Verdant Minerals Gets Green Light for Ammaroo Phosphate Project

Verdant Minerals has received approval for a mining licence for its flagship Ammaroo phosphate project.

In an October 8 announcement, the privately owned company said the approval from the Northern Territory government follows the granting of two mineral leases early in 2025.

Gerard Maley, minister for mining and energy, said the approval highlights the government’s commitment to supporting major projects that deliver jobs, investment and long-term economic benefits for the Northern Territory.

“Ammaroo will be a transformative project for the Barkly and Central Australia, and another example of the Territory powering the industries that drive our future,” Maley commented.

Ammaroo is located approximately 270 kilometres northeast of Alice Springs and 95 kilometres from the Adelaide to Darwin Railway. Its independent JORC resource stands at 1.141 billion tonnes of phosphorus pentoxide at an average grade of 14 percent, and a cut-off grade of 10 percent.

According to Verdant, that makes the property “the largest JORC compliant phosphate resource in Australia and one of the largest undeveloped phosphate resources in the world.”

With the mining licence, Ammaroo is on track to reach a final investment decision and commence construction as early as mid-2027. The project is expected to create around 400 jobs during construction. Once operational, it is projected to have 250 long-term roles and a production value of AU$15 billion over a 25 year mine life.

“Containing more than one billion tonnes of phosphate ore, Ammaroo is strategically significant for both agricultural development and clean energy technologies,” Verdant said in its press release.

The company highlights phosphate as a vital ingredient in fertilisers, as well as a key feedstock in the lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery supply chain.

“Ammaroo will help strengthen regional phosphate rock supply at a time of global uncertainty. We’re ready to move from planning to execution and create a reliable, NT-made phosphate rock product for regional agriculture,” said Managing Director Chris Tziolis.

As of late 2019, Verdant was delisted from the ASX following an acquisition by its majority shareholders, CD Capital Natural Resource Fund III and Washington H Soul Pattinson.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.