Chatham Provides Quarterly Update and Comments On World Food Safety and Security Issues

Chatham Rock Phosphate Ltd. has provided a quarterly update.

World food safety and security

The company also wishes to discuss the rapidly developing world food security and food safety concerns and Chatham’s strong strategic position in respect of both.

In a recent International Fertilizer Association announcement, the importance of recognizing the fundamental importance of fertilizers in securing world food security was clearly spelt out.

With Russia and Belarus supplying 41 per cent of the world supply of fertilizers and no end in sight of the conflict in Ukraine, the world is reassessing potential sources of secure and safe fertilizers.

As mined, rock phosphate is the only source of phosphorus and access to low cadmium phosphate rock is an essential part of the realignment of the supply chain to provide safe fertilizers to feed the world.

Russia was the major supplier of low cadmium phosphate to Europe.

Chatham Rock’s focus on low cadmium phosphate in Australia, French Polynesia and New Zealand projects places it in a unique position to be part of this restructured world supply chain.

While farmers and agronomists talk about the 4Rs for fertilizer addition (right nutrient, right rate, right time and right place),

Chatham Rock can confirm:

Chatham Rock has the right nutrient — low cadmium phosphate.

Chatham Rock has the right rate of supply — developing two-million-tonne-per-annum export mine in Queensland, 250,000-tonne-per-annum mine on Makatea, French Polynesia, and 1.5-million-tonne-per-annum phosphate recovery project Chatham Rise.

Chatham Rock is developing its project at the right time — with project development under way, it is matching the current realignment in the world supply chain.

Chatham Rock has projects in the right place — well-located projects capable of meeting the needs of the Indo-Pacific region, as well as exporting to Europe.

• Chatham Rock has the right nutrient — low cadmium phosphate.
• Chatham Rock has the right rate of supply — developing two-million-tonne-per-annum export mine in Queensland, 250,000-tonne-per-annum mine on Makatea, French Polynesia, and 1.5-million-tonne-per-annum phosphate recovery project Chatham Rise.
• Chatham Rock is developing its project at the right time — with project development under way, it is matching the current realignment in the world supply chain.
• Chatham Rock has projects in the right place — well-located projects capable of meeting the needs of the Indo-Pacific region, as well as exporting to Europe.

In summary, Chatham Rock is the right company to become an integral part of the new secure supply chain to provide safe fertilizers to feed the growing world.

Quarterly update

Most recently, the company reported on its successful participation in the Investors Exchange in the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) annual conference staged in Toronto on June 13 to June 15. Chatham was represented by chief executive officer Chris Castle and executive director Colin Randall. As reported, it was an incredibly busy three days as it met with dozens of parties interested in either working with Chatham group companies, investing for the first time or increasing their existing investment.

The strong forward momentum established at PDAC has continued following the conference with numerous follow-up remote meetings with various parties around the globe.

Other recent announcements include:

The confirmation in April of a significantly oversubscribed private placement which raised $2,197,753 ($2,520,952 (New Zealand)). Due to this success, Chatham now enjoys its strongest financial position since the company was established in 2006.

Subsequently, it announced that it had engaged CSIRO (the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) to evaluate the potential to extract rare earths from its Korella mine and Korella South phosphate ore using biomining technology. Samples of phosphate and overlying sediments have been supplied to CSIRO for initial testing. Korella phosphate is enriched with rare earth elements (REE) and CSIRO will use biomining technology, utilizing microbes, to study the potential to extract REE. In past exploration of the Korella deposit, the presence of yttrium (Y) mainly in the form of xenotime (YPO4) was identified. The previous explorer, Krucible, reported an inferred JORC (Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves) resource of 4.2 million tonnes at 746 g/t (grams per tonne) Y. Also, in past exploration, other more valuable heavy REE, such as neodymium (Nd) and dysprosium (Dy), were identified as being associated with the yttrium but no systematic testing for these additional REE was conducted.

In May, the company announced that its subsidiary, Avenir Makatea Pty. (trading as Korella Terminals), had commenced a scoping study into a stand-alone five-million-tonne-per-annum phosphate/fertilizer export facility in the Port of Townsville (Korella Terminal). This study is being undertaken by an assembled team of industry specialists who bring together years of experience in logistics, major capital works construction, port operations/construction and financing of new major port/rail facilities for bulk commodities.

At the same time, a scoping study for a two-million-tonne-per-annum phosphate export mine based on Korella South is under way and will underpin the economic basis for the five-million-tonne-per-annum export facility in the Port of Townsville.

Later that month, the company provided a further update on the activities now taking place under the umbrella of its 100-per-cent-owned subsidiary, Pacific Rare Earths Ltd. (PRE). PRE was originally formed in 2018 to project manage a rare earths elements (REE) study on rock phosphate nodules and seafloor muds on the Chatham Rise. PRE is now co-ordinating the scoping study for concentration of total rare earth oxides (TREO) from the company’s Korella mine and Korella South exploration area. Three rare earth oxides, yttrium, neodymium and dysprosium, described as critical minerals and heavy rare earth elements, are found in abundance at Korella and Korella South, as well as Chatham Rise.

In June, the company provided a further update on the dicalcium phosphate (DCP) manufacturing project it announced on Jan. 14, 2022. DCP and derivative monocalcium phosphate (MCP) are essential additives to improve bone growth and structure in all farmed animals. DCP and MCP are added to the feed ration and are an important ingredient in supplemental feeding. Samples had been sent in February to phosphate technology specialists Prayon SA for testing to establish the parameters for production of DCP through its GetMoreP technology. Prayon undertook tests in accordance with the standard appraisal protocols for the GetMoreP process. Initial test work suggests, with slight modifications using their process technology suite, low-grade Korella phosphate is a suitable feedstock for MCP production with European Union acceptable fluorine levels.

Most recently, the company reported further on the acquisition of the fully permitted Korella phosphate mine in Queensland, Australia, with its ability to generate positive cash flows starting in 2022. It still expects acquisition documentation will be completed and executed in the near future.

• The confirmation in April of a significantly oversubscribed private placement which raised $2,197,753 ($2,520,952 (New Zealand)). Due to this success, Chatham now enjoys its strongest financial position since the company was established in 2006.
• Subsequently, it announced that it had engaged CSIRO (the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) to evaluate the potential to extract rare earths from its Korella mine and Korella South phosphate ore using biomining technology. Samples of phosphate and overlying sediments have been supplied to CSIRO for initial testing. Korella phosphate is enriched with rare earth elements (REE) and CSIRO will use biomining technology, utilizing microbes, to study the potential to extract REE. In past exploration of the Korella deposit, the presence of yttrium (Y) mainly in the form of xenotime (YPO4) was identified. The previous explorer, Krucible, reported an inferred JORC (Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves) resource of 4.2 million tonnes at 746 g/t (grams per tonne) Y. Also, in past exploration, other more valuable heavy REE, such as neodymium (Nd) and dysprosium (Dy), were identified as being associated with the yttrium but no systematic testing for these additional REE was conducted.
• In May, the company announced that its subsidiary, Avenir Makatea Pty. (trading as Korella Terminals), had commenced a scoping study into a stand-alone five-million-tonne-per-annum phosphate/fertilizer export facility in the Port of Townsville (Korella Terminal). This study is being undertaken by an assembled team of industry specialists who bring together years of experience in logistics, major capital works construction, port operations/construction and financing of new major port/rail facilities for bulk commodities.
• At the same time, a scoping study for a two-million-tonne-per-annum phosphate export mine based on Korella South is under way and will underpin the economic basis for the five-million-tonne-per-annum export facility in the Port of Townsville.
• Later that month, the company provided a further update on the activities now taking place under the umbrella of its 100-per-cent-owned subsidiary, Pacific Rare Earths Ltd. (PRE). PRE was originally formed in 2018 to project manage a rare earths elements (REE) study on rock phosphate nodules and seafloor muds on the Chatham Rise. PRE is now co-ordinating the scoping study for concentration of total rare earth oxides (TREO) from the company’s Korella mine and Korella South exploration area. Three rare earth oxides, yttrium, neodymium and dysprosium, described as critical minerals and heavy rare earth elements, are found in abundance at Korella and Korella South, as well as Chatham Rise.
• In June, the company provided a further update on the dicalcium phosphate (DCP) manufacturing project it announced on Jan. 14, 2022. DCP and derivative monocalcium phosphate (MCP) are essential additives to improve bone growth and structure in all farmed animals. DCP and MCP are added to the feed ration and are an important ingredient in supplemental feeding. Samples had been sent in February to phosphate technology specialists Prayon SA for testing to establish the parameters for production of DCP through its GetMoreP technology. Prayon undertook tests in accordance with the standard appraisal protocols for the GetMoreP process. Initial test work suggests, with slight modifications using their process technology suite, low-grade Korella phosphate is a suitable feedstock for MCP production with European Union acceptable fluorine levels.
• Most recently, the company reported further on the acquisition of the fully permitted Korella phosphate mine in Queensland, Australia, with its ability to generate positive cash flows starting in 2022. It still expects acquisition documentation will be completed and executed in the near future.