Harvest Minerals Limited (LON:HMI) has extended its trial mining permit at Arapua in Brazil to a rolling 50,000 tonne basis ahead of an application for a full licence in April.
Approval of the full licence is likely to take between 1-2 years depending on when Harvest decides to submit the feasibility study, but during this period Harvest can now continue to operate without interruption until a decision is reached.
The full application will contain details of all geological, metallurgical and agronomic work completed at Arapua to date.
Once this is approved, Harvest has a further year to submit a feasibility study and the respective application to Brazil’s DNPM.
Brian McMaster, executive chairman, said: "By starting the process of applying for a Full Mining Licence, including submitting an extension application for the Trial Mining Permit, Harvest is putting in place the foundations for a long term and sizable fertilizer project. We are progressing with our product's testwork and certification and remain on track."
House broker Beaufort expects to see the mine at Maximus, a high grade zone at Arapua, developing in two stages into a 500,000 tonne annual operation.
To get there will require capex of US$1.0mln, total mine operating costs of $7/t and a conservative long-term sales price of $55/t, said the broker.