TIDMHMI
RNS Number : 8413J
Harvest Minerals Limited
03 July 2017
To view the press release with the illustrative maps and
diagrams, please use the following link:
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8413J_-2017-7-2.pdf
Harvest Minerals Limited / Index: LSE / Epic: HMI / Sector:
Mining
3 July 2017
Harvest Minerals Limited ("Harvest" or the "Company")
Excellent Agronomic Results from the Arapua Fertiliser
Project
Harvest Minerals Limited, the AIM listed fertiliser development
company, is pleased to provide an update on the latest results from
ongoing agronomic test work at its Arapua Fertiliser Project in
Brazil in conjunction with accredited universities and research
bodies.
Highlights
-- Multiple soil incubation tests completed so far, which
confirm that the Company's product, KPfértil, has a positive
agronomic efficiency, increasing the potassium ('K'), phosphate
('P'), silicate ('Si'), calcium ('Ca'), and magnesium ('Mg') in the
pH of the soil and correcting the soil acidity
-- Visual comparisons of the recently harvested rice crop show
that larger, healthier plants develop when KPfértil applied
-- Results indicate that KPfértil works effectively as a
multi-nutrient, slow release remineraliser and that the proportion
of product applied could be increased with each application until
it replaces other sources of P and K such as fertilisers and soil
improvers
-- Initial production of 50,000 tonnes of KPfértil completed
April 2017 under a trial mining permit - current resource of 13
million tonnes
-- On track to make an application to the Brazilian Ministry of
Agriculture, Livestock and Supply ('MAPA') Q3 2017, with the aim of
certifying KPfértil as a remineraliser by the end of 2017
-- Continued focus on achieving first sales in Q3 2017, in
advance of KPfértil certification
Harvest Executive Chairman Brian McMaster said, "The agronomic
efficiency results for KPfértil, our multi-nutrient, direct
application natural fertiliser, are excellent, especially
considering KPfértil can be a replacement for conventional sources
of phosphate and potassium. In ongoing tests conducted by
independent university partners, the crops are reacting extremely
well and we expect further positive results in due course. We are
also continuing tests on coffee plants at Veloso Agropecuária
Empreendimentos E Participações Ltda, but these aren't a
requirement of the appliacation to MAPA.
"We are excited about the prospects of KPfértil due to the many
distinct advantages over imported products: it is a multi-nutrient,
direct application, natural fertiliser composed of weathered
potassium and phosphate-rich lava; and it is excavated at surface
and processed on site, translating into a low cost, low capex
operation. Importantly, we have a 13 million tonne resource, based
on drilling only 6.7% of the known mineralisation, and can mine up
to around 450,000 tonnes per annum using our existing capital
infrastructure, which translates into a current mine life of over
100 years.
"Going forward, with the test data flowing in, we are starting
the process of registering KPfértil with MAPA in Q3, and once
officially certified, we can better market and distribute the
product; this should enable us to achieve first product sales in Q3
this year."
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.
Further Information
Harvest is focused on developing its 100% owned Arapua
multi-nutrient potash and phosphate direct application natural
fertiliser ('DANF') project in Brazil. The totally natural product
being produced at Arapua is branded as KPfértil and mined from
surface with limited processing required before sale. Initial
production of 50,000 tonnes was completed in April 2017 under a
trial mining permit; some of this product has been used to conduct
the ongoing agronomic tests.
Registration as a Remineraliser
The Company is initially planning to register KPfértil as a
"remineraliser" or "stonemeal", which is a product classification
introduced by MAPA in March 2016 to assist in accrediting local,
organic nutrient products. Following registration as a
remineraliser, the Company can, if it chooses, pursue a further
registration as a "fertiliser" to broaden the market.
To be registered as a remineraliser, a MAPA approved institution
must test the product as follows:
-- Chemical and physical analysis - to confirm the product meets
minimum specifications and that it is not hazardous.
-- Kinetic studies (incubation and leaching) - to demonstrate
the product is able to release nutrients into the soil and how
quickly they are leached from the soil.
-- Agronomic efficiency test work (growth tests) - to
demonstrate the nutrients can be utilised by plants and that the
product works effectively as a remineraliser.
The Company has commissioned a range of tests, which are being
conducted by MAPA approved institutions as shown in table 01.
Table 01 - Status of test work required for product
registration.
Test Institution(s) Status
============================= =============== ===============
Chemical and Mineralogical Campo, UFU, Complete
Analysis IBRA
============================= =============== ===============
Kinetic Studies - incubation UFU Complete
============================= =============== ===============
Kinetic Studies - Leaching UFU Results due Q3
============================= =============== ===============
Growing tests with 1st UFU Rice harvested
crop (1 cycles x 2 soils) - results due
July
============================= =============== ===============
Growing tests with 2nd UFU Underway
Crop (1 cycle x 2 soils)
============================= =============== ===============
These results will be submitted to MAPA in Q3 as part of the
product registration process.
Results of the Tests
Chemical and Physical Analysis
All the required chemical and physical test work was completed
last year at the Centro de Tecnologia Agrícola e Ambiental
('CAMPO'), IBRA and the Federal University of Uberlândia ('UFU').
The results were announced on 23 August 2016, with KPfértil
exceeding all the minimum requirements, as summarised in Table 02
below:
Table 02 - Average results of physical and chemical analysis
carried out last year
Parameter Unit Specification KPfértil Pass
========================== ========= =============== ============== =====
Water Retention Capacity
(WRC) % - 56
========================== ========= =============== ============== =====
Cation Exchange Capacity
(CEC) mmol/kg - 420
========================== ========= =============== ============== =====
Electrical Conductivity
(EC) mS/cm - 0
========================== ========= =============== ============== =====
Potential Hydrogen
(pH) - 6.59
===================================== ============== ============== =====
Water Content (WC) % - 5.06
========================== ========= =============== ============== =====
Total Bases = CaO >= 9%
+ MgO + K2O % wt. 16
========================== ========= =============== ============== =====
>= 1%
K2O % wt. 4
========================== ========= =============== ============== =====
<= 25%
SiO2 free % vol. 0
========================== ========= =============== ============== =====
P2O5 % - 3.45
========================== ========= =============== ============== =====
CaO % - 6
========================== ========= =============== ============== =====
MgO ppm - 6
========================== ========= =============== ============== =====
<= 15
As ppm ppm 1
========================== ========= =============== ============== =====
Cd ppm <= 10 < 0.2
ppm
========================== ========= =============== ============== =====
Hg ppm <= 0.1 < 0.01
ppm
========================== ========= =============== ============== =====
Pb ppm <= 200 < 0.2
ppm
========================== ========= =============== ============== =====
Kinetic Studies (incubation and leaching)
The kinetic studies evaluate how quickly KPfértil is able to
release nutrients of K, P, Ca, Mg and Si into the soil (incubation)
and how quickly they are leached (leaching) and to determine the
corrective effect on the soil pH as well as test the calcium
silicate equivalent value. The tests are being carried out at the
UFU.
Incubation Tests
The incubation studies have now been completed and the results
are very encouraging. All results indicate that KPfértil increases
the K, P, Si, Ca, and Mg in the pH of the soil and acts to correct
the soil acidity both as a powder and filler over a short time
frame and as a slow release. The test results also indicate that
there will be a strong residual effect and much lower level of
leaching of nutrients. This suggests that the proportion of
KPfértil applied could be increased with each application until it
completely replaces other sources of K and P such as fertilisers
and soil improvers. This would significantly increase the potential
for KPfértil, which is a totally natural product, having undergone
no industrial processing to improve grades or solubility. The
detailed results are contained in Appendix 1.
Leach Testing
The Leaching tests evaluate the loss in K due to leaching from
the soil compared to traditional KCl. The leach tests are ongoing
and the results are expected in July.
Agronomic Efficiency (Growth tests)
The agronomic efficiency tests determine if the plants are able
to use the nutrients applied to the soil. At the UFU, the Company
is conducting growth tests on two crops (rice and bean) in two
types of soil (clay rich and sandy) to test the reactivity and
availability of nutrients from KPfértil to the plants and to
determine its agronomic value. All these tests are being conducted
in glasshouses. The rice plants have now been harvested and
visually show that larger, healthier plants develop when KPfértil
is applied. The final results of the rice trials are due in July
with the bean trials still outstanding.
Please See PDF for Figure 1 - Rice crop cultivated in clayey
"Cerrado" soil.
Appendix 1
Detailed Results of the Soil Incubation Test
The soil incubation tests were performed in two different types
of soil, classified as clayey (40% of clays) and sandy (11% of
clay). KPfértil was incorporated in doses from 50g to 300 g of soil
inside plastic pots. For comparative purposes, treatments were also
made using conventional sources of K, P, Si, Ca as well as a
control treatment without any product applied. All tests were done
with KPfértil in filler grain size (100% < 0.3 mm) and powder
grain size (100% < 2.0 mm, 70% < 0.84 mm and 50% < 0.3
mm).
After 60 days (incubation period), the samples were dried,
sieved and chemically analysed to determine pH value and the
contents of K, P, Si, Ca and Mg, following the official methodology
according with MAPA.
The results for KPfértil were positive in comparison to
conventional sources of nutrients.
1 - Potassium in Soil:
The analysis for K was done using Mellich and Resin chemical
extraction. For the comparative treatment, standard KCl (Muriate of
Potash) was applied as a source of K with a grade of 60% K(2) O.
The results indicate that KPfértil increased the K content in both
clayey and sandy soil (Table 1).
Table 1 - K grades in the clayey and sandy soil, using Mellich
and Resin extraction.
Treatment Dose Clayey Soil Sandy Soil
---------------
K(2) K mg dm(-3) K mg dm(-3) K mg dm(-3) K mg dm(-3)
O mg (Mellich) (Resin) (Mellich) (Resin)
kg(-1)
--------------- -------- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
KCl 100 104.2 78.8 121.3 64
--------------- -------- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Control 0 22.5 15.0 13.8 9.0
--------------- -------- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
KPfértil
(filler) 50 23.9 16.0 15.1 14.4
KPfértil
(filler) 100 27.4 16.7 17.3 15.1
KPfértil
(filler) 200 31.6 20.3 19.1 31.3
KPfértil
(filler) 300 33.0 20.9 21 34.7
--------------- -------- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
KPfértil
(powder) 50 25.0 15.5 15 11.6
KPfértil
(powder) 100 32.1 15.8 16.8 12
KPfértil
(powder) 200 40.2 17.8 18.4 20.7
KPfértil
(powder) 300 43.2 18.1 20 22.5
--------------- -------- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
2 - Phosphate in Soil:
The analysis for P was conducted using Mellich and Resin
chemical extraction. Super triple phosphate ('SFT') with a grade of
45% P(2) O(5) was applied as a source of P for the comparative
treatment. The results again indicate that KPfértil increased the P
content in both clayey and sandy soil (Table 2).
Table 2 - P grades in the clayey and sandy soil, using Mellich
and Resin extraction.
Treatment Dose Clayey Soil Sandy Soil
---------------
P(2) P mg dm(-3) P mg dm(-3) P mg dm(-3) P mg dm(-3)
O(5) (Mellich) (Resin) (Mellich) (Resin)
mg kg(-1)
--------------- ----------- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
SFT 95 48.5 68.8 62.5 80.3
--------------- ----------- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Control 0 0.4 0.8 0.5 1.7
--------------- ----------- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
KPfértil
(filler) 48 0.4 2.3 1.8 3.3
KPfértil
(filler) 95 0.5 3.2 2.4 4.4
KPfértil
(filler) 190 0.7 8.7 6.4 9.9
KPfértil
(filler) 285 0.9 12.7 9.3 14
--------------- ----------- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
KPfértil
(powder) 48 0.6 1.6 1.4 2.9
KPfértil
(powder) 95 0.7 2.2 1.8 3.4
KPfértil
(powder) 190 1.7 5.5 4.5 6.9
KPfértil
(powder) 285 2.3 7.8 6.4 9.5
--------------- ----------- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
3 - Silica in Soil:
For the silica in soil tests, Wollastonite with a 24% Si content
was applied for the comparative treatment. As for the K and P
analysis, KPfértil increased the Si content in both clayey and
sandy soil (Table 3).
Table 3 - Si grades in the clayey and sandy soil.
Treatment Dose Clayey Sandy Soil
Soil
---------------
Si mg Si mg dm(-3) P mg dm(-3)
kg(-1)
--------------- -------- ------------- ------------
Wollastonite 300 10.0 7.9
--------------- -------- ------------- ------------
Control 0 5.2 2.5
--------------- -------- ------------- ------------
KPfértil
(filler) 300 5.8 2.6
KPfértil
(filler) 600 6.2 2.6
KPfértil
(filler) 1200 7.0 2.8
KPfértil
(filler) 2400 8.4 2.8
--------------- -------- ------------- ------------
KPfértil
(powder) 300 5.8 2.5
KPfértil
(powder) 600 6.3 2.6
KPfértil
(powder) 1200 7.0 2.7
KPfértil
(powder) 2400 8.5 2.8
--------------- -------- ------------- ------------
4 - Calcium and Magnesium in Soil:
For the comparative treatment calcium carbonate (CaCO(3) ) with
a grade of 40% Ca was applied. Again, there was a positive increase
in both Ca and Mg nutrients in the clayey and sandy soil after the
incubation with KPfértil (Table 4).
Table 4 - Ca and Mg grades in the clayey and sandy soil.
Treatment Dose Clayey Soil Sandy Soil
---------------
Ca and Ca cmol Mg cmol Ca cmol Mg cmol
Mg kg(-1) dm(-3) dm(-3) dm(-3) dm(-3)
--------------- ----------- -------- -------- -------- --------
CaCO(3) 110 1.3 - 1.2 -
--------------- ----------- -------- -------- -------- --------
Control 0 0.6 0.2 0.6 0.2
--------------- ----------- -------- -------- -------- --------
KPfértil
(filler) 55 0.7 0.3 0.7 0.4
KPfértil
(filler) 110 0.9 0.5 0.8 0.8
KPfértil
(filler) 220 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.4
KPfértil
(filler) 440 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.9
--------------- ----------- -------- -------- -------- --------
KPfértil
(powder) 55 0.7 0.4 0.6 0.4
KPfértil
(powder) 110 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.6
KPfértil
(powder) 220 0.9 1.0 0.8 0.9
KPfértil
(powder) 440 1.2 1.3 0.9 1.3
--------------- ----------- -------- -------- -------- --------
5 - Soil pH:
The pH potential in the soils was tested after the incubation
period with the aim of reducing the soil acidity. KPfértil
application as both a filler and a powder had a positive effect in
the soil acidity and so would act as a soil corrective (Table
5).
Table 5 - pH in the clayey and sandy soil.
Treatment Dose Clayey Sandy Soil
Soil
---------------
Ca mg pH CaCl(2) pH CaCl(2)
kg(-1)
--------------- -------- ----------- -----------
CaCO(3) 83 5.1 5.3
--------------- -------- ----------- -----------
Control 0 3.5 3.6
--------------- -------- ----------- -----------
KPfértil
(filler) 300 3.7 3.7
KPfértil
(filler) 600 3.8 3.9
KPfértil
(filler) 1200 4.3 4.1
KPfértil
(filler) 2400 4.6 4.3
--------------- -------- ----------- -----------
KPfértil
(powder) 300 3.7 3.7
KPfértil
(powder) 600 3.8 3.9
KPfértil
(powder) 1200 4.3 4.1
KPfértil
(powder) 2400 4.6 4.3
--------------- -------- ----------- -----------
For further information please visit www.harvestminerals.net or
contact:
Harvest Minerals Brian McMaster Tel: +61 8 9200
Limited 1847
Strand Hanson Limited James Spinney Tel: +44 (0)20 7409
(Nominated Financial Ritchie Balmer 3494
Adviser)
Mirabaud Securities Rory Scott Tel: +44 (0)20 7878
LLP 3360
(Broker)
Beaufort Securities Jon Belliss Tel: +44 (0)20 7382
Ltd 8300
(Joint Broker)
Whitman-Howard Ltd Grant Barker Tel: +44 (0)20 7659
1225
St Brides Partners Isabel de Salis Tel: +44 (0)20 7236
Ltd 1177
Olivia Vita
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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