Name of the Project
Arapua remineraliser project.

Location
Brazil.

Project Owner/s
Harvest Minerals.

Project Description
Harvest produces KPFértil, a multinutrient direct application natural remineraliser, at its Arapua project.

The project entails the significant expansion of the project.

The project will include four additional knife mills, conveyor belts and supporting structures.

The new knife mills will act as secondary mills fed from the current primary mill to create one processing line with a planned capacity of up to 400 000 t/y.

The expansion creates one production line, with additional production lines to be added as required.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
The project is fully funded to meet the capital cost of the expansion.

Planned Start/End Date
The project is expected to be installed and commissioned by the start of the second quarter of this year.

Latest Developments
The Brazilian Environmental Department, or Supram, has issued Harvest Minerals the full environmental permit for the Arapua remineraliser project.

The permit enables Harvest to mine and process up to 400 000 t/y, which can be further increased when required.

In addition, the company has been granted permission to further increase the size of the run-of-mine (RoM) storage areas and clear some other areas to assist with production as required.

The award of the full mining permit by the Agência Nacional de Mineração is expected to follow in due course.

“As a producer of an organic product, we are very aware of environmental considerations. Sustainability is a key consideration for Harvest and we aim to have minimal environmental impact. Our production facilities don't use any water or produce any waste,” said executive chairperson Brian McMaster.

In addition to the environmental considerations, the permit allows Harvest to produce at a rate above current nameplate capacity.

“As we announced recently, we are increasing production areas in anticipation of next year and beyond, and having the environmental consent to move forward is very important,” McMaster has noted.

The company recently increased the size of the current openpit by stripping the soil cover from 6 000 m2 and exposing 70 000 t of weathered kamafugite, which is being mined using the company's equipment. 

Owing to the heavily weathered nature of the ore, it required no blasting and was simply being loaded onto trucks by a loader to be taken to the RoM storage area. As part of this work, a new RoM storage area has been created adjacent to the pit.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Harvest Minerals, tel +61 8 9200 1847 or fax +61 8 9227 6390.