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Minbos Resources' Plan to Develop a Domestic Phosphate Fertilizer Industry

Minbos Resources develops phosphate mines and fertilizer production in Angola to boost food security and agricultural productivity in central Africa's undernourished markets.

  • Minbos Resources is focused on becoming a nutrient company to supply fertilizer to Angola, which currently imports most of its food.
  • Angola's agricultural potential is significant, with ample land, water, and a young population, but it lacks local fertilizer production.
  • The Cabinda phosphate project in Angola offers high-grade, reactive phosphate that suits the country's acidic soils and high rainfall.
  • Minbos aims to triple smallholder farmers' yields in Angola through the use of their phosphate rock, contributing to the country's agricultural growth.

About Minbos Resources

Angola has tremendous potential to develop its agricultural sector and become a major food exporter, but it currently lacks a domestic fertilizer industry to support expanded food production. Minbos Resources, an Australian company focused on nutrient minerals, aims to help Angola achieve its agricultural potential by developing a phosphate rock mine and fertilizer plant in the country.

Cabinda Phosphate Project Poised to Supply Key Nutrient

Minbos' flagship project is the Cabinda phosphate project located in the Angola exclave of Cabinda. The project contains a large, high quality phosphate deposit that is ideally suited to directly apply as fertilizer in Angola's acidic, phosphorus-deficient soils. With over 40 years of mine life based on current resource estimates, the Cabinda project can supply a low-cost source of phosphorus fertilizer to catalyze agricultural development across Angola.

Key advantages of the Cabinda phosphate resource:

  • High phosphate grade at 12-18% P2O5 ensures low mining and processing costs
  • Phosphate is reactive and soluble in acidic soils, making it readily available for crop uptake
  • Shallow overburden allows simple quarry-style mining methods
  • Low cost crushing and drying processing produces an ideal direct application fertilizer

Targeting Angola's Urgent Need for Phosphorus Fertilizer

Angola has excellent conditions for agriculture with abundant arable land, plentiful rainfall, and a large rural population. However, decades of agricultural neglect during its long civil war have left Angola's soils severely depleted of nutrients. Soil analyses show phosphorus levels below 10 ppm across most of Angola, far below the threshold for profitable crop growth.

As the first limiting nutrient in Angola's soils, applying phosphorus fertilizer is essential to increase agricultural productivity. But with no domestic production, phosphorus fertilizer is prohibitively expensive for most smallholder farmers who produce 90% of Angola's food.

The Cabinda phosphate rock is perfectly matched to Angola's soil chemistry. Its gradual nutrient release and acidic solubility make it highly efficient in Angola's acidic, phosphorus-fixing soils. Direct application trials by Minbos and partners like the International Fertilizer Development Center have shown Cabinda phosphate rock triples crop yields for key staple crops like corn and sorghum.

Integrated Operations to Unlock Agricultural Potential

In addition to fertilizer, developing Angola's agricultural potential requires an integrated solution encompassing farmer training, crop offtake agreements, food processing infrastructure, and supportive government policies.

Minbos has partnered with Kohena, an Angolan food aggregator, to develop an end-to-end program improving smallholder productivity. This partnership gives farmers both a reliable fertilizer supply from Minbos and a market for their harvests from Kohena's offtake agreements. Minbos also benefits from Angolan government initiatives to guarantee purchases from domestic food producers.

Construction Underway at Cabinda Phosphate Project

Minbos has already commenced early works construction at the Cabinda phosphate project while it finalizes funding agreements and offtake contracts. Key recent milestones include:

  • Resettlement of 41 farming families living on the ore deposit
  • Ongoing community programs to provide alternate livelihoods
  • Site preparation and excavation works underway
  • Discussions with strategic partners to secure project funding

The current development plan envisions a staged ramp up from 500,000 tonnes per year in Phase 1 up to 2 million tonnes per year for full-scale production. While the timeline has shifted to finalize funding and offtake deals, the project maintains strong momentum.

With phosphate rock production targeted for 2024, the Cabinda project can play a major role in fostering Angola's agricultural transformation. The long-term outlook remains strong with Africa facing a severe phosphorus supply deficit as populations and food demand rapidly expand. Angola is ideally positioned to fill this deficit given its high quality phosphate reserves and proximity to central African markets.

Angola Offers Compelling First-Mover Advantage

The lack of fertilizer production in Angola and central Africa represents a major opportunity for first movers like Minbos Resources. Angola provides an advantaged platform to develop this industry based on:

  • Abundant, high quality phosphate resources
  • Supportive government policies to incentivize domestic production
  • Low cost hydroelectricity for energy-intensive mineral processing
  • A large undernourished agricultural market across central Africa

Minbos' integrated mine-to-field program provides a roadmap for agricultural advancement that can be replicated across the region. While risks remain in the near-term execution, the long-term growth trajectory for both Minbos Resources and Angola appear uniquely promising. There is a limited window to establish first-mover advantage, so the opportunity for investors and strategic partners is now.

Reasons to Invest

Massive Market Opportunity

  • Angola has over 30 million people and imports most of its food. As the country develops its agricultural sector, domestic demand for fertilizer will be huge.
  • The broader central Africa region of over 200 million people also currently imports all its fertilizer needs. Angola can serve this massive import-dependent market.

Strong Competitive Position

  • Minbos Resources has first-mover advantage to develop Angola's first domestic phosphate mine and fertilizer plant.
  • The high-grade, low-cost Cabinda phosphate deposit provides a strategic natural resource advantage.
  • Partnerships with the Angolan government and food aggregators create an integrated agribusiness with captive local demand.

Excellent Growth Potential

  • Population growth across central Africa ensures a rapidly expanding customer base for fertilizer.
  • Most of Angola's arable land is uncultivated, offering massive room for agricultural expansion.
  • Food security is a top priority for the Angolan government, providing policy support to grow the sector.
  • Beyond fertilizer, the project offers optionality to produce phosphoric acid and yellow phosphorus for export.

Strong Management

  • An experienced resource industry executive team with multiple projects developed across Africa and beyond.
  • Key partners add agricultural, logistics, and marketing expertise to complement technical strengths.

Long-term Competitive Advantage

  • Angola's low-cost hydroelectricity allows low-cost production of phosphate fertilizer and derivatives.
  • Cabinda's isolated location provides control over a strategic phosphate reserve not available elsewhere in the region.

In summary, this investment provides exposure to Angola's high-growth agricultural development story, with a strong competitive position and massive long-term potential.

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