Cadence Minerals has begun shipping iron ore from its joint venture DEV Mineração SA’s Amapa Iron Ore Project located in Santana in the Brazilian state of Amapa, the company said in a statement on March 29.
The company is shipping 45,000mt of iron ore to China from the project, the first shipment since its closure in 2015. The vessel is currently being loaded and is due to sail later this week.
The iron ore shipment is 62pc Fe, CFR China at $167.05/mt (26/02/2021), the company informed.
On 19 February 2021, the State of São Paulo Upper Court published the ruling allowing the company to export sufficient iron ore to earn a $10mn profit. After which, the company restarted the operations, moving material from DEV’s wholly-owned port to Docas De Santana some 2 km away.
Around 1.39mn mt of iron ore is currently stockpiled as DEV’s wholly-owned port.
The company worked with Indo Sino Pty Ltd and Cadence to resume operations, charter a vessel, and carry out a competitive bid process for the cargo, it said.
The buyer is one of the world’s largest globally diversified natural resource companies and a major producer and marketer of commodities.
The company is now focusing on preparation for the next shipment from the project. Security and tailing dam maintenance has commenced at the mine.
The company said that it aims to bring Amapa back to life with the commencement of the shipment from the project.
It is expecting the mine and infrastructure to play a key role in regenerating the regional economy.