Agripower owns the Greenvale Diatomaceous Earth (DE) deposits, west of Townsville North Queensland, and has been producing DE from this deposit over the past twelve months. A new processing operation is currently being established and will be operational around June 2012. Agripower will also develop the Diatomaceous Earth Deposits it owns, in Northern New South Wales near Tamworth and in Western Australia near Mt. Barker.

The company will be Australia’s largest producer of DE and internationally will own the largest deposits of DE in the world, all located in Australia. Initially, markets will be developed in Australia and internationally for organic fertilisers high in silicon. Subsequently other markets will be established for the other application of DE.

The international markets represent a major opportunity to expand and major efforts have now been made to develop opportunities in Middle East, South America, South East Asia and South Africa.

Over the past eight years the Agripower DE deposits have been fully evaluated to determine size, quantity and quality. In 2004 pilot plants were set up to process DE for trials in water purification and beer and wine filtration. Product trials were very successful with many of the end users, commenting it was the best quality DE  they had trialed.

Over the past four years extensive research, studies and trials have been undertaken with Australian Universities and major agricultural groups with respect to the high silicon, specifically "Plant Available Silicon"(PAS), content of the Agripower DE.

As a result of the studies and trials the Greenvale Operation commenced production in late 2009 market trials were undertaken around Australia. Results have been very encouraging and demand is now growing. At the same time, following Agripower’s presentations at the Fourth World Conference on silicon in agriculture in late 2008, Agripower has been approached by a number of interested parties in South East Asia and in the Middle East for the supply of DE to meet their agricultural requirements.

The new plant now being established at Queensland will have capacity to enable exports to commence and trials of the DE in many overseas locations.

Agripower is evaluating sites to construct new processing facilities. Agripower is working with the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation in evaluating suitable locations for land acquisition and plant construction.

Agripower and the Government have a study team working on this analysis which includes transportation to the processing site, transportation of finished product, port access for export markets, etc. The study should be completed with a decision being made second quarter 2011.

Set out below is an indicative plant layout of the proposed processing site which would enable Agripower to produce in excess of 500,000 tonnes per annum of Silicon Fertiliser.