UK's Cadence Minerals Receives Operating License for Azteca Plant in Brazil and Commences Production

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 10, UK mining investment company Cadence Minerals announced that the Azteca processing plant at the Amapá iron ore project in Brazil, in which it holds an interest, has obtained an operating license from the Amapá State Environmental Secretariat, and the project operator DEV Mineração S.A. has commenced low-load mining and ore processing operations. The conditions for drawing down the remaining US$1.15 million in working capital have been satisfied with the granting of the license and the start of production. The company expects to complete mobilization for full-capacity production approximately two weeks after the funds are received, with the first shipment of iron ore concentrate still planned for before the end of 2026.

The operating license granted is valid for five years and may be renewed upon application before expiry. It authorizes the Azteca plant to conduct physical ore processing operations and to use the Mário Cruz tailings storage facility. The licensing approval was based on, among other things, the commissioning and compliance report submitted by DEV on October 29, 2026. With this, the preliminary license, installation license, and operating license approval processes required for the Azteca plant have all been completed.

The scope of this license covers the Azteca plant and does not equate to operating licenses for all facilities of the large-scale Amapá iron ore project. The previously obtained installation license continues to cover the renovation and construction of the mine, processing plant, and tailings facilities of the large-scale project, including the addition of magnetic separation, ball milling, and screening systems. At this stage, iron ore concentrate produced at Azteca is planned to be transported by road to existing public port facilities for export, without reliance on railway and private port facilities that have not yet obtained separate licenses.

Funding for the project's restart comes from a US$4.6 million prepayment offtake financing arrangement announced by Cadence Minerals in September 2025. Of this, US$3.45 million has been fully utilized for licensing, tailings facility works, plant refurbishment, and recommissioning; the remaining US$1.15 million serves as working capital for production organization, transportation, and delivery of the first shipment. With the obtaining of the operating license and the commencement of production, the conditions for drawing down these funds have been satisfied, though actual disbursement remains subject to the offtaker's acceptance of the drawdown notice submitted by DEV.

Currently, the plant's production scale remains constrained by raw material delivery conditions, heavy equipment, and the number of on-site operating personnel. DEV is progressing with the signing of contracts for heavy mobile equipment and operating personnel, and road transport and port handling contracts are also at an advanced stage. Once the working capital is received, the project will mobilize larger-scale mining equipment and personnel, with mobilization for full-capacity production expected to be completed in approximately two weeks.

The Azteca plant is designed to produce approximately 380,000 tonnes per year of iron ore concentrate at approximately 65% iron grade. During hot commissioning, approximately 2,800 wet tonnes of concentrate have been produced and stockpiled; whether this can be included in the first shipment will depend on assay results and product specification confirmation. DEV plans to ship an initial batch of approximately 45,000 to 48,000 wet tonnes of iron ore concentrate. An on-site laboratory is expected to be operational by the end of November 2026 for rapid testing of feed and product grades; high-intensity magnetic separation optimization tests are also continuing.

As of October 30, 2026, approximately one-third of the deck renovation work on the Ponte Pedra Branca do Amapari bridge at the project site has been completed; it was originally scheduled for completion before the first shipment. DEV is currently adjusting transport arrangements and plans to use the bridge for concentrate transport under temporary traffic control measures, with bridge deck construction and transport operations proceeding concurrently.

The Amapá iron ore project possesses existing mine, processing plant, railway, and port infrastructure. Cadence Minerals holds a 36.2% equity interest in the project holding platform Pedra Branca Alliance, which holds all of DEV's equity. According to the pre-feasibility study updated in December 2024, the large-scale Amapá direct reduction-grade iron ore project has the development potential for annual production of 5.5 million tonnes of iron ore concentrate at approximately 67.5% iron grade, with a planned mine life of 15 years.