Cadence Minerals plc has identified savings of 33% for processing plant recommissioning and increased production at the Amapá iron ore project in northeast Brazil.
REDESIGN
A capital expenditure optimisation programme, conducted at pre-feasibility level, showed US$63.2 million savings associated with the plant. This sees costs fall from $191.7m to $128.5m.
Forecast increased production is approximately 4.8% to 5.5 Mtpa iron ore concentrate, of which 4.51 Mtpa will be a 65% product and 0.99 Mtpa a 62% product.
Cadence and its partners will reduce mining costs by redesigning the mine plan which, along with the revised capital expenditure, will form the basis of an amended economic assessment at a PFS level.
As of 28 March 2024, the company had increased its investment in Amapá by $1.1m to a total $13.2m, for a 33.6% stake.
“We’re thrilled to announce the successful completion of our capital expenditure optimisation program at the Amapá iron ore project,” said chief executive Kiran Morzaria.
“Moreover, given the study was completed ahead of schedule, we do not anticipate any delays to the timeline already announced, even with the additional work associated with optimising the mine plan to accommodate the increased production.
“We remain fully committed to advancing the development of the 67% Fe product flow sheet, aligning with our vision for sustainable growth and value maximisation.”
Amapá is a brownfield integrated iron ore project with a 276Mt at 38.33% iron and ore reserves of 196 Mt at 39.34%.
The site comprises the mine, processing plant, wholly owned port and a 194km railway.
The company and its partner Indo Sino Pty Ltd own operator Pedra Branca Alliance Pte. Ltd via a joint venture. PBA owns Amapá and previous operator DEV Mineração S.A.