Minbos Resources (ASX:MNB) has reported ‘positive’ results from its 4-year fertiliser trials, planted across Angola, as part of commercial offtake arrangements and government research institutions.
The $78.33 million market capitalisation company says the 9 trials are testing soy, maize, beans, and potato crops across the country. The trials, designed for smallholder farmers, will determine whether Minbos’ Cabinda phosphate rock fertiliser ‘significantly’ outperforms the zero-fertilisation control in local conditions.
For commercial farmers, the trials are testing a combination of phosphate rock in the first year and a small application of triple super phosphate (TSP) each year to determine if both are effective and efficient.
Minbos reports that first-season results have now been received, and the average of 9 trials shows no significant difference between the 4 phosphate treatments, which are all statistically better than the control.
Minbos says this confirms the performance of Prosper Primeiro as a direct application fertiliser suitable for use by smallholder farmers — Minbos’s initial primary target market.
All of the trials will be replanted for the 2023-2024 season to measure the residual effect of the phosphate rock.
Meanwhile, the company says a 10th 4-year trial is underway at the Biocom sugar plantation, which was planted in January this year.
Minbos plans to continue its crop trial program with new field trials testing wheat, peanuts, cassava, and caupi beans to be planted in new locations.
The company designed the 4-year trials to integrate the outcomes of prior seasons’ field experimentation. Previously, Minbos supported 8 greenhouse experiments across 5 seasons and 14 field trials across 3 seasons.
The company says the latest results confirm 40 years of studies, demonstrating phosphate rock with high reactivity is suitable for direct application in acid soils, with low phosphorus and high rainfall for long-duration crops.
Previous trials conducted have highlighted that Angolan soils are particularly ‘high P-fixing’, which favours the slow dissolution rate of the phosphate rock versus the high solubility of imported water-soluble products (WSP).
As of 30 June 2023, Minbos Resources had $12.139 million cash and cash equivalents at hand, according to its latest quarterly report.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Minbos Resources
