Aguia Resources has locked in a $4 million loan from the government-owned Southern Development Bank in Brazil to refurbish the company’s recently leased processing plant and kick-start mining operations at its Tres Estradas phosphate project.
The 20-year loan covers the initial $118,000 capital expenditure required to kick off mining activities and fund an estimated $1.97M needed to bring the plant up to speed to process an expected 100,000 tonnes of phosphate annually.
The company is eyeing processing operations beginning in January next year on its organic phosphate product, dubbed Pampafos. Recent field trials showed Pampafos rivals the performance of top-shelf imported fertilisers at a fraction of their price.
Aguia recently leased its plant in Caçapava do Sul from century-old agricultural limestone firm Dagoberto Barcellos SAS. The decision to lease a suitable facility may turn out to be a masterstroke, as it avoids the need for a capital raise for a new plant and its considerable associated shareholder dilution.
Aguia secured a 10-year lease on the fully operational Dagoberto Barcelos processing plant for what appears to be a modest $43,000 monthly fee and a one-off payment of $1.36M.
After a $1.97M refurb and small capital expenditure outlay at the mine site, local mine services firm Contrasaper will then be positioned to supercharge mining activities at the project.
Contrasaper’s imprimatur is to undertake contract mining at the project and transport the phosphate to feed the processing facility at Caçapava do Sul, one of the oldest municipalities in the state of Rio Grande Do Sul.
Aguia Resources executive chairman Warwick Grigor said: “The offer of finance from a government- owned bank speaks volumes for the quality of the Tres Estradas project, confirming strong governmental and social support for the development. The proposed capital for the first stage of 100,000tpa of phosphate product is able to be fully funded with the availability of the bank finance. The facility will also be useful in partly financing the subsequent expansion to 300,000tpa, in due course.”
Grigor said the outcome was significantly better, in time and money, than spending $30M on a new production facility for the same production capacity.
After leasing the processing facility, Aguia kicked off discussions with the Southern Development Bank to secure sufficient funds to bring the impressive project to life.
The loan facility will be secured against the surface rights held by Aguia at Tres Estradas and has a credit limit of R$15M (A$4M) with a 20-year term, including a three-year grace period.
The interest rate is based on the Brazilian SELIC, the benchmark rate set by the Brazilian Central bank, currently 14.75 per cent, plus an additional 4.75 per cent margin from the Southern Development Bank.
Aguia is looking to upscale its plant to churn out a minimum 300,000t per annum by the end of 2026 and wants the funding facility to play a role in supporting the upgrade.
The company has been running tests with remarkable success on its 12 per cent high-grade phosphorus pentoxide Pampafos product since 2019 at its Rio Grande do Sul-based operation.
It recently revealed the results of a two-year independent field trial on its standard 6 per cent grade Lavratto product. The company says the findings could transform Brazil’s phosphate-hungry agricultural heartland.
Conducted by renowned agronomist Dr Felipe de Campos Carmona, at the Integrar/Agrinova Technological Centre, the trial spanned both winter and summer crop cycles. Phosphate was applied to ryegrass and oats in winter, followed by soybeans and corn in the summer.
Aguia’s locally produced phosphorus was pitted head-to-head with the likes of imported 32 per cent grade Moroccan phosphate, triple superphosphate and super-high-grade 48 per cent monoammonium phosphate (MAP).
The trials showed the company’s products match or outperform the yield outcomes of the established fertilisers, with Aguia’s Lavratto 6 per cent product topping the yield tables when applied at 200 kilograms per hectare (kg/ha), outstripping even expensive MAP fertilisers. The trend appeared across soybean-ryegrass and oat-corn crops.
Ryegrass responded particularly well to Pampafos at a higher 200kg/ha application, punching in dry yields above 8 tonnes per hectare. This is comparable to Morocco’s phosphate and MAP, despite being a significantly lower-grade product.
The real game-changer could be in the cost to farmers. The company says Pampafos will be marketed locally for a retail price of just $200–230 per tonne compared to more than $1000 for MAP - a massive price advantage, even before factoring in freight costs.
Phosphate feedstock will initially come from the Pampafos deposit, about 100km from the plant. However, drilling is already hammering away at its Mato Grande and Passo Feio prospects, which are much closer to the processing facility. This should trigger a reduction in haulage costs and ramp up profit margins further.
While the Tres Estradas project seems set to become a meaningful addition to Aguia’s stable, the company’s eye remains firmly on its flagship Santa Barbara gold project in Colombia.
Yesterday it revealed early-stage results hinting at the potential discovery of a high-grade gold system lurking 40 metres beneath the existing mine.
It plunged in the first two holes of a 25-hole campaign and has already struck mineralised quartz veins and key fault structures. Importantly, the hits appear to confirm its geological model and point to a potentially much bigger gold system.
Aguia says when drilling the first hole to a depth of 107.4m, it encountered a 0.7m thick quartz vein containing known gold pathfinders. The deeper intersection appears to be an extension of a shallow vein, which was partially mined in a trial operation that processed 500t at an average 20 grams per tonne (g/t) gold.
The second hole, still being drilled to reach 138.6m depth, struck the same near-surface veining and is showing a similar mineralised system beyond the fault. The two drill holes have combined for nearly 300m of drilling so far.
The company released an internal study in April estimating an eye-popping exploration target of two to four million tonnes of material grading up to 30g/t gold. Its small processing plant has had a facelift and is now turning over 30t per day of ore, with a leap to 50tpd expected by July when a new primary crusher comes online.
With the Brazilian phosphate project slated to kick into production early next year, along with Colombian gold being produced from trial mining and an expected ramp up in production to come, Aguia may soon pack a heavy-handed one-two punch.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Craig Nolan
