Verde Potash (TSE:NPK) said today it expects to conclude off-take negotiations for its flagship project in Brazil during the second quarter of this year.
Talks are currently underway with a number of parties and it has had expressions of interest from fertilizer blenders and agricultural conglomerates.
The development of the Cerrado Verde project comes at a time when the Brazilian fertilizer industry is booming, the Toronto listed firm revealed.
In a statement today it said that, according to ANDA, Brazil’s national fertilizer association, potash consumption increased 9.3% in 2012.
Brazil bucked the worldwide trend, it says, as global consumption of potash actually declined.
The country, however, imported 7.5mln tonnes of potash last year which was 93% of its consumption. The bulk of these imports take up to four months to be transported.
Verde says, however its proposed mine is well positioned to address Brazil's chronic potash deficit, as it is just four hours away from Uberaba, a fertilizer blending district which accounted for 500,000 tonnes of Brazil’s potash consumption last year.
Verde also highlighted in its statement today that it is now awaiting a decision on its ‘licença prévia’ application.
It said the 1,500 page document was submitted in August, in November the company hosted a ‘very successful’ public hearing which was attended by local residents, and in December the authorities requested additional information from the company.
“Verde is focused on advancing the engineering, permitting and financing of the Cerrado Verde project,” said chief executive Cristiano Veloso.
“Our strong cash position ($21.2 million as at September 30, 2012) and first rate technical team provide us with all of the resources necessary to publish our bankable feasibility study and drive the project towards construction."
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