The company deems the information contained within this announcement to constitute Inside Information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (E.U.) No. 596/2014, as it forms part of U.K. domestic law under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended. Upon the publication of this announcement via a regulatory information service, this information is considered to be in the public domain.

Cadence Minerals Plc

("Cadence Minerals", "Cadence", or "the Company")

Amapá Project - Municipal Settlement, Technical Engagement and Development Progress Update

Highlights

·        Municipal Legacy Resolved: DEV Mineração S.A. has completed the first payment under a court-ratified settlement with the Municipality of Pedra Branca do Amapari, resolving the final material municipal legacy issues inherited from prior operators.

·        Non-Technical Risk Reduced: The settlement removes historic municipal impediments, lifts ore transport restrictions and improves administrative clarity for routine permitting.

·        Capital Discipline Maintained: The settlement is funded by DEV under its Judicial Recovery Plan. Cadence has made no direct municipal payments.

·        Regulatory Pathway Clearer: Municipal matters have been resolved, allowing continued progression through Brazil's statutory licensing process, subject to technical and regulatory review.

·        Project Alignment Reinforced: Recent technical engagement with the State of Amapá provided context on the Project's staged development and financing framework, without altering the regulatory process.

Kiran Morzaria, Chief Executive Officer of Cadence Minerals, commented:

"The resolution of these historic municipal matters represents an important step in resetting the Project's operating environment and removing long-standing administrative uncertainty inherited from prior ownership. While all regulatory decisions continue to follow Brazil's established statutory processes, this settlement provides clarity and stability as we advance the next stage of Amapá's staged redevelopment.

Together with recent progress on Azteca financing and ongoing licensing work, these developments reinforce our disciplined strategy focused on risk management, capital discipline and long-term value creation."

Cadence Minerals provides an update on the Amapá Iron Ore Project ("Amapá" or the "Project"), covering the resolution of long-standing municipal legacy matters, recent technical engagement with representatives of the State of Amapá, and continued progress across the Company's staged redevelopment strategy.

Technical Engagement and Capital Pathway Context

As announced previously, Cadence, together with Pedra Branca Alliance Ltd. ("PBA"), hosted a technical programme in London with Wandenberg Pitaluga Filho, President of the Economic Development Agency of Amapá.

The programme provided an opportunity to outline the Project's long-term development pathway, integrated infrastructure potential and the typical financing frameworks applicable to large-scale mining developments. Discussions were technical and introductory in nature and were intended to support understanding of the Project's scale, sequencing and capital requirements.

Meetings were held with groups active across equity investment, institutional debt, royalty and streaming, offtake and prepayment finance, and logistics and infrastructure. All discussions were non-binding and exploratory, focused on capital availability, financing structures and customary requirements at different stages of project development.

The technical engagement was constructive and met its stated objectives, providing the State with increased visibility on the Project's staged development pathway and the depth and diversity of capital pools typically available in the London market for projects of this nature.

Judicial Settlement with the Municipality of Pedra Branca do Amapari

Cadence confirms that DEV Mineração S.A. ("DEV"), the owner and operator of the Amapá Project, has executed and completed the first payment under a Judicial Settlement Agreement (the "Agreement") with the Municipality of Pedra Branca do Amapari (the "Municipality"). The Agreement has been ratified by the Court and is supported by the State within the applicable judicial and regulatory framework.

The Agreement resolves long-standing municipal legacy matters inherited from previous operators and establishes a stable and predictable administrative framework for DEV's activities within the Municipality, materially improving the operating environment for the Project.

Under the Agreement, DEV will provide R$10 million in social compensation, including an initial R$5 million payment. In return, the Municipality has lifted prior embargoes, confirmed that following execution of the Agreement DEV has no outstanding municipal liabilities covered by the settlement, and agreed to process and issue, where applicable, the routine municipal authorisations and certificates customarily required to support licensing and operational activities, strictly in accordance with applicable legislation.

The Agreement removes historical administrative constraints that previously affected municipal permitting activities and lifts restrictions on ore transport, restoring operational and logistical flexibility as the Project advances.

Settlement Funding Context

In accordance with DEV's 2019 Judicial Recovery Plan, a historic prepayment creditor was previously settled through the transfer of iron-ore stockpiles. The stockpile owner has advanced the funds required to enable the first payment under the Agreement, with subsequent instalments also expected to be advanced in the same manner. Cadence has not made any direct payments to the Municipality in connection with the Agreement.

Licensing Status and Regulatory Process

Progression of the Amapá Project requires completion of Brazil's environmental and operational licensing processes at municipal, state and federal levels. The Agreement provides administrative clarity at the municipal level and removes historical uncertainty that previously constrained routine permitting activities.

In line with the Company's staged redevelopment strategy, current efforts remain focused on the grant of the mine's Installation Licence ("LI"). As part of this process, DEV has submitted the supplemental archaeological study to the Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional ("IPHAN"), whose clearance is required as part of the LI process.

While the Company welcomes recent public statements from representatives of the State of Amapá regarding the importance of the Project to regional development, all environmental licensing decisions remain subject to technical review and regulatory approval in accordance with Brazil's established legal framework. The Company is not deviating from the statutory process.

Staged Development Strategy

The Company continues to advance Amapá through a disciplined staged redevelopment strategy designed to manage technical, permitting and capital risk.

As announced earlier this month, the Azteca processing plant has secured US$4.6 million of funding to complete the relevant licence applications and undertake refurbishment and recommissioning activities. Subject to the grant of the required licences, initial works will focus on the restart of the Azteca processing plant and associated infrastructure required for Azteca operations.

The Azteca plant is forecast to produce approximately 380,000 to 400,000 tonnes per annum of iron ore concentrate grading approximately 65% Fe, providing an initial operational platform to support further technical and feasibility work across the broader Project.

In addition, the Company has previously evaluated a potential intermediate development scenario capable of producing approximately 2.5 to 3.5 million tonnes per annum of DR-grade iron ore concentrate, utilising existing rail infrastructure and third-party port facilities. This scenario remains conceptual, has not been the subject of a Definitive Feasibility Study, and is not currently the focus of development activity.

The longer-term development plan for Amapá envisages production of up to 5.5 million tonnes per annum of DR-grade iron ore utilising integrated mine, processing, rail and port infrastructure under the Project's control. Any expansion beyond the Azteca plant would remain subject to completion of Definitive Feasibility Studies ("DFS"), receipt of the relevant environmental licences and financing decisions.

Qualified Person

Kiran Morzaria B.Eng. (ACSM), MBA, has reviewed and approved the information contained in this announcement. Kiran holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Industrial Geology) from the Camborne School of Mines and an MBA (Finance) from CASS Business School.

Cautionary and Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this announcement are or may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "believe", "could", "should", "envisage", "estimate", "intend", "may", "plan", "will", or the negative of those variations or comparable expressions including references to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations and assumptions regarding the company's future growth results of operations performance, future capital, and other expenditures (including the amount, nature, and sources of funding thereof) competitive advantages business prospects and opportunities. Such forward-looking statements reflect the Directors' current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors.  Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements, including risks associated with vulnerability to general economic and business conditions, competition, environmental and other regulatory changes actions by governmental authorities, the availability of capital markets reliance on key personnel uninsured and underinsured losses and other factors many of which are beyond the control of the company. Although any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are based upon what the Directors believe to be reasonable assumptions. The company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements.