Harvest Minerals Ltd - Positive Agronomical Test Results on Carrots

To view the announcement with the illustrative images and diagrams please use the following link: 
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/6899L_1-2021-1-14.pdf
 

Harvest Minerals Limited / Index: LSE / Epic: HMI / Sector: Mining

14 January 2021

Harvest Minerals Limited ('Harvest' or the 'Company')

Harvest Announces Positive Agronomical Test Results of KP Fértil® on Carrots

Harvest Minerals Limited, the AIM listed remineraliser producer, is pleased to announce positive agronomic test results for carrot crops using KP Fértil®, Harvest's direct application natural remineraliser produced at the Company's 100% owned Arapua Fertiliser Project in Brazil ('Arapua').

Highlights:

·    Agronomic tests using KP Fértil® returned superior yield performance in crop experiments in carrots compared to today's widely used standard application

·    KP Fértil® contributed to a significant increase in soil nutrients, especially Phosphorus

·    Over 78% of the cultivated carrots using KP Fértil® achieved length size within the preferred market range

·    The inclusion of KP Fértil® in the mix of fertilisers has the potential to deliver direct savings of 7.2% in fertilisation costs

Brian McMaster, Chairman of Harvest, said: "The performance from the agronomic tests using our KP Fértil® in carrot crops was outstanding in many aspects including soil nutrition, productivity and economic gains to the farmer. These results add to our portfolio of superior agronomical results, which have also been reported on sugarcane and coffee, among other cultures, reinforcing the versatility of our product and its wide application optionality. As with our other agronomical tests, these positive results will be instrumental for our commercial team in increasing our client portfolio." 

Further Information:

Harvest commissioned a range of agronomic tests for carrot crops, which were conducted under the supervision of The Institute of Agricultural Research of Cerrado (the 'IPACER'), an independent and one of the most respected fertiliser and agriculture research firms in Brazil.  The experiments took place between March and September 2020 at the IPACER's agronomic test facility in the city of Rio Paranaíba, state of Minas Gerais.

The field trials intended to evaluate the efficiency of KP Fértil® as a partial substitute of the more expensive conventional fertiliser usually applied in crops of carrots, measuring the results in terms of productivity, residual effect, and economic advantage to the farmer.

The experiments demonstrated that the use of KP Fértil® contributed to a significant increase in Phosphorous ('P'), Calcium ('Ca'), Magnesium ('Mg'), Zinc ('Zn'), Boron ('B'), Copper ('Cu') and Manganese ('Mn') in the soil. The carrot productivity was also 7.7% higher, achieving 84.42 tonnes per hectare (ha^-1) compared to the 78.34 tonnes per ha^-1 from the IPACER Standard application. The vast majority of the cultivated carrots using KP Fértil® also achieved the range of length desired by the market, which is between 18cm and 26cm.

Finally, the economic results showed that the inclusion of KP Fértil® in the mix of fertilisers has the potential to deliver direct savings of 7.2% in the fertilisation costs producing superior crop outcome. In addition, the IPACER estimated savings of R$120.0 per tonne in operational costs and an increase of P₂O₅ in the order of 86.56 kg per tonne in the soil, which would be equivalent to R$407.0 per tonne in cost savings.

Soil Nutrients Results

The use of KP Fértil® as a source of nutrients for carrot crops yielded a significant increment of Phosphorus in the soil and also showed to be a superior source of Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, Copper and Manganese.

Productivity Results

The use of KP Fértil® in the mix of fertilisers yielded a productivity of 84.42 tonnes per ha^-1, or 7.7% higher compared to the 78.34 tonnes per ha^-1 from the standard application. In addition, 78.3% of the cultivated carrots using KP Fértil® achieved the length size of best marketable products, which are comprised of carrots with length size between 18cm and 26cm. These results are 24% superior to the crop using the IPACER Standard fertiliser application.

**ENDS**

 For further information, please visit www.harvestminerals.net or contact: