₂O and 2.49% P₂O₅, which translates into a mine life of over 30 years at a rate of 450k tonnes per annum, established infrastructure, a highly experienced and proven sales team and an established local market, the foundations are in place for a robust business and we look forward to the future with excitement." 

Next Steps

As announced on 3^rd July 2017, Harvest intends to lodge an application with MAPA to register Kpfértil as, initially, a remineraliser.  Prior to lodging the application, Harvest requires the results of the laboratory analysis of the chemical composition of the dry matter, produced during the rice growth tests and the separate leaching test work.  Both tests have been completed and analysis is underway with results expected soon.   Once the results have been received, the agronomic data will be compiled and submitted to MAPA as part of the application.

Separately, a second cycle of agronomic growth tests on rice and beans have commenced to test KPfértil on winter crops, the results are expected to demonstrate the long-term benefits, of using KPfértil as a slow release fertiliser, to potential customers.  The results of these tests are expected in Q4 2017.

Veloso test work

As announced previously, Harvest is conducting agronomic test work on immature and mature coffee plants with Veloso Agropecuária Empreendimentos E Participações Ltda. ('Veloso').  These tests are not related to the application to MAPA.

The coffee plants have been harvested and all biometric measurements taken for both the juvenile and mature coffee plants.  Harvest's agronomy team was at the test site recently and, encouragingly, there is no visual difference between the treatments applied.  The data is being analysed (adult and young crop coffee biometrics, foliar nutrient analysis and adult coffee production).   

Further Information

These results presented are part of the ongoing agronomic efficiency study conducted with the KPfértil by UFU, as part of the product registration process with MAPA.

Rice Growth Test Results

The objective of this test work was to determine whether rice plants can make use of the nutrients contained in KPfértil and whether this would be reflected in the increased production of dry matter.  A total of 14 different agronomic treatments were applied to rice crops, grown in both clayey and sandy soil, in a greenhouse, under controlled conditions.

The results of these tests are described below.  KPfértil was tested against a range of alternatives from a "control" doasage, containing no K and P, through to a high end commercial fertilsier containing KCl and SFT (T6).  

After 90 days from planting, the rice plants were harvested and submitted for biometric evaluation (plant height, stem diameter, root length and leaf number) with the dry matter produced then weighed.

Treatment	Source		Dose K2O	Dose P2O5	Clayey Soil Dry Mass (g)	Sandy Soil Dry Mass (g)
		--------- mg kg-1 ---------
T1	Control (without K and P)		0	0	3.98	5.79
T2	KCl (conventional source of K)		80	-----	5.03	7.34
T3	Wollastonite		-----	-----	7.00	5.28
T5	SFT (conventional source of P)		-----	253	53.40	32.73
T6	KCl + SFT		80	253	64.38	56.00
T7	KPfértil (filler)		20	63	21.16	8.05
T8	KPfértil (filler)		40	127	31.58	12.70
T9	KPfértil (filler)		80	253	47.06	12.44
T10	KPfértil (filler)		160	507	59.44	14.59
T11	KPfértil (powder)		20	63	22.28	11.76
T12	KPfértil (powder)		40	127	22.56	11.65
T13	KPfértil (powder)		80	253	40.53	13.44
T14	KPfértil (powder)		160	507	53.54	26.70

Dry matter production from rice plants by treatment

Comparison With Using No Fertiliser

In both clayey and sandy soil, the rice plants to which KPfértil was applied showed an increase in stems (tillering) and an increase in the size of the leaves produced (green mass) compared to the control treatment (T1) regardless of the dosage, demonstrating that KPfértil is providing and making P and K available to the plants. Productivity was recorded as greater in clayey soil compared to sandy soil for all treatments. This makes KPfértil especially suitable for use in Brazillian Cerrado agricultural belt, including in the area local to the project, as the soil has a high clay content.

Comparison With Conventional Fertilsers

Compared to conventional sources of P and K (T6), applying the same dose of P and K as KPfértil (T9 filler and T13 powder) in clayey soils, produced up to 73.09% (T9) of the dry matter produced using conventional fertilisers. When the dose of P and K applied from KPfértil was doubled (T10 and T14), the green mass production increased to 92.32% (filler) and 83.16% (powder).

The Company considers these results to be very good.  This comparision is looking at using KPfértil to completely replace a blend of quick release fertilisers, which in practice will not be the case.  As a slow release multi-nutrient fertiliser, the intention is to initially supplement traditional fertilisers with KPfértil and increase the proportion of KPfértil over several cycles, especially in crops with a high initial nutrient demand.  Importantly, given the expected selling price of KPfértil, the Company expects that farmers will see tangible economic benefits in introducing KPfértil to their fertiliser rotation.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.

For further information please visit www.harvestminerals.net or contact:

Harvest Minerals Limited	Brian McMaster (Chairman)	Tel: [phone]
Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated & Financial Adviser)	James Spinney Ritchie Balmer	Tel: [phone]
Mirabaud Securities LLP (Joint Broker)	Rory Scott	Tel: [phone]
Beaufort Securities Ltd (Joint Broker)	Jon Belliss	Tel: [phone]
Whitman-Howard Ltd	Grant Barker	Tel: [phone]
St Brides Partners Ltd	Isabel de Salis	Tel: [phone]
	Olivia Vita

Notes:

Harvest Minerals (HMI.L) is a Brazilian focused fertiliser Company targeting low cost, near term development projects.  The Company's primary focus is the development of its 100% owned Arapua Fertiliser Project from which it produces its KPFértil product, a proven, multi-nutrient, slow release, organic fertiliser and remineraliser, which is produced from a weathered potassium and phosphate rich lava and offers many economic and agronomic benefits.  Covering 14,946 hectares and located in the heart of the Brazilian agriculture belt in Minas Gerais, Arapua is a shallow, low cost mine with an indicated and inferred resource of 13.07Mt at 3.1% K₂O and 2.49% P₂O₅.  This resource translates into a mine life of over 100 years at a rate of 450k tonnes per annum and crucially is based on drilling just 6.7% of the known mineralisation, leaving significant upside potential.  With a trial mining licence in place allowing Harvest to extract 50kt of product on a rolling basis, whilst the full mining licence application process is underway, and official registration of KPfértil as a remineraliser expected by the end of 2017, Harvest is ideally placed to address the significant demand for locally produced fertiliser in Brazil; Brazil has abundant agricultural land but lacks domestic fertiliser, with the country currently importing 90% of the potash it uses.  Furthermore, the Brazilian government has set a target to be self-sufficient in fertilisers by 2020, creating significant market opportunity for Harvest and its KPfértil product.

The Company has four assets at various stages of development and continues to explore other opportunities that fit its investment criteria.

 

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