Preparation Laboratory: On Time, On Budget
VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - September 17, 2015) - Great Quest Fertilizer Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: GQ) (FRANKFURT: GQM) ("the Company") is pleased to report the completion of a company owned and operated preparation laboratory ("lab") in Bamako, Mali. The lab allows the Company to prepare processed and granulated product for product trials, product improvement and employee training. The facility is the first of its kind in Mali, and has produced 12,000 kg of milled and granulated fertilizers, for product trials by the Ministry of Agriculture through its department IER and our other partners in Mali.
Crushing, screening, mixing and granulating are all completed on site and in batches. The facility was erected on time over four months and within a budget of $400,000, including procuring and shipping of components from South Africa. Technicians have used the lab to produce 5,675 kg of granulated NPK 15-15-15, 1,150 kg of granulated high grade direct application phosphate, 875 kg of granulated NPK 14-18-18-6S-1B 850 and of granulated NPK 6-20-10, alongside quantities of un-granulated material.
The Company has been using the preparation lab to test the addition of colour to the products. This is in response to feedback from farmers concerned that, in the field, the fertilizer is not easily differentiated from the soil. We have been able to test a number of natural dyes, and the best results were achieved by rolling the pellets in lime dust, a product with a white coating that has been well received by farmers and industry professionals.
Building off the successful granting of environmental permits, Great Quest is working to finance Phase I production in Mali, with its local partners (SADA), international development finance institutions and NGO partners. Phase I production, costing $23.07 M, is described in the Company's PEA filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) May 1, 2015. It is based on an inferred resource of 50 million tonnes of 24.3% P2O5, yielding an IRR of 29.54% and an NPV of $14.02 M at 12%. (Please see our news release dated April 30, 2015).
The decision to commence production at the Tilemsi Phosphate project is not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability, but rather on a more preliminary estimate of inferred mineral resources. Accordingly, there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with this production decision. Production and economic variables may vary considerably, due to the absence of a complete and detailed site analysis according to and in accordance with NI 43-101.
About Great Quest
Great Quest Fertilizer Ltd. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the development of African agricultural mineral projects for local production of farm ready fertilizers. The Company's flagship asset is the Tilemsi Phosphate Project, encompassing 1,206 km ² in northeastern Mali, containing high quality phosphate resources amenable to use as direct application fertilizer. Great Quest is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol GQ, and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol GQM.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF Great Quest Fertilizer Ltd.
"Jed Richardson"
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The statements that are not historical facts and are forward-looking statements involving known and unknown risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to vary materially from the targeted results. We seek safe harbor.
Contact
For more information:
Jed Richardson
1-877-325-3838
info@greatquest.com