Appoints 2nd Marketing Agent to Sell Phosphate in Canada
Perth, Nov 13, 2014 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Phosphate developer Fertoz Limited ("Fertoz" or the "Company",) (
ASX:FTZ) is pleased to announce it has signed a Marketing and Distribution Agreement with Sunalta Fertilizer Ltd ("Sunalta") to sell rock phosphate from the Company's Wapiti and Fernie projects in British Columbia, Canada.
Sunalta is a fertilizer company focused on providing soil solutions to farms with acidic soils in the central Alberta region. Sunalta President Mr Dale Anderson said, "We are keen to work with Fertoz to market a locally produced Canadian phosphate rock and develop high value products for use in both conventional and organic agriculture."
The agreement follows the collection of approximately 1,200 tonnes of rock phosphate from Wapiti and 1,500 tonnes from the Fernie project as well as the submission of a Wapiti small mine application for 75,000 tpa of rock phosphate.
Fertoz Managing Director Les Szonyi said, "We are delighted to execute a second marketing and distribution agreement. We will work with Sunalta to establish a second phosphate processing facility, including bagging solutions for both Wapiti and Fernie rock.
"Sunalta and our fellow marketing agent, Natures Way Farms Ltd, will work closely together to maximize market penetration in western Canada. We expect to appoint further marketing agents as we become known as a reliable long-term supplier of high quality phosphate to North America, the largest agricultural market in the world."
"We have collected approximately 2,700 tonnes of sample rock to date for processing over the winter months. Our bulk sample permits allow us to collect another 24,800 tonnes in total from Wapiti and Fernie while the BC Ministry of Mines processes the Wapiti small mine application for 75,000 tpa."
The market opportunity for Fertoz's rock phosphate products has come about because conventional phosphate fertilizers are ineffective when used on the acidic soils of western Canada. Alberta has 1 million acres of farming land with strongly acidic soils and 4.5 million acres of farming land with moderately acid soils (Ref: Liming Acid Soils, Alberta Govt Department of Agriculture and Rural Development). One third of all farming land around Grande Pairie (near Wapiti) has acid soil which reduces the uptake of phosphorus by plants. The calcium carbonate in Wapiti rock phosphate effectively limes the soil, increasing the availability of phosphorus for plants. Reduced crusting of the soil along with improved crop yields and reduced power requirements for tillage are additional benefits of calcium carbonate applications on gray and dark gray wooded soils in the Peace River region near Wapiti and Grand Prairie.
The Company's Wapiti and Fernie projects (see Figure 1 in link below) are ideally located close to the major farming regions of eastern British Columbia and western Alberta. Farms in these areas are a mixture of broad-acre and intensive agricultural operations, with farmers fertilizing their ground through either broad-acre spreading or directly into seed rows.
Fertoz is aiming to have Wapiti and Fernie rock phosphate as a feedstock for third-party fertiliser distributors - to be sold by them directly to local farmers or mixed with other fertilisers by the agents and distributors. Sunalta is the second agent Fertoz has appointed to on-sell Fertoz rock phosphate as well as investigate mixing Fertoz rock phosphate with other products that provide additional soil nutritional balance.
To view figures, please visit:
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-FTZ-828859.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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