Aguia Resources has built a 30,000-tonne stockpile of phosphate ore ready to roll at its Três Estradas project in Brazil, putting the company in a handy position to keep sales flowing while it navigates the final stages of a judicial review.
The company says the material is ready for processing at its nearby plant and has already continued a run of early sales, locking in payments for 825 tonnes of its Pampafos organic phosphate product since mid-September at an average price of A$192 per tonne.
The latest sales add to an impressive start for the operation at the Três Estradas plant, which features a processing capacity of more than 200,000 tonnes per annum and is already running ahead of expectations.
The company previously banked a whopping A$2.3 million in sales within just six weeks of its commissioning, as early deals - mostly for summer-season product trials - have shown the strong local appetite for the domestic fertiliser in the heavily import-reliant Brazil.
That reliance is something the Brazilian Government is keen to change. Policy appears to be shifting in Aguia’s favour after the nation’s federal senate recently approved a Fertiliser Industry Development Program, known as “Profert”, designed to bolster domestic production.
While the operation keeps digging, processing and selling phosphate, Aguia says it is also fighting a legal battle over its environmental licensing process.
In a welcome development for Aguia, the company says the Federal Regional Court is expected to revisit the case within 30 to 60 days, after a dissenting judge prioritised the matter for review. Adding weight to its legal fight, the local municipality of Lavras do Sul has also applied to have the earlier ruling overturned.
Importantly, the legal fight has not stopped the operation from running. The company continues to hold its operating licence, while its growing stockpile gives it a useful buffer as the court process plays out.
It seems the project also has some powerful friends in its corner, with a recent public rally held in the city of Porto Alegre in support of Três Estradas. Aguia says more than 20 mayors, councillors and parliamentarians attended the gathering to voice their support for the project and the substantial regional investment it represents.
Aguia Resources managing director and chief executive officer Timothy Hosking said: “Our 30,000 tonnes of material at the DB plant ready for processing is a valuable asset that we are progressively turning into realised sales."
With an eye on the future, the company says it has also started a simplified Environmental Impact Assessment for its nearby Passo Feio tenement, which it's lining up as an additional source of feedstock. Management says ore from Passo Feio is expected to replace material from Três Estradas once a new, dedicated plant is completed, which is anticipated in late 2027.
While phosphate in Brazil is the main game for now, Aguia also holds a suite of high-grade gold and silver projects in Colombia, headlined by its Santa Barbara project, where operations recently delivered its best-ever month of production, pulling 942 grams of gold from ore grading above 10 grams per tonne (g/t).
Aguia says its immediate focus is on doubling output from 100 tonnes a month to more than 200 tonnes before the first quarter of 2027 at Santa Barbara, as the company works to restart exploration and resource definition at the project.
For now, the market’s eyes remain firmly fixed on Brazil and the upcoming court review. However, with 30,000 tonnes of phosphate already sitting in the stockpile, sales flowing and government policy pushing to reduce Brazil’s reliance on imports, Aguia has plenty of momentum while it works to clear the legal hurdle.
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