Positive potash resource pushes Davenport 12pc higher

Potash play Davenport Resources has released positive historic resource numbers at its recently acquired Ebeleben mining licence in Germany.

Devenport is aiming to reinvigorate the South Harz region of Germany as a globally significant potash producing region.

The historic resource — estimated in 1987 — comes in at 356 million tonnes of 16.1 per cent potassium oxide in sylvinite, equivalent to 91 million tonnes of potassium chloride (KCI).

Potassium chloride (KCl) is used as a fertiliser, in medicine, scientific applications and food processing. It also has a more morbid use, to cause cardiac arrest as the third drug in the “three drug cocktail” for executions by lethal injection.

The stock gained 12.5 per cent to 9c in Wednesday afternoon trade.

“The detailed information supporting this historic resource estimate will allow Davenport to fast track cost-effective brownfields evaluation of the area with the aim of reinvigorating the South Harz as a globally significant potash producing region,” Davenport managing director Chris Bain said.

Ebeleben is one of three perpetual mining licences in the South Harz basin that Davenport acquired recently from the German government.

The Ebeleben area is considered an extension of the Volkenroda potash mine which operated for more than 80 years to 1991.

Davenport cautioned investors the Ebeleben resource estimate is a historical foreign estimate and doesn’t comply with the JORC Code.

Mr Bain said a minimum number of carefully located confirmation drill holes can validate these historic resources to allow conversion to JORC 2012 standard.

JORC compliance refers to the mining industry’s code for reporting exploration results, mineral resources and ore reserves, managed by the Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee.

Further historic resources on the other mining licences acquired from the German government will be released as the data is reviewed.

Davenport has a market cap of around $3 million.