REG - Mineral & Financial - Update on Redcorp's Lagoa Salgada EIA Application

Mineral & Financial InvestmentsAnnouncement

Mon 11:30

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RNS Number : 9530Q  Mineral & Financial Invest. Limited  14 July 2025

MINERAL AND FINANCIAL INVESTMENTS LIMITED

Redcorp's Lagoa Salgada Project Receives Consent to Submit Revisions to its
EIA Application to Portuguese Environmental Agency

 

HIGHLIGHTS

·    EIA Revisions Address Concerns and Provide Pathway to Approval
Without Full Resubmission

·    Key Environmental Improvements were already incorporated Optimized
Feasibility Study

·    While EIA Study is updated Feasibility Study will be completed and
filed

·    Project Financing Options Continue to be advanced while EIA is being
updated.

 

George Town, Cayman Islands - July 14, 2025  - Mineral and Financial
Investments Limited (LSE-AIM: MAFL) ("M&F" "MAFL" or the "Company") is
pleased to announce that its investee company, Redcorp - Empreendimentos
Mineiros, Lda. ("Redcorp"), has received notification from the Portuguese
Environment Agency (Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente, "APA") confirming that it
will permit application of Article 16 procedures that allows Redcorp to submit
revised technical documentation and project improvements to address APA
comments, in relation to its Environmental Impact Statement (EIA) as outlined
below.

Under Portuguese environmental law, Article 16 of the EIA Legal Framework
allows developers to revise and resubmit elements of a previously submitted
project, in order to address identified environmental concerns, without
restarting the full permitting process. This mechanism is designed to improve
project outcomes while maintaining regulatory integrity and efficiency
(Decreto-Lei n.º 151-B/2013
(https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/decreto-lei/151-b-2013-513863) ,
Diário da República, 1.ª série - N.º 211, de 31 de outubro de 2013).

 

The Redcorp's Optimized Feasibility Study ("OFS"), which is advanced, has
already integrated changes requested, which will strengthen the environmental
and operational robustness of the proposed mining operation. In addition,
Redcorp is continuing with all other activities as planned, such as detailed
engineering alongside the work related to the OFS to minimize any impact on
the overall development schedule while the Article 16 requirements are
completed.

 

Jacques Vaillancourt, President & CEO M&F, commented: "This is a
constructive step forward for the Lagoa Salgada Project and demonstrates APA's
openness to a robust and transparent permitting process. We appreciate the
opportunity offered to Redcorp to address concerns through technical and
environmental improvements, which are seen as a typical request at this stage
of the approval process. We note that many of the points raised by APA are
already being integrated into the updated feasibility study due in September."

 

Moreover, Mr Vaillancourt added: "With strong support from stakeholders, which
include EDM, Redcorp and Cerrado Gold (previously Ascendant, see update
below), we remain confident that the revised submission will meet the highest
standards of environmental compliance and will position the project for
successful approval with minimal delay."

 

While application of Article 16(2) does not constitute project approval, it is
a formal step under Portuguese law that enables developers to address concerns
raised during the initial review and implement modifications, avoiding a full
resubmission or rejection of the project. If the revised submission is
accepted, Redcorp anticipates a final Environmental Impact Statement (EIA)
decision could be issued in Q1-2026.

 

APA's formal response follows Redcorp's request, made during the public
consultation and hearing period, to initiate the procedure foreseen in Article
16(2). In its reply, APA confirmed that, based on the justification provided
by Redcorp, there are no objections to applying the Article 16(2) procedure.
Redcorp now has 180 calendar days from the date of the notification to submit
the revised project elements and a synthesis report addressing the required
components outlined in the legal framework.

 

Redcorp's revised submission will incorporate environmental and design
improvements, including:

·      Elimination of cyanide use across all processing stages, replaced
by flotation-only circuits as has been validated through recent metallurgical
testing.

·      Enhanced protection of local aquifers and water resources, with
new hydrogeological and geochemical control measures.

·      Presentation of alternative borehole locations to support
regional emergency water supply resilience.

·      Deployment of a real-time environmental monitoring system,
covering air, water, vibration, and noise parameters; and

·      Application of Best Available Techniques (BAT) across the plant
layout and mine design, improving performance and minimizing impact.

 

Cerrado and Redcorp have reiterated their strong commitment to developing the
Lagoa Salgada Project as a model of environmental and technical excellence,
delivering value to local communities, stakeholders, and European critical raw
materials supply chains.

 

Update on Ascendant

As previously announced, Redcorp and Ascendant Resources Inc. ("Ascendant")
are developing the Lagoa Salgada Polymetallic Project in Portugal
(the Project). The Project is also being managed by Ascendant. M&F owns a
conditional 20% carried interest in Redcorp and Ascendant owns the balance
(please see the announcement dated 28 November 2022 for further details).

As announced by M&F on February 4, 2025, Ascendant entered into a Plan of
Arrangement with Cerrado Gold Inc ("Cerrado") resulting in Cerrado acquiring
all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Ascendant that it did not
already own. The Plan of Arrangement was carried out pursuant to the terms of
the arrangement agreement (the "Arrangement") became effective on May 16,
2025, resulting in Ascendant becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of
Cerrado. Pursuant to the Arrangement, each former shareholder of Ascendant
(which includes M&F) received 1/7.8th of a common share in the capital of
Cerrado for each Ascendant share held. Further in connection with the
Arrangement, the holders of options that were outstanding at the effective
time of the Arrangement received replacement options of Cerrado that are
exercisable for Cerrado shares as adjusted by the exchange ratio. In addition,
holders of warrants of Ascendant will receive replacement warrants of Cerrado
that will be exercisable for Cerrado shares as adjusted by the exchange
ratio. Cerrado has issued 27,721,684 common shares, 4,903,822 replacement
options and 1,730,601 replacement warrants to holders of Ascendant securities
in connection with the Arrangement. Cerrado now has 132,753,478 common shares
issued and outstanding on an undiluted basis.

Following completion of the Arrangement M&F holds 1,300,355 common shares
in Cerrado (approximately 1% of the total issued common shares of Cerrado) in
lieu of the common shares in Ascendant previously held. However, the
commercial arrangements in relation to the Lagoa Salgada project remain with
Ascendant, as a wholly owned subsidiary of Cerrado.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Jacques Vaillancourt, Mineral & Financial Investments
Ltd.                        +44 780 226 8247

Katy Mitchell, Zeus Capital
 
            +44 207 220 1666

Jon Belliss, Novum Securities
Limited
+44 207 382 8300

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