Cadence Minerals (AIM:KDNC) has raised £1.8 million to accelerate infrastructure and optimisation work at its Azteca processing plant in Brazil.
Cadence holds a 36.2% indirect interest in the Amapá Iron Ore Project, where Azteca, a refurbished magnetic and spiral separation plant, is being commissioned to produce approximately 380,000 tonnes a year of roughly 65% iron ore concentrate.
A separate retail offer of up to £0.45 million at 4.5p per share, the same price as the placing, is expected to open shortly for eligible existing UK shareholders.
The company said Azteca's restart and initial working capital are already funded, but the new capital lets it bring forward repairs to the Pedra Branca do Amapari bridge, currently operating under temporary controls, with the aim of completing the works before first shipment.
"Raising now allows us to bring forward the bridge works, with the objective of completing them before first shipment and reducing a known logistics risk," said chief executive Kiran Morzaria.
The funds will also support studies into higher mass recovery and throughput, alongside drilling to assess whether historic tailings can extend feed beyond the initial two to three years supported by stored Dyke 5 material.
Cadence said cash preserved through this raise is intended to help fund the Definitive Feasibility Study, targeted to begin in 2027, and licensing for the port and railway that underpin Amapá's larger redevelopment, which targets 5.5 million tonnes a year of 67.5% iron ore concentrate.
The next milestone is hot commissioning at 25% to 50% of plant capacity, with commercial shipments still subject to grant of Azteca's Operating Licence.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Cadence Minerals raised £1.80m to accelerate bridge repairs and optimisation studies at its Azteca iron ore plant in Brazil, bringing forward work ahead of first commercial shipment. The raise preserves cash for the larger Amapá redevelopment (targeting 5.5m tonnes/year) and a Definitive Feasibility Study due to begin in 2027, while addressing a known logistics risk—the Pedra Branca do Amapari bridge currently under temporary controls. Commercial shipments remain contingent on securing Azteca's Operating Licence from Brazil's State of Amapá Environmental Authority.
The raise signals confidence in Azteca's path to first shipment and de-risks a specific logistics bottleneck, but does not change the core dependency: regulatory approval of the Operating Licence remains the gate to revenue. The company's total investment in Amapá stood at about $16.1 million as of 31 May 2026; this £1.80m raise is material relative to that base, funding near-term work while preserving capital for the larger redevelopment phase.
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