TORONTO, May 23, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Verde AgriTech (TSX:NPK) ("Verde” or the
“Company”) is pleased to announce that it has begun a Pre-Feasibility Study (“PFS”) for the expansions to its Super
GreensandTM production.
The expansion project will be implemented in multiple phases and will rely on mining and industrialization
contractors, all of which will significantly reduce upfront capital costs. This scalable and modular approach is feasible thanks to
the open-pit nature of Verde’s mineral resources and simple production flow sheet, which only requires crushing and milling.
Verde has a NI 43-101 Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate of 1.47 billion tonnes at a grade of 9.2%
K2O that includes a Measured Mineral Resource of 83 million tonnes with an average grade of 10.1% K2O.
Additionally, the Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate is 1.85 billion tonnes at a K2O grade of 8.6%.
The PFS will analyze the production schedule below:
Super Greensand production target |
Year |
Tonnes |
2018 |
300,000 |
2019 |
600,000 |
2020 |
1,800,000 |
2021 |
2,500,000 |
2022 |
3,000,000 |
2023 |
11,000,000 |
2024 |
18,000,000 |
2025
onwards |
25,000,000 |
Verde and its consultants expect to complete the PFS in the last quarter of 2017.
“With Verde now in production and selling, we look forward to ramping-up our production and establishing
ourselves as a prominent player in Brazil’s agricultural scene,” said Cristiano Veloso, President and CEO.
Tobacco Results for Super GreensandTM x Sulphate of Potash (“SOP”)
An independent field trial confirmed Super GreensandTM’s efficiency on tobacco crops. Brazil is the world's second
largest tobacco producer and, since 1993, the world's largest exporter.1 In the 2016 harvest, about 380 thousand
hectares of tobacco were planted in Brazil, its production was estimated in US$1.5 billion.
The field trial was undertaken by a leading American tobacco corporation, in two cities, for five months. The
objective was to evaluate the benefits of Super GreensandTM when compared to SOP, a traditionally used source of potash
for tobacco.
The results show that Super GreensandTM and SOP have statistically identical performance on Tobacco.
Super GreensandTM, however, has the added benefit that it needs to be applied only once per harvest rather than three
times as with SOP. Conventional potassium fertilizers, contrary to Super GreensandTM, usually require such multiple
applications because they are highly soluble in water and therefore tend to be washed away because of rains.
|
Cities |
Treatments plots |
Chuvisca
|
Passo do Sobrado |
Productivity (Kg/ha) |
Super GreensandTM |
3583 a |
2716 a |
SOP |
3551 a |
2824 a |
Quality |
Super GreensandTM |
80,1 a |
78,7 a |
SOP |
83,4 a |
77,1 a |
Tobacco producers choose potash sources free of Chloride such as SOP or Nitrate of Potash instead of Potassium
Chloride (KCl), which is 47% chloride, because chloride can cause harmful effects on tobacco yield2. Plus tobacco leaves
with chloride gradually acquire some undesirable burning characteristics and the storage life can be reduced, negatively impacting
its market value.
Super GreensandTM has virtually no chloride and no salinity, ensuring that crops will not suffer from
chloride toxicity. The product can be adopted by all niche markets that apply potash premium sources with further benefits such as
eliminating the need for multiple applications per harvest.
Live Presentation
Verde Agritech has a new investor’s presentation available on: http://verdeagritech.com/uploads/releases/ed75e98069fa510d0ea214a48fe58713.pdf
Cristiano Veloso, President and CEO, will host a live meeting on Youtube to discuss this presentation. There
will be a question and answer session at the end of the event. Send your questions to email: verde@verdeagritech.com
Date: 14th of June 2017
Time: 2:00 pm (BRT) / 6:00 pm (BST) / 1:00 pm (EDT)
The link to access the session will be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuo37o4mf2Q
About Verde AgriTech
Verde AgriTech promotes sustainable and profitable agriculture through the development of its Cerrado Verde
Project. Cerrado Verde, located in the heart of Brazil’s largest agricultural market, is the source of a potassium-rich deposit
from which the Company intends to produce solutions for crop nutrition, crop protection, soil improvement and increased
sustainability.
For additional information please
contact:
Cristiano Veloso, President & Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +55 (31) 3245 0205; Email: cv@verdeagritech.com
www.verdeagritech.com
www.supergreensand.com
Cautionary Language and Forward Looking
Statements
Neither the TSX nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release contains certain "forward
looking statements", which include but is not limited to, statements with respect to the future financial or operating
performance of the company, its subsidiaries and its projects, and statements regarding use of proceeds. Forward looking
statements can generally be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", or "does not expect" or "is
expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", "intends", "forecasts", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates"
or variations of such words or phrases or state that certain actions, event, or results "may", "could", "would", "might",
or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties
and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different
from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by said statements. There can be no assurances
that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially
from those anticipated in said statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements.
_____________________________
1 SINDITABACO http://sinditabaco.com.br/en/about-the-sector/dimension-of-the-sector/
2 FAO http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/T0234E/T0234E05.htm