TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – TSX-listed project developer Verde Potash has announced that it would transition from being a mainly commodity-focused company to embrace the agricultural-technology industry, leveraging the technological advances it has achieved in progressing its its Cerrado Verde project, located in Brazil.
"The company has gone through a meticulous review of its products and business opportunities and believes there is a much more lucrative future in agri-tech as opposed to the highly capital intensive route of building, developing and operating mines,” president and CEO Cristiano Veloso stated.
The company on Monday announced that it would change its name to Verde AgriTech, expecting to penetrate multiple agri-tech markets with its flagship product TK47, which was a multi-function innovative product that combined benefits for plant nutrition, plant protection, soil improvement and increased sustainability.
Verde expected to start initial TK47 production using small existing idle industrial facilities on a contract basis, which was expected to reduce upfront capital cost and accelerate cash generation. It expected to award contracts during the first half of 2016.
Verde's agri-tech growth plan includes partnerships with some of the world's largest agricultural producers. In time and Phase 1 had been successfully implemented, Verde planned to develop its own greenfield production facility in the company’s second expansion phase.
“Utilising existing manufacturing facilities will allow Verde to start generating cash almost from the outset and thus minimises dilution and greatly reduces equity holder loss,” Veloso said.
Verde noted that as a direct result of its extensive research and development of TK47 and its likely derivatives, the company now recognised that a significant opportunity has been created and that it would be better advanced by positioning itself as an agri-tech company.
Several laboratory and field studies had demonstrated TK47's multi-functionality, allowing the company to increasingly understand its fuller range of commercial and agronomic benefits.
Brazil's crop protection market alone was worth $12.2-billion in 2014, according to the company.
Verde's potassium silicate deposit hosted a combined compliant measured and indicated resource of 1.47-million tonnes, at an average grade of 9.28% potassium oxide (K2O) and an inferred resource of 1.85-million tonnes grading 8.6% K2O (both using a 7.5% K2O cut-off grade).