Over the last fortnight, Cadence Minerals has reported significant progress at the Azteca iron ore project in Brazil, where it holds a 36.2% stake through DEV Mineração. On 29 October, DEV completed commissioning of the Azteca processing plant at the Amapá Iron Ore Project, marking an important milestone towards commercial production. The commissioning process was completed within the 45-day consent window granted by the Amapá State Environmental Secretariat, with the plant processing approximately 6.2kt of feed to produce around 2.8kt of concentrate, representing a mass recovery of approximately 45%.
The commissioning results provide encouraging initial evidence of the plant’s operational capability, with throughput averaging approximately 40 wet tonnes per hour over 160 operating hours, around one-third of the plant’s estimated operational capacity. Importantly, the commissioning concentrate achieved an iron grade of approximately 65%, compared with a feed grade of around 48%. While these results remain preliminary and further optimisation is required, they provide an initial indication of the potential to produce a higher-grade iron ore concentrate. The company is now progressing further metallurgical testing, with results expected in the coming weeks, alongside the final steps towards obtaining the Operating Licence.
Strategically, the Amapá project represents a potentially significant source of future production, with management targeting commercial production and a first shipment before year-end. The project’s larger prize remains the development of the wider Amapá iron ore project, which could support an unchanged production rate of approximately 380ktpa of 65% Fe concentrate.
Price today: 4.5p
Valuation reference: 14.6p per share (Zeus)
Implied upside: 224%.
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