Alliance unites to form Safer Phosphates™
SAGUENAY, QUEBEC – (November 15, 2017) – Arianne Phosphate (the “Company” or “Arianne”) (TSX VENTURE: DAN; OTC: DRRSF; FRANKFURT: JE9N), a development-stage phosphate mining company, advancing the Lac à Paul phosphate rock project in Quebec’s Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, has announced that it has joined Safer Phosphates™, an organization created to promote the use of safer phosphates. The organization has been formed by stakeholders concerned about the potential health risks posed by heavy metal content in phosphate and includes other phosphate producers such as PhosAgro PJSC of Russia and Foskor (Pty) Ltd. of South Africa.
“We are already seeing increased scrutiny from legislatures such as the current initiatives underway in the European Union,” said Brian Ostroff, CEO of Arianne Phosphate. “As awareness of health and environmental issues associated with phosphate continues to grow, Arianne and others will be able to provide for the increased demand for ‘clean’ phosphate. The decision for Arianne to move forward on this initiative supports our belief in safe and sustainable development and the advancement of our business model.”
Today over 90% of phosphate production comes from sedimentary deposits, with the largest based in North Africa, the Middle East and the United States. The concern is that, although not all, a significant amount of the phosphate mined from sedimentary deposits comes with substantially higher levels of impurities including heavy metals such as cadmium. Over time, these impurities build up and can make their way into the food chain through plants and crops grown on contaminated farmland. The alternative is either phosphate from sedimentary deposits that do not contain high levels of heavy metals or, phosphate that comes from igneous deposits that do not contain these harmful elements. Arianne’s Lac à Paul deposit in Canada is igneous and this, along with other igneous deposits such as those in Russia, South Africa, Brazil and Finland, as well as some sedimentary deposits, can substitute in order to provide needed phosphate but with much less impurities.
Safer Phosphates™ (www.saferphosphates.com) is a collaboration of several current and pending producers, as well as other stakeholders, to share knowledge and address concerns about potentially harmful contaminants such as heavy metals that are present in some phosphate-based fertilizers. The goal is to improve the understanding of the potential risks and promote solutions that optimize healthier fertilizer choice to support food security and sustainable agriculture.
