PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Aguia Resources has been granted a construction licence for its Tres Estradas phosphate project in Rio Grade do Sul, in Brazil.
The construction licence is a critical milestone in the environmental permitting of the mine as it provides the necessary authorisation to initiate construction and start developing the mine site, the company told shareholders.
The licence represents a substantial de-risking in the path to construction and production.
The next and final phase in the permitting process will be the operation licence, which is the site inspection conducted before the opening of the mine and processing plant. Its purpose is to ensure that the phosphate project is constructed following the approved design of the project and complies with the environmental, safety, health, and mining rules.
“I am extremely proud to announce to our shareholders the granting of the construction licence, which is a key milestone in our path towards production. The granting of this permit reaffirms the high quality of our technical and environmental studies,” said Aguia MD Dr Fernando Tallarico.
The Tres Estradas project is expected to require a capital investment of A$8.11-million, including contingency to support a production rate of 306 000 t/y run-of-mine over a mine life of 18 years. The project is estimated to have a post-tax net present value of A$70.4-million and an internal rate of return of 61%, with average annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of A$14.04-million.