Great Quest strenghtens expert board for Mali phosphate project

Creating a body with the specific purpose of assisting in the commercial development of their phosphate project was a strong and committed move by Great Quest Metals (TSX: GQ) (Quest) when they set up the ‘Phosphate Advisory Committee’ earlier this month. The move was aimed at getting the most out of the company’s Malian Tin Hina Phosphate Project, making it commercially viable in the quickest and most efficient way. Quest have not been resting on their laurels since the committee inception however, and just last week announced they have expanded the group further, with the addition of Mr Ehud Levy, a phosphates manufacturing industry consultant, who at the same time was appointed to the board of directors.

All the signals remain clear; Quest are gathering some of the best scientists, agricultural experts and business developers in this sector, which should not only bring the phosphate project to commercial success in a timely fashion, but will, as we touch on later, have the potential to significantly help the people of Mali in their agricultural production.

By way of background, Great Quest Metals is a Canadian based resource company focused on the exploration and development of mineral concessions in Mali and Canada. The company has a market capitalisation of C$37.6 million, with zero debt, C$46,500 in cash and a working capital of C$5.1 million. The company’s key assets are three significant gold projects in Mali, more recently a phosphate project also in Mali, and a copper-gold-molybdenum project in British Columbia, Canada.

As highlighted, earlier this month Quest established the Phosphate Advisory Committee to assist with the commercial development of its Tin Hina Phosphate Project in Eastern Mali. Initially Dr Lamine Traoré of the Rural Economy Institute of Mali joined the committee, along with company directors Mamadou Keita, Jed Richardson and Victor Jones. This most recent addition of Mr Ehud Levy brings a further business development aspect to the committee.

Quest highlight Mr Levy formed his international consulting firm following a thirty year career in Israel with Bateman Engineering, the international project engineering company serving the mining industry, and Rotem, a component of ICL, one of the world’s largest fertilizer and specialty chemical companies.  Most recently, at Bateman-Litwin, Mr Levy was Managing Director of the Chemical Technologies Division directing project initiation and new processes for sophisticated applications of phosphates.  At Rotem, the Phosphate division of ICL, Mr Levy was Manager of Research and Development, responsible for fertilizers, phosphoric acid and new business development including project control of new plant design and commissioning, along with market analysis for advanced phosphate products.  Naturally the Board of Quest see these experiences and skills as a natural fit for the development of the Tin Hina Project, with Quest’s Chairman Victor Jones saying “Mr Levy brings considerable senior executive expertise on the commercial development of phosphate deposits and products to this key project and we are very pleased to expand the team and complement the exploration strengths of the company”.

The company’s phosphate concessions cover some 737 square kilometres of the Tilemsi valley in Eastern Mali, for its occurrences of natural phosphate, around 85 kilometres northeast of Bourem on the Niger river. This follows a move in June by Quest, where they entered into an agreement with a private Malian company to acquire a 97% interest in the 320 square kilometres Tarkint Est concession in eastern Mali, which is to the north of, and contiguous with, the company's 88% held Tin Hina concession. In 2009, 26 grab samples were taken at Tin Hina, taken over a length of 6,870 metres along 3 sides of the Alfatchafa hill from a 0.4 to 1.7 metre thick bed of phosphate rock. The results form this sampling came in positive, averaging 24.5% phosphorus oxide.

In the new Tarkint Est concession, the phosphate occurs mainly in hills in the area which have been eroded away in the vicinity of valleys. Of the three known zones, the Chanamaguel phosphate occurrence is receiving the most interest, with the maximum thickness of the phosphate layer reported to be one metre.  Two samples taken at the site in the late 1950s showed 25.4% phosphorus oxide over 1 metre, and 29.1% phosphorus oxide over 0.95 metres. Four samples were taken from the Tagit N’Ouerane zone, north of the Chanamaguel, in 1979, and showed assays ranging from 10.65% phosphorus oxide to 20.99% phosphorus oxide, showing an average concentration of 16.96% phosphorus oxide. The samples also showed the thickness of the layer ranged from 0.10 to 0.80 metres.

Quest have said that these various findings at both the Tin Hina and Tarkint Est concessions support a decision to continue exploration for commercial sources of natural phosphate for the Mali market. As we touched on earlier, the use of phosphate as a fertiliser has a lot of potential to benefit the Mali agricultural industry and farmers. Known as le Phosphate Naturel de Tilemsi (PNT), from the region of Mali where the Tin Hina and Tarkint Est concessions are located, this phosphate material, when mined, pulverized and applied to Malian soil, has been shown to significantly increase the yield of various agricultural crops. Phosphate plays a key role in vigorous plant growth and is an integral component of most fertilizers. The study of the optimal preparation and application of phosphate is a field of current research as concerns for sustainable agriculture grow.

By bringing on board a focused set of experts, both for the scientific and agricultural aspect of the phosphate projects, but also the business development and commercial realisation side of things, as the most recent appointment of Mr Levy will be doing, Quest have committed themselves to realising the full potential of their Mali phosphate prospects as quickly and economically as possible. Aimed at the Mali market itself, the potential for production not just to be a profitable commercial exercise for Quest, but also to benefit the people of Mali directly, leaves the company in an enviable position of being able to make money while improving the lives of citizens it already provides much philanthropic work for.