Verde AgriTech Plc (TSX:NPK)
(OTCQB:AMHPF) ("Verde” or the “Company”) is pleased to
announce the conclusion of a Pre-Feasibility Study (“PFS”) for the
expansions to the ongoing Super Greensand® production. The PFS was
prepared by BNA Mining Solutions (“BNA”) and Andes Mining Services
Ltd. (“ANDES”) with inputs from technical studies completed by
other consultants on Verde's Cerrado Verde Project ("Cerrado Verde"
or the "Project") located in Minas Gerais State, Brazil.
The PFS evaluated the technical and financial
aspects of producing 25 million tonnes per year (“Mtpy”) of Super
Greensand®, divided in three phases: Phase 1 (0.6Mtpy); Phase 2
(5Mtpy) and Phase 3 (25Mtpy). The proposed scalable development is
predicated on expansions being financed largely from projected
internal cash flow.
Project Highlights:
- Proven and Probable Reserves of 777.28 million tonnes, grading
9.78% K2O.
- Capex for Phase 1 is estimated at US$3.05 million.
- Capex for the Project is estimated at US$369.53 million.
- Sustaining Capital for the Project is estimated at US$222.26
million.
- Estimated after-tax Net Present Value (“NPV”) for the Project,
using an 8% discount rate, of US$1,987.97 million.
- Estimated after-tax Internal Rate of Return (“IRR”) of
290%.
- Adopted Potassium Chloride (“KCl”) long term price of US$250
CFR Brazil as reference for Super Greensand® pricing.
- Estimated Operating Cost of US$14.53, US$6.77, US$7.92 per
product tonne for Phases 1, 2 and 3 respectively.
World Food Prize winner and Verde’s director Mr
Alysson Paolinelli said: “Tropical agriculture requires slow
release fertilizers like Super Greensand® rather than highly water
soluble chemical fertilizers developed for temperate climates with
short growing seasons. In Brazil, for example, farmers can have up
to 3 harvests per year and Super Greensand® will bring everlasting
benefits to the environment as well as food and nutrition
security.
The PFS is based on the following
assumptions:
- 100% equity.
- Phase 1 production of 0.6 Mtpy; Phase 2 production of 5 Mtpy;
Phase 3 production of 25 Mtpy.
- A projected mine life of 36 years.
- Contract Mining.
- A 15% contingency applied to Capex.
- US Dollar-Brazilian Real exchange rate of US$1 = R$3.28.
- Potassium Chloride (“KCl”) long term price of US$250 CFR Brazil
as reference for Super Greensand® pricing.
Capital Costs
A summary of expected capital costs is presented
in Table 1.
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Table 1 Capital Costs Summary |
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|
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|
Capital Costs |
Phase 1 |
Phase 2 |
Phase 3 |
Investment (US$x1,000) |
Processing Plant |
1,294 |
8,721 |
143,518 |
Infra-structure |
884 |
5,258 |
145,427 |
Owner’s Cost |
478 |
933 |
14,815 |
Contingency |
398.32 |
2,236.69 |
45,564 |
Total |
3,053.80 |
17,147.98 |
349,324 |
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Operating Costs
Operating costs per ton of Super Greensand®
produced over the life of mine are displayed on Table 2. Costs
associated with mining comprise 55% of operating costs, processing
19%, and G&A 3% on Phase 1. The per ton break-down of operating
cost by Phase is as follows:
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Table 2 Operating Costs Summary |
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|
Operating Costs |
Phase 1 |
Phase 2 |
Phase 3 |
US$ per Product Tonne |
Mining |
7.98 |
3.48 |
4.90 |
Processing |
2.74 |
1.36 |
1.04 |
General and Administrative |
0.50 |
0.50 |
0.50 |
Others* |
1.41 |
0.55 |
0.45 |
Contingency |
1.90 |
0.88 |
1.03 |
Total |
14.53 |
6.77 |
7.92 |
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*Others:
Mining Labour, Environmental Recovery, Environmental Compensation
and Support Facilities Maintenance |
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Mineral Reserves
A large portion of the Measured and Indicated
mineral resource has been successfully converted to an initial
Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve totalling 777.28 million
tonnes, at 9.78% content of K2O, for a total of 76 million
contained tonnes of K2O.
The tonnes, grades, and classification of the
Mineral Reserves are summarized below.
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Table 4 Mineral Reserve Summary |
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Classification |
Tonnes (Mt) |
K2O (%) |
Proven |
68.11 |
10.34 |
Probable |
709.17 |
9.72 |
Total |
777.28 |
9.78 |
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(1) As of
November 27, 2017.(2) A cut-off grade of 8.50% K2O was used to
report reserves.(3) Numbers may not add up due to rounding.(4)
Overall strip ratio of 0.29(5) Waste contains inferred resources,
which have potential for upgrading to higher category resources,
and possibly reserves after sufficient definition work has been
completed.(6) Based on 100% mining recovery. |
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Mineral Resources
This Mineral Resources estimated by the PFS
are.
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Table 5 Mineral Resources Summary |
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Category |
Tonnes (Mt) |
Average Grade (% K2O) |
Measured |
83 |
10.13 |
Indicated |
1,389 |
9.23 |
Total (M+I) |
1,472 |
9.28 |
Inferred |
1,850 |
8.60 |
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(1) Mineral
resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated
economic viability.(2) CIM Definition Standards were followed for
classification of Mineral Resources.(3) Mineral Resources are
reported at a cut-off grade of 7.5% K2O.(4) Bulk density of 2.18
t/m3 for fresh rock material and 1.64 t/m3 for the weathered
material. |
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Super Greensand® Pricing
Super Greensand®’s price is based exclusively on
its potassium content despite of its other nutrients and benefits.
Super Greensand® has 10% K2O whereas the cheapest source of potash,
i.e. KCl has 60% K2O. Therefore, the farmer in Brazil pays an
average of 6 times less per ton of Super Greensand® than it pays
per ton of KCl.
The table below illustrates pricing for phase
1
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Table 6 Average Super
Greensand®’s price at Phase 1 X
KCl - (USD) |
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|
Super Greensand® |
KCl |
K2O Content |
10% |
60% |
Average CFR (Farm) Price |
$57.67 |
$346.00 |
Average Transportation cost to farm |
$19.52 |
$12.00 |
Average FOB (Vendor) Price |
$38.15 |
$334.00 |
CFR (Port) Price |
Not Applicable |
$250.00 |
|
The difference in price between CFR (Port) and FOB (vendor) is
presented below:
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Table 7 Difference in price between CFR (Port)
and FOB (vendor) - (USD) |
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Item |
Cost |
Brazilian port costs |
$17.00 |
Demurrage |
$3.00 |
AFRMM1 Tax |
$5.00 |
Cost of transportation Brazilian port - dealer |
$29.00 |
Average margin added by the dealer |
$30.00 |
Total |
$84.00 |
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For Phases 2 and 3 the average FOB Price
realized decreases as the Company increases its sales to
agriculture regions more distant from its mine. The average net
sales prices are US$38.15 (phase 1); US$35.17 (phase 2); US$25.10
(phase 3).
The CFR Brazil (Port) KCl price adopted was
US$250, which corresponds to the lowest long-term price estimated
by analysts at major Canadian banks. The current price is
US$263. The lowest price since 2010 was US$225 and the
highest price was US$520.
Super Greensand® is a premium multi nutrient
product free of chloride, free of salinity and approved for organic
agriculture. In addition to Potash it has Magnesium, Manganese,
Iron, Silicon and 60 other minerals and trace elements. Its pricing
could be superior if based on other Chloride free potassium
fertilizers such as Potassium Sulphate, Nitrate of Potash or
Polyhalite, however, the Company has decided to grant all those
additional nutrients and benefits to farmers in exchange for a
faster market development and broader market adoption.
Brazilian Potash Market
Brazil is the world’s largest food exporter but
the country imports over 95% of its current potash needs.
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Table3 Historical Brazilian K2O consumption x
Super Greensand® equivalent |
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Brazilian K2O consumption* |
Super Greensand® |
2010 |
3.894.088 |
38.940.880 |
2011 |
4.430.526 |
44.305.260 |
2012 |
4.843.592 |
48.435.920 |
2013 |
5.094.069 |
50.940.690 |
2014 |
5.394.660 |
53.946.600 |
2015 |
5.162.465 |
51.624.650 |
2016 |
5.728.415 |
57.284.150 |
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*Source:
Associação Nacional para Difusão de Adubos (ANDA), 2017. |
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In 2016, Brazil consumed 5.7Mt of K2O, the
equivalent of a potential of 57Mt of Super Greensand®. According to
the production phases, Cerrado Verde would be able to supply the
Brazilian potash market in 1.05% during Phase 1; 8.77% during Phase
2 and 43.85% during Phase 3 considering no growth to the current
market.
Technical Disclosure
Dr Beck Nader. (D.Sc., M.Sc., MAIG), BNA Mining
Solutions’ principal, has reviewed and approved the scientific and
technical information contained in this news release. Dr Nader is a
Qualified Person (“QP”) within the meaning of Canadian Securities
Administrator's National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101").
The Pre-Feasibility Study has been prepared by
the following QPs: Mr Bradley Ackroyd (MAIG (C.P.)) who is a
principal consulting geologist with Andes Mining Services Ltd. and
Dr Beck Nader. (D.Sc., M.Sc., MAIG), who is a principle at BNA
Mining Solutions
The Company expects to file a technical report
prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 on SEDAR
at www.sedar.com within 45 days of the date of this
release.
Cautionary Language and Forward Looking
Statements
All Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resources
estimates reported by the Company were estimated in accordance with
the Canadian National Instrument 43-101 and the Canadian Institute
of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum Definition Standards (May 10,
2014). These standards differ significantly from the requirements
of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Mineral Resources
which are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic
viability.
This document contains "forward-looking
information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation
and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United
States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This
information and these statements, referred to herein as
"forward-looking statements" are made as of the date of this
document. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or
future performance and reflect current estimates, predictions,
expectations or beliefs regarding future events and include, but
are not limited to, statements with respect to:
- the estimated amount and grade of Mineral Resources and Mineral
Reserves;
- the PFS representing a viable development option for the
Project;
- estimates of the capital costs of constructing mine facilities
and bringing a mine into production, of sustaining capital and the
duration of financing payback periods;
- the estimated amount of future production, both produced and
sold; and,
- estimates of operating costs and total costs, net cash flow,
net present value and economic returns from an operating mine.
Any statements that express or involve
discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs,
plans, projections, objectives or future events or performance
(often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects",
"anticipates", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "envisages",
"assumes", "intends", "strategy", "goals", "objectives" or
variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or
results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur
or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar
expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be
forward-looking statements.
All forward-looking statements are based on
Verde's or its consultants' current beliefs as well as various
assumptions made by them and information currently available to
them. The most significant assumptions are set forth above, but
generally these assumptions include:
- the presence of and continuity of resources and reserves at the
Project at estimated grades;
- the geotechnical and metallurgical characteristics of rock
conforming to sampled results; including the quantities of water
and the quality of the water that must be diverted or treated
during mining operations;
- the capacities and durability of various machinery and
equipment;
- the availability of personnel, machinery and equipment at
estimated prices and within the estimated delivery times;
- currency exchange rates;
- Super Greensand® sales prices and exchange rate assumed;
- appropriate discount rates applied to the cash flows in the
economic analysis;
- tax rates and royalty rates applicable to the proposed mining
operation;
- the availability of acceptable financing under assumed
structure and costs;
- anticipated mining losses and dilution;
- reasonable contingency requirements;
- success in realizing proposed operations;
- receipt of permits and other regulatory approvals on acceptable
terms; and
- the fulfilment of environmental assessment commitments and
arrangements with local communities.
Although management considers these assumptions
to be reasonable based on information currently available to it,
they may prove to be incorrect. Many forward-looking statements are
made assuming the correctness of other forward looking statements,
such as statements of net present value and internal rates of
return, which are based on most of the other forward-looking
statements and assumptions herein. The cost information is also
prepared using current values, but the time for incurring the costs
will be in the future and it is assumed costs will remain stable
over the relevant period.
By their very nature, forward-looking statements
involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and
specific, and risks exist that estimates, forecasts, projections
and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that
assumptions do not reflect future experience. We caution readers
not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as
a number of important factors could cause the actual outcomes to
differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives,
expectations, anticipations, estimates assumptions and intentions
expressed in such forward-looking statements. These risk factors
may be generally stated as the risk that the assumptions and
estimates expressed above do not occur as forecast, but
specifically include, without limitation: risks relating to
variations in the mineral content within the material identified as
Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves from that predicted;
variations in rates of recovery and extraction; the geotechnical
characteristics of the rock mined or through which infrastructure
is built differing from that predicted, the quantity of water that
will need to be diverted or treated during mining operations being
different from what is expected to be encountered during mining
operations or post closure, or the rate of flow of the water being
different; developments in world metals markets; risks relating to
fluctuations in the Brazilian Real relative to the Canadian dollar;
increases in the estimated capital and operating costs or
unanticipated costs; difficulties attracting the necessary work
force; increases in financing costs or adverse changes to the terms
of available financing, if any; tax rates or royalties being
greater than assumed; changes in development or mining plans due to
changes in logistical, technical or other factors; changes in
project parameters as plans continue to be refined; risks relating
to receipt of regulatory approvals; delays in stakeholder
negotiations; changes in regulations applying to the development,
operation, and closure of mining operations from what currently
exists; the effects of competition in the markets in which Verde
operates; operational and infrastructure risks and the additional
risks described in Verde's Annual Information Form filed with SEDAR
in Canada (available at www.sedar.com ) for the year ended December
31, 2016. Verde cautions that the foregoing list of factors that
may affect future results is not exhaustive.
When relying on our forward-looking statements
to make decisions with respect to Verde, investors and others
should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other
uncertainties and potential events. Verde does not undertake to
update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that
may be made from time to time by Verde or on our behalf, except as
required by law.
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
OfficerTel: +55 (31) 3245 0205; Email:
cv@verdeagritech.comwww.supergreensand.com
_________________________________________1
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the bill of lading and the cargo manifest. It concerns long-haul
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