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Aguia Resources Limited is an ASX listed company (AGR:ASX) with a well-advanced organic phosphate project and a metallic copper project located in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, in southernmost Brazil.

Aguia has an established and experienced in-country management team based in the capital Porto Alegre. Aguia’s corporate office is located in Sydney, Australia.

The State of Rio Grande do Sul is about the size of New Zealand and has a population of about 12 million people. It’s rich agricultural land spreads to the south where it borders Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina, encompassing Aguia’s phosphate market potential.

Aguia’s phosphate and copper projects are both 100% owned by Aguia and carry no debt. Each project exhibits high quality, low production cost characteristics, and each project is considered to be lucrative. The projects are ideally located and within close proximity to road, rail and port infrastructure. They are also located in close proximity to each other.

Settlement negotiations are continuing in relation to the Public Civil Action (PCA) for our organic phosphate project. A construction permit has been granted. Construction will commence after resolution of the PCA and is expected to take about 12 months.

Aguia has secured 100% of known and valuable phosphate deposits in this rich agricultural region. This comprises a JORC Resource of approximately 105Mt of phosphate, of which the current project will only consume 5 million tonnes.

We have a further JORC Phosphate Resource nearby at Joca Tavares (JT). The JT Resource together with our 4 phosphate exploration targets cover about 141 sq km of phosphate tenements exhibiting similar geo-physical characteristics to the current project.

The company has issued its Copper Resource Statement. Environmental planning has commenced. We anticipate the copper mine will open during 2026.

In addition to the Copper Project, Aguia has 10 copper exploration targets and 1,550 sq km of copper tenements all located in close proximity in what we call the Rio Grande Copper Belt.

The company’s strategy is to commit some of the earnings from our lucrative phosphate mine towards the construction of the copper mine and further drilling.

SUSTAINABLE

Perhaps it’s a lucky coincidence but our phosphate turned out to be organic and our copper species chalcocite. Both ore bodies fortunately lend themselves to low impact environmentally friendly processing. Ultimately all Aguia’s decisions are and must be commercial. But it is our experience with the Phosphate Project that by exploring environmental options we have brought project costs to a minimum. This has allowed us to further build on Brazil’s low-cost base to produce a highly lucrative project.

Organic Phosphate

The decision to go with organic phosphate was a commercial decision. The cost of capital to build a conventional ie. chemically processed phosphate mine was prohibitive and the competition from the well-entrenched Norwegian and French competitors would be stiff. Naturally by going organic there would be no tailings dams or chemicals to contend with, thus reducing both costs and risks.

The project was to be located in the centre of its market and this together with its low-cost base made the product competitive. Pampafos, our organic product could also be differentiated.  And was a potential game changer in a region which already had a vibrant regenerative agricultural sector led by successful agronomists. As it turned out we’ve created a new market with a unique product. But it can still be used by farmers using conventional agriculture. So the product maybe niche but the market remains broad. Farmers everywhere are becoming increasingly aware that the health of their soil is the source of their prosperity. Pampafos can also reduce the risks and time for growers to switch from conventional to regenerative agriculture.

When it came to processing the phosphate, we chose to store the run-off water from the roof and take advantage of the abundant sunlight with solar panels.  Common sense, savings, and of course a familiar story to Australians. However, the big costs in processing are in drying the crushed ore. Not that we use water, it’s just the natural dampness of the earth. Drying costs have been substantially reduced using solar panels and other natural means.

Copper

Chalcocite Ore species lends itself to heap leaching. It is the most efficient and cheapest way to extract the copper from the ore. Acid is traditionally used to bring this about. In recent times heap leaching can be achieved using alternative technologies. Aguia is currently in the process of evaluating various sustainable but proven approaches to copper extraction which are suitable for our copper species.

Aguia has also undertaken research into ore sorting in an effort to reduce energy costs.

AGRICULTURE IN SOUTHERN BRAZIL

Southern Brazil is home to some of the country’s richest agricultural assets and the southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul (where Aguia’s pre-production phosphate and copper projects, and copper assets are all located) is a state of rolling hills and pastures, far from the tropical climate of the Amazon rainforest of northern Brazil. Rio Grande do Sul is on the same latitude as the state of NSW, Australia, and has the same elevation as the town of agricultural rich Armidale, in NSW, Australia. It is a place that farming migrants, predominantly from Portugal, have called home for generations.

Brazil is Latin America’s biggest economy and an agricultural powerhouse. Its climate, large tracts of arable land and ready supply of fresh water provide the key ingredients for an abundant food supply for its population of more than 200 million people. With its expanding agriculture sector, Brazil is currently the third-largest agricultural producer in the world, yet it is reliant on imports for 72% of its phosphate, a critical mineral for growing food. The Brazilian Government is very supportive of projects which reduce the country’s dependence on imported phosphate.

The presence of abundant natural resources in southern Brazil has made our market region home to generations of very successful farmers and agronomists. Investment in agricultural research in the State has brought advances in science, technology, and innovation to agriculture.

These factors have further resulted in the creation of a significant and rich agricultural sector in southern Brazil. It has created inter-generational wealth amongst landowners who in turn have become savvy investors in the agribusiness sector. There is an openness to innovation and a keen awareness of changing consumer needs and price points. There is also a pride taken in improving local production, in fostering employment and strengthening community which is palpable.

RIO GRANDE DO SUL - COMMUNITY

Nossa Terra

Nossa Terra, which translates as ‘Our Land’ is a program run by Aguia which supports the actions and projects of entities that are committed to sustainability, education and improvement in the quality of life, especially for vulnerable people within the local area.

Aguia works closely with the Rio Grande do Sul community, beyond the community consultation required for project permitting. To date, this has included sponsorship of photography exhibitions, vintage car events, and other local festivals.

In particular, Aguia has also contributed to mending the local Church roof. It also provided hands on help to get a Bakery up and running in the town of Lavros and it is hoped that once the mine is in production the additional economic activity will filter through to the Bakery allowing it to open more hours and to become a meeting place for the locals.

Aguia will be prioritising the employment of people from the local community for our Três Estradas Phosphate Project and Andrade Copper Project (as well as all future developments) where possible.

Aguia has some exciting plans to expand Nossa Terra in innovative ways after the Phosphate Project goes into production.

RIO GRANDE DO SUL - CULTURE

Rio Grande do Sul is a region about the size of New Zealand and its population population has the highest life expectancy in Brazil. Like its foreign neighbours (Uruguay and Argentina), the state has a gaucho culture, and the pampas (the southwestern region of the state where Aguia’s projects and assets are located), is still influenced by the culture of the old Gaúchos.

Gaúcho is a term that can describe anyone born in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, however, it is also used to describe the 19th century rural workers of the region. Despite some influence from German and Italian immigrants to the region, the Gaúcho people of Rio Grande do Sul maintain a particular zeal for their culture.

Gaúcho culture in Rio Grande do Sul remains on display today, characterised through the wearing of the traditional Gaúcho outfit, skilled horsemanship and lassoing, and horseback livestock raising on the grazing fields of Rio Grande do Sul.

PEOPLE FROM LAVRAS

PROJECTS

Organic Phosphate Project

Copper
Project