The UK based Cadence Minerals has achieved the Installation License (LI) to renovate the processing plant of the Amapá iron ore project, located in the Brazilian northern state of Amapá.
The authorization, granted by the State Secretariat for the Environment (Sema), will allow for the partial resumption of operations that have been paralyzed since 2014 due to the collapse of Santana Port, when the plant was operated by Zamin.
The LI authorizes renovation, construction and commissioning works of the Azteca plant, the main beneficiation structure of the project.
With a relatively small investment, $4.6 million, including $1.15 million in working capital, the plant will achieve a production capacity of 380,000 mt per year, which the company believes will generate sufficient cash to restore full capacity of 5.5 million mt per year of an iron ore concentrate with 67.5 percent iron contents, suitable for direct reduction.
A pre-feasibility study developed in 2024 indicated that the project would have a $1.9 billion net present value (NPV) for 15 years of operation.