Last checked at 27 Feb 2020 08:40
Harvest Minerals Limited / Index: LSE / Epic: HMI / Sector: Mining
27 February 2020
Harvest Minerals Limited ('Harvest' or the 'Company')
Full Mining Permit Awarded
Harvest Minerals Limited, the AIM listed remineraliser producer, is pleased to announce that the Agência Nacional de Mineração ('ANM') (the agency which replaced the DNPM) has granted the Concessão de Lavra or full mining permit for the Company's 100% owned Arapua Fertiliser Project in Brazil ('Arapua' or the 'Project').
Highlights
·; The Company and Project are now fully permitted with no further permits required
·; The Company can mine and process up to 400Ktpa of KPFértil at Arapua
·; This capacity can be increased as and when required by extending the current environmental permit
·; Under the terms of the original sale and purchase agreement, the Company will now pay US$1m to the original vendors of the asset from existing cash in hand
The award of the Concessão de Lavra or full mining permit was the final step in fully permitting the Project and grants the Company full tenure over the asset. As announced on 4 November 2019, the Company was issued a full environmental permit by the Brazilian Environmental Department ('Superintendencia Regional de Regularização Ambiental' or 'SUPRAM') which allows the Company to mine and process up to 400Ktpa of ore. This is above the current processing capacity, but both the environmental permit capacity and production capacity can be increased as demand requires.
As set out in the original sale and purchase agreement, a payment of US$1m was to be made by the Company to the original vendors of the asset on "commercial production" being achieved at Arapua. This was defined as being upon the award of the full mining permit and so will now be made. This will be made from current cash in hand. The net smelter return ('NSR') of 2% will continue to be paid to the vendors. Further details on the sale and purchase agreement are contained in the Company's AIM Admission Document.
Brian McMaster, Executive Chairman of Harvest stated, "We have been successfully mining and processing at Arapua since we were granted our Guia de Utilização or trial mining licence in December 2016 and could continue to do so until December 2021. However, as we expect to reach profitability this year and have strong growth plans to build production, it was prudent to push for the award of the full mining permit which gives us full tenure over the Project.
"Under the terms of the mineral rights transfer agreement dated 22 July 2014 the Company will make a payment of US$1m to the original vendors of the Project. This payment will be made from our existing cash position.
"When we started Arapua we had limited idea on its economic viability. Since then we have not only built and fully permitted an operating mine and processing facility but developed an entirely new remineraliser and fertiliser, and established a growing market for it. This is a fantastic achievement and the culmination of much hard work and I would like to thank both our team and our loyal shareholders for their unwavering support in achieving this historic milestone."
*ENDS*
For further information, please visit www.harvestminerals.net or contact:
Harvest Minerals Limited | Brian McMaster (Chairman) Dr Mark Heyhoe (COO) | Tel: +44 (0) 203 940 6625 |
Strand Hanson Limited Nominated & Financial Adviser | James Spinney Ritchie Balmer Jack Botros | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7409 3494 |
Shard Capital Partners Broker | Damon Heath | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7186 9900 |
St Brides Partners Ltd Financial PR | Charlotte Page Beth Melluish | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 |
Notes
Harvest Minerals Limited (HMI.L) is an AIM-quoted low-cost and high margin Brazilian remineraliser producer, located in the heart of the largest and fastest growing fertilizer market in Brazil.
Our product, KPFértil, is a registered and approved organic multi-nutrient direct application fertiliser. It contains many of the essential nutrients and minerals required by plants and, unlike most fertilisers, it does not require any complex processing or chemically alteration, instead it can be applied directly to crops.
KPFértil is produced at the wholly owned Arapua project, that consists of a fully permitted mine, production and storage facilities able to produce and deliver KPFértil to customers. Known mineralisation at the Project is expected to support 100+ years' production at 450Ktpa.
Our focus now remains on growing our business and we have the dedicated in-country sales and marketing team with the skills, experience and contacts to sell KPFértil into the potential multi-Mtpa market on the doorstep of the Project.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014