TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Brazil-focused Verde Potash on Thursday reported positive results for a field test of a new potash product called ThermoPotash (TK), which the company plans to produce, with coffee crops.

The trial indicated that TK was more efficient in delivering potassium than potassium chloride (KCl), generating an equivalent coffee yield, while using only 36% of the potash (K₂O) that was applied to the KCl test plots.

The field test was conducted over a 30-month growing period, beginning in 2010, in Brazil. The test was conducted by Verde in conjunction with the Agricultural Research Company of Minas Gerais (Epamig), the agricultural research service of the government of Minas Gerais state.

Each coffee tree on the TK plots was treated with 80 g of K₂O equivalent, and trees on the KCl plots were treated with 220 g of K₂O equivalent. Yields on both plots were equivalent despite the difference in K₂O applied.

The field tests were conducted at Epamig's experimental farm located in Patrocínio, under the coordination of researchers Paulo Tácito Gontijo Guimarães and Kaio Gonçalves de Lima Dias.

The tests concluded that TK is an efficient source of potash and also a source of calcium, magnesium and silicon.

TK was applied only once at the beginning of the 30-month test period, while KCl was applied to the field on four separate occasions, replicating what occurs in real-world farming, where seasonal KCl applications are standard practice to combat the effects of leaching.

Verde underscored the fact that the ability to apply a single dose of TK versus multiple doses of KCl has positive implications for application costs.

TK is a controlled release, nonchloride, multinutrient potash fertiliser developed by Verde. It is a new product that is expected to compete against other premium nonchloride potash fertilisers in the Brazilian market, such as potassium sulphate and potassium nitrate.

ThermoPotash was approved for use as a potash fertiliser by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture on June 24, and is now eligible for sale in Brazil.

The product does not contain chloride, which research had shown is responsible for a reduction in the quality of coffee beverages.

Verde, last month, revealed that it plans to undertake the development of its flagship Cerrado Verde potash project in a phased approach.

The company said it had moved away from its previous plan to start directly on the implementation of a capital-intensive, large-scale production facility. The project would now be developed in two phases, with the first to comprise the construction of a 1 000 t/d Flex Plant for the production of TK.

The Flex Plant would also be used to run the pyro stage of a larger KCI production phase. The successful operation of the pyro stage of the KCl production process would enable the company to obtain the desired performance guarantees for Phase 2 of the new strategy, which would see the development of a 12 000 t/d kiln for KCI production.

Brazil is the world’s third-largest agricultural exporter. Potash is a critical fertiliser for agriculture, yet the country currently imports about 90% of its potash from distant locations such as Saskatchewan and Belarus.

Brazil was the largest importer of potash globally in 2012 at 7.5-million tonnes of KCl. Potash consumption in Brazil has posted a ten-year compound average growth rate of 4.7%, much stronger than potash consumption globally at 2.3%.

Vale currently operates the only potash mine in Brazil, which met only 7% of the country’s needs, and this resource is expected to be depleted in 2016.

The government of Brazil has stated that one of its goal is for the country to become fertiliser independent by 2020. To meet Brazil’s growing demand for a domestic potash supply, Verde Potash is developing the Cerrado Verde potash project, which is situated in the heart of ‘The Cerrado’, Brazil’s largest agricultural market.

The Cerrado Verde project is unique because of its high-grade potash rock outcrops and the fact that it is amenable to strip mining, allowing fast construction of a scalable operation.