Minbos leased site for Capanda green ammonia project

Minbos Resources signed a 60-year commercial lease agreement for the green ammonia field at Kapande, located in Malanje Province, Angola.

Based on the Capanda Green Ammonia Project technical study published by the company in April 2023, future plans are to produce 112 thousand tons of green ammonia per year to produce 255 thousand tons of high density ammonium nitrate. In the form of an emulsion, it can be used both for fertilizers and for making explosives for mining.

Angola is looking to expand its agricultural sector, which will need fertilizers, including nitrogen. The country has 36 million hectares of arable land but currently only 5.5 million hectares are cultivated, mostly by small farmers who use little or no fertilizer.

In Angola, the soil and climate are similar to the Cerrado in Brazil, where the area under cultivation has increased by 20 million hectares in the last 20 years. The green ammonia site is located in Capanda Agro Industrial Pole on an area of 411 thousand hectares. It’s served by existing motorways and the Malanje railway line. This site will become a ready market for nitrogen. There are already several large farms here, including the 30 thousand hectare Biokom sugar plantation.

Angola has the potential to become one of the leading agricultural producers on the continent. The country’s arable land is well suited for raising livestock and growing a variety of crops. Demand for nitrogen fertilizers in Angola will depend on the area under cultivation and the choice of crops. Given the available land and the analogy with Brazil, Angola is aiming for at least 2 million hectares in commercial cultivation. Historical crops require significantly different rates of nitrogen fertilizers, for example up to 200 kg per hectare for corn and up to 300 kg hectare for cotton. With an average consumption of 100 kg per hectare, Angola is expected to require approximately 200 thousand tons of nitrogen per year, equivalent to 600 thousand tons of ammonium nitrate per year. Capanda’s green ammonia project will be able to meet half of this demand.