CRP
10/12/2014 11:08
GENERAL
PRICE SENSITIVE
REL: 1108 HRS Chatham Rock Phosphate Limited
GENERAL: CRP: Chatham Rock Phosphate to receive Callaghan R&D grant
Media Release
10 December 2014
Chatham Rock Phosphate to receive Callaghan R&D grant
Chatham Rock Phosphate (CRP) is delighted to announce it will receive a
Callaghan Innovation Research and Development (R&D) Growth Grant.
Callaghan provides R&D Growth Grants to increase R&D investment in
businesses. These on-demand, three-year grants provide 20 per cent public
co-funding for qualifying firms' eligible R&D expenditure, capped at $5m per
annum. After two years of funding, businesses can be granted a two-year
extension of funding.
"We are honoured our project has been recognised. We consider the grant to
be a strong endorsement of the innovation CRP has demonstrated since 2010 in
developing a pioneering project in the marine mining industry with strong
ties to New Zealand's most important export earner, agriculture," managing
director Chris Castle said.
Chatham Rise-based rock phosphate will offer the opportunity for New
Zealand's farming industry to derive new environmental benefits from the use
of a low cadmium, low carbon footprint, low run-off organic product.
"The grant will enable CRP to increase its expenditure in innovative parts of
our business, supporting and growing New Zealand's scientific and engineering
capability.
"Once production starts, CRP expects to be a $200 million dollar a year
business with significant on-going investment in R&D."
Over the past four years CRP has raised more than $33 million, much of which
has been invested in scientific research to prepare the information required
for a marine consent and mining permit. CRP is currently in the final stages
of its marine consent process, awaiting a decision on its application. It
was granted a mining permit in late 2013.
One of the first priorities of CRP's research plan is to demonstrate the
agronomic effectiveness of direct application of CRP's phosphorite rock and
to develop a strategy for growing the domestic and international market for
this phosphorus source. Scientists from AgResearch and Lincoln University
will supervise field trials of direct application of CRP's phosphorite rock
to determine optimum application programmes for typical New Zealand pastoral
uses, including established hill country grazed pasture and high producing
pastures under intensive dairy grazing.
Similar trials in the 1980s demonstrated the potential value of the resource
as a direct application fertiliser, and these will be updated to demonstrate
the applicability of the product to modern farming practices. The emphasis
will be on New Zealand farming conditions but the results are expected to be
applicable to global markets.
Benefits of direct application of CRP's product include reduced cadmium
buildup in the soil, lower phosphate runoff in waterways, and reduced need
for fertiliser application in the medium to long term.
Other research priorities include:
- collecting environmental data from the Chatham Rise to better understand
the natural spatial and temporal variability of oceanographic conditions and
sea floor habitats
- trialling the placement of hard material on the sea floor to encourage
re-establishment of sensitive benthic habitats
- testing components of the mining system at 400 m on the Chatham Rise
- developing novel techniques to monitor the dynamic sediment plume generated
by the mining operations.
CRP has already started discussions with New Zealand and international
research organisations about some of these projects.
Contact Chris Castle on +64 21 55 81 85 or [email protected]
End CA:00258736 For:CRP Type:GENERAL Time:2014-12-10 11:08:30
