REG - Cadence Minerals PLC - Amapá Project Update

Cadence MineralsAnnouncement

Mon 07:00

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RNS Number : 5500L  Cadence Minerals PLC  15 December 2025

 

 

The company deems the information contained within this announcement to
constitute Inside Information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation
(E.U.) No. 596/2014, as it forms part of U.K. domestic law under the European
Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended. Upon the publication of this
announcement via a regulatory information service, this information is
considered to be in the public domain.

 

Cadence Minerals Plc

 

("Cadence Minerals", "Cadence", or "the Company")

 

Amapá Project - Municipal Settlement, Technical Engagement and Development
Progress Update

 

Highlights

 

·        Municipal Legacy Resolved: DEV Mineração S.A. has completed
the first payment under a court-ratified settlement with the Municipality of
Pedra Branca do Amapari, resolving the final material municipal legacy issues
inherited from prior operators.

·        Non-Technical Risk Reduced: The settlement removes historic
municipal impediments, lifts ore transport restrictions and improves
administrative clarity for routine permitting.

·        Capital Discipline Maintained: The settlement is funded by
DEV under its Judicial Recovery Plan. Cadence has made no direct municipal
payments.

·        Regulatory Pathway Clearer: Municipal matters have been
resolved, allowing continued progression through Brazil's statutory licensing
process, subject to technical and regulatory review.

·        Project Alignment Reinforced: Recent technical engagement
with the State of Amapá provided context on the Project's staged development
and financing framework, without altering the regulatory process.

 

Kiran Morzaria, Chief Executive Officer of Cadence Minerals, commented:

 

"The resolution of these historic municipal matters represents an important
step in resetting the Project's operating environment and removing
long-standing administrative uncertainty inherited from prior ownership. While
all regulatory decisions continue to follow Brazil's established statutory
processes, this settlement provides clarity and stability as we advance the
next stage of Amapá's staged redevelopment.

 

Together with recent progress on Azteca financing and ongoing licensing work,
these developments reinforce our disciplined strategy focused on risk
management, capital discipline and long-term value creation."

 

Cadence Minerals provides an update on the Amapá Iron Ore Project ("Amapá"
or the "Project"), covering the resolution of long-standing municipal legacy
matters, recent technical engagement with representatives of the State of
Amapá, and continued progress across the Company's staged redevelopment
strategy.

 

Technical Engagement and Capital Pathway Context

As announced previously, Cadence, together with Pedra Branca Alliance Ltd.
("PBA"), hosted a technical programme in London with Wandenberg Pitaluga
Filho, President of the Economic Development Agency of Amapá.

 

The programme provided an opportunity to outline the Project's long-term
development pathway, integrated infrastructure potential and the typical
financing frameworks applicable to large-scale mining developments.
Discussions were technical and introductory in nature and were intended to
support understanding of the Project's scale, sequencing and capital
requirements.

 

Meetings were held with groups active across equity investment, institutional
debt, royalty and streaming, offtake and prepayment finance, and logistics and
infrastructure. All discussions were non-binding and exploratory, focused on
capital availability, financing structures and customary requirements at
different stages of project development.

 

The technical engagement was constructive and met its stated objectives,
providing the State with increased visibility on the Project's staged
development pathway and the depth and diversity of capital pools typically
available in the London market for projects of this nature.

 

Judicial Settlement with the Municipality of Pedra Branca do Amapari

Cadence confirms that DEV Mineração S.A. ("DEV"), the owner and operator of
the Amapá Project, has executed and completed the first payment under a
Judicial Settlement Agreement (the "Agreement") with the Municipality of Pedra
Branca do Amapari (the "Municipality"). The Agreement has been ratified by the
Court and is supported by the State within the applicable judicial and
regulatory framework.

 

The Agreement resolves long-standing municipal legacy matters inherited from
previous operators and establishes a stable and predictable administrative
framework for DEV's activities within the Municipality, materially improving
the operating environment for the Project.

 

Under the Agreement, DEV will provide R$10 million in social compensation,
including an initial R$5 million payment. In return, the Municipality has
lifted prior embargoes, confirmed that following execution of the Agreement
DEV has no outstanding municipal liabilities covered by the settlement, and
agreed to process and issue, where applicable, the routine municipal
authorisations and certificates customarily required to support licensing and
operational activities, strictly in accordance with applicable legislation.

 

The Agreement removes historical administrative constraints that previously
affected municipal permitting activities and lifts restrictions on ore
transport, restoring operational and logistical flexibility as the Project
advances.

 

Settlement Funding Context

In accordance with DEV's 2019 Judicial Recovery Plan, a historic prepayment
creditor was previously settled through the transfer of iron-ore stockpiles.
The stockpile owner has advanced the funds required to enable the first
payment under the Agreement, with subsequent instalments also expected to be
advanced in the same manner. Cadence has not made any direct payments to the
Municipality in connection with the Agreement.

 

Licensing Status and Regulatory Process

Progression of the Amapá Project requires completion of Brazil's
environmental and operational licensing processes at municipal, state and
federal levels. The Agreement provides administrative clarity at the municipal
level and removes historical uncertainty that previously constrained routine
permitting activities.

 

In line with the Company's staged redevelopment strategy, current efforts
remain focused on the grant of the mine's Installation Licence ("LI"). As part
of this process, DEV has submitted the supplemental archaeological study to
the Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional ("IPHAN"), whose
clearance is required as part of the LI process.

 

While the Company welcomes recent public statements from representatives of
the State of Amapá regarding the importance of the Project to regional
development, all environmental licensing decisions remain subject to technical
review and regulatory approval in accordance with Brazil's established legal
framework. The Company is not deviating from the statutory process.

 

Staged Development Strategy

The Company continues to advance Amapá through a disciplined staged
redevelopment strategy designed to manage technical, permitting and capital
risk.

 

As announced earlier this month, the Azteca processing plant has secured
US$4.6 million of funding to complete the relevant licence applications and
undertake refurbishment and recommissioning activities. Subject to the grant
of the required licences, initial works will focus on the restart of the
Azteca processing plant and associated infrastructure required for Azteca
operations.

 

The Azteca plant is forecast to produce approximately 380,000 to 400,000
tonnes per annum of iron ore concentrate grading approximately 65% Fe,
providing an initial operational platform to support further technical and
feasibility work across the broader Project.

 

In addition, the Company has previously evaluated a potential intermediate
development scenario capable of producing approximately 2.5 to 3.5 million
tonnes per annum of DR-grade iron ore concentrate, utilising existing rail
infrastructure and third-party port facilities. This scenario remains
conceptual, has not been the subject of a Definitive Feasibility Study, and is
not currently the focus of development activity.

 

The longer-term development plan for Amapá envisages production of up to 5.5
million tonnes per annum of DR-grade iron ore utilising integrated mine,
processing, rail and port infrastructure under the Project's control. Any
expansion beyond the Azteca plant would remain subject to completion of
Definitive Feasibility Studies ("DFS"), receipt of the relevant environmental
licences and financing decisions.

 

 

 For further information, contact:

 Cadence Minerals plc                                         +44 (0) 20 3582 6636
 Andrew Suckling
 Kiran Morzaria

 Zeus (NOMAD & Broker)                                        +44 (0) 20 3829 5000
 James Joyce
 Darshan Patel

 Gabriella Zwarts

 Fortified Securities - Joint Broker                          +44 (0) 20 3411 7773
 Guy Wheatley

 Brand Communications                                         +44 (0) 7976 431608
 Public & Investor Relations
 Alan Green

 

Qualified Person

Kiran Morzaria B.Eng. (ACSM), MBA, has reviewed and approved the information
contained in this announcement. Kiran holds a Bachelor of Engineering
(Industrial Geology) from the Camborne School of Mines and an MBA (Finance)
from CASS Business School.

 

Cautionary and Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this announcement are or may be deemed to be
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are identified by
their use of terms and phrases such as "believe", "could", "should",
"envisage", "estimate", "intend", "may", "plan", "will", or the negative of
those variations or comparable expressions including references to
assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical
facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations and assumptions
regarding the company's future growth results of operations performance,
future capital, and other expenditures (including the amount, nature, and
sources of funding thereof) competitive advantages business prospects and
opportunities. Such forward-looking statements reflect the Directors' current
beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to
the Directors.  Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially
from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements, including risks
associated with vulnerability to general economic and business conditions,
competition, environmental and other regulatory changes actions by
governmental authorities, the availability of capital markets reliance on key
personnel uninsured and underinsured losses and other factors many of which
are beyond the control of the company. Although any forward-looking statements
contained in this announcement are based upon what the Directors believe to be
reasonable assumptions. The company cannot assure investors that actual
results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements.

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