Increases Bulk Sample To 9,500 t And Targets 20,000 t
Brisbane, April 30, 2014 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Fertoz Limited ("Fertoz" or the "Company") (
ASX:FTZ) is pleased to announce that it has received approval for a second bulk sample at its Wapiti East phosphate project in British Columbia, Canada. This second bulk sample allows Fertoz to extract an additional 2,000 tonnes of product for sale to the North American agricultural market. Due to the Company's previous bulk sample approval of 7,500 tonnes, obtained in February 2014, the Company now has a permit to extract a total of 9,500 tonnes of phosphate.
Since the approval of the 7,500 tonne bulk sample in February 2014 the Company has been waiting for favourable weather conditions to start the sample collection. However, unseasonably warm weather has prevented an ice bridge being constructed across Red Deer creek to access the sample location. Road access improvements were able to be carried out in March and the Company is ready to extract its first saleable material as soon as the snow melts in the June quarter.
Managing Director Les Szonyi said, "We expect minor creek crossings will become passable and the roads will dry out towards the end of May allowing bulk sample collection to start."
"We have taken advantage of the delay by having a second bulk sample approved and plan to increase each bulk sample to 10,000 tonnes to enable a total of 20,000 tonnes to be collected in 2014.The second bulk sample location also has the advantage that it can be accessed from upstream of Red Deer creek and does not require a portable bridge to be installed across the creek."
Two organic farmers, as announced 3 April 2014, are ready to take product at the mine gate as soon as it is available. The farmers will be undertaking farm trials and will be responsible for freight and rock phosphate processing.
Laboratory test results on the Company's Wapiti phosphate revealed a very high phosphate availability (10% compared to many other organic fertilisers that have availability as low as 3%). In addition, the Wapiti phosphate contained important secondary and tertiary minerals required for good plant growth making it suitable for North American organic markets.
The Company has commenced discussions with potential marketing agents and distributors, with the aim of appointing one in 2014. Fertoz has also started on a small scale (up to 75,000tpa) mining lease application which will include mine planning studies. The Company is reviewing a number of phosphate product options (such as bulk, pelletized and bagged phosphate) with the aim of supplying the US and Canadian organic markets in 2014.
About Wapiti
The Wapiti Project (which includes the Wapiti East and Wapiti West tenements) totals an area of 18,070 ha and is located near Tumbler Ridge, in British Columbia, Canada. The project is easily accessible by sealed roads and forest service roads and has rail access within 80 km. The Company is focused on the Wapiti East tenements and previous work indicates a consistent and continuous at-surface phosphate-bearing horizon which has a potential strike length of up to 39km. Results of phosphate testing indicates up to 10% availability which makes the product at Wapiti East particularly attractive to the North American organic sector, the largest organic market in the world.
To view figures and diagrams, please visit:
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-FTZ-794727.pdf
About Fertoz Ltd
Fertoz (ASX:FTZ) is an Australian-based phosphate exploration and development company with a range of projects in British Columbia, Canada as well as Queensland and the Northern Territory. The Company is focused on becoming a fertiliser producer as quickly as possible, initially focusing on the Canadian/USA markets.
Fertoz plans to develop its exploration assets in Canada in order to identify any potential Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) projects. It intends to seek joint venture partners to assist in funding the exploration projects in Australia.
Phosphate is a commodity necessary for feeding the world, and Fertoz is ready to capitalise on this growing demand.
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