Substantial Operational Expansion

RNS Number : 8061B

Harvest Minerals Limited

15 January 2018

 

To view the press release with the photographs, please use the following link: 
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8061B_-2018-1-14.pdf
 

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

15 January 2018

Harvest Minerals Limited

('Harvest' or the 'Company')

Substantial Operational Expansion

Harvest Minerals Limited, the AIM listed fertiliser producer, is pleased to announce that the Company is substantially expanding operations at its 100% owned Arapua Fertiliser Project ('Arapua') in Brazil.  This includes the enlargement of the existing modular processing plant and the expansion of its Brazil based sales and marketing team as a direct result of expected accelerated growth in sales of KPfértil, its proven, multi-nutrient, slow release, organic fertiliser and remineraliser following the successful soft product launch in late 2017.

Highlights

·     Four additional knife mills and associated infrastructure ordered, to be fed by the existing knife mill, taking annual capacity to over 320,000 tonnes

·     Plant expansion expected to be installed and commissioned by the commencement of Q2, 2018

·     Fully funded to meet the capital cost of the expansion

·     Expansion creates single production line with additional production lines to be added as required

·     Currently expanding local sales and marketing team to broaden geographical focus

·     Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture Livestock and Supply ('MAPA') reviewing application to certify KPfértil as a remineraliser - anticipated to be processed early Q1, 2018

Harvest's Executive Chairman, Brian McMaster, said, "Whilst 2017 was a transformational year for Harvest, completing key agronomic test work and achieving and delivering first sales, 2018 is shaping up to be an even more significant year as we focus on increasing sales and broadening our market penetration.  We have hit the ground running in 2018 and are now implementing the plans to make this happen; the fully funded plant expansion, which should be commissioned in the coming few months, will allow us to meet expected demand for KPfértil. I would again like to thank all our shareholders for their support and look forward to a mutually beneficial 2018."

Plant Expansion

The Company has ordered four additional knife mills along with conveyor belts and supporting structures.  The new knife mills will act as secondary mills fed from the current primary mill to create a single processing line with a planned capacity of 320,000 tonnes per annum.  Civil work for the new plant will start later this week and the plant, which is being fabricated locally, will be completed and commissioned by the commencement of Q2, 2018.   The Company is fully funded to meet the capital cost of the expansion.

Figure 1: Section View of New Plant Layout (please view PDF)

Figure 2: Plan View of Processing Plant Expansion (please view PDF)

MAPA Certification

As previously announced, Harvest submitted an application for the certification of KPfértil as a remineraliser by MAPA in late 2017.  The review process by MAPA has been interrupted due to Brazil's extended Christmas holiday period, however, Harvest has been assured that the application review is in hand and will be processed in early Q1, 2018. 

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]
Shard Capital Partners (Joint Broker)	Damon Heath	Tel: [phone]
Beaufort Securities Ltd (Joint Broker)	Jon Belliss	Tel: [phone]
St Brides Partners Ltd	Isabel de Salis	Tel: [phone]
	Olivia Vita

Notes:

Harvest Minerals (HMI.L) is a Brazilian focused fertiliser producer advancing the 100% owned Arapua Fertiliser Project, which produces KPfértil, a proven, multi-nutrient, slow release, organic fertiliser and remineraliser.  KPfértil offers many economic and agronomic benefits and addresses the significant demand for locally produced fertiliser in Brazil, with its abundant agricultural land; currently, the country imports 90% of the potash it uses but has a target to be self-sufficient in fertilisers by 2020.  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. 

 

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