Cadence Minerals told investors that DEV Mineração has completed hot commissioning of the Azteca processing plant at the Amapá Iron Ore Project, finishing in 30 days against the 45-day window permitted by the Amapá State Environmental Secretariat (SEMA/AP).
The AIM-listed company, which holds a 36.2% indirect interest in the Amapá Iron Ore Project in Brazil, said DEV filed the commissioning and Installation Licence compliance reports on 29 October, completing the submissions requested for the Azteca Operating Licence application.
The project now awaits that licence before it can proceed, with commercial operations and shipments remaining dependent on its receipt.
Thus far, the plant has processed approximately 6,200 wet tonnes of feed and produced approximately 2,800 wet tonnes of concentrate, a mass recovery by weight of approximately 45%.
Cadence said commissioning ran on lower-grade accessible feed rather than the higher-grade material the plant was designed for, because the access works needed to reach that higher-grade area are not yet complete; DEV chose to commission on available material so it could file for the Operating Licence without delay.
Management said it expects mass recovery to move toward the approximately 53% achieved in July's testwork on design-grade feed, and that the grade of the commissioning concentrate is not yet known, with assay results to be reported once received.
The plant ran at roughly a third of its operational feed capacity, within the 25%-50% range set for commissioning, over approximately 160 operating hours; water-supply leaks and a failed pump motor on the screen-washing system cost roughly five days, both now repaired.
Production to run higher grades
Chief executive Kiran Morzaria said the plant is "running, done in 30 days, on lower-grade feed than the plant will see in production," but that proving the product, rather than the plant, remains outstanding: "We expect to prove the product on design-grade feed once we are licensed."
Cadence said feed and concentrate samples are with an accredited laboratory in Belo Horizonte for testwork on higher-intensity magnetic separation, the first stage of optimisation studies funded by September's £1.80 million raise, with results expected over four to six weeks.
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The company is also installing an on-site XRF laboratory, expected to be operational by the end of November, to return feed and product iron grades within hours during operation, alongside an additional dewatering screen to cut product moisture and transport costs.
Separately, contractors had refurbished approximately one-third of the timber deck of the Pedra Branca do Amapari bridge as at 30 October, with completion targeted before first road haulage; the bridge remains in use under temporary controls.
Cadence reiterated its target of approximately 380,000 tonnes per year of approximately 65% Fe concentrate, assuming design-grade feed, and said it is aiming for commercial production and a first shipment before the year end, subject to the Operating Licence, feed access, plant performance and logistics readiness.
The company's total investment in the Amapá Project stood at approximately $16.1 million as at 31 May, held through a 36.2% equity interest in Pedra Branca Alliance, which owns DEV Mineração in full.