Itafos Inc. has announced the results of the updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for its Arraias Phosphate Project (the Arraias Project), a phosphate mine project located in Tocantins, Brazil.
Arraias Project 2026 PEA highlights
The project has been targeting high grade phosphate rock layers in breccia and conglomerate.
Four individual deposits at the Arraias Project were evaluated for Mineral Resources: Domingos, Cana Brava, Coite, and Near Mine.
2 million t of resources have been measured and indicated plus 3 million t inferred mineral resources including:
- Measured mineral resources include 1.1 million t of breccia at an in-situ grade of 17.7% P2O5 and 500 000 t of conglomerate at an in-situ grade of 12.1% P2O5.
- Indicated mineral resources include 400 000 t of breccia at an in-situ grade of 16.4% P2O5 and 89 000 t of conglomerate at an in-situ grade of 11.6% P2O5.
- Inferred mineral resources for the four deposits include 2.4 million t of breccia at an in-situ grade of 15.4% P2O5 and 600 000 t of conglomerate at an in-situ grade of 12.0% P2O5.
Itafos has been mining breccia and conglomerate at the Domingos deposit since 2023 and selling a direct application product (DAPR) as well as a partially acidulated product (PAPR). The PEA mine plan includes continued production of DAPR and PAPR, as well as processing the breccia to produce single superphosphate (SSP).
An estimated US$8.0 million in capital expenditures will be required for beneficiation plant upgrades enabling the production of SSP. The life-of-mine plan for the currently estimated resources is approximately 14 years with an estimated after-tax net present value (NPV) 8% of US$70.7 million, internal rate of return (IRR) of 85%, and payback period of around two years.
CEO David Delaney, commented: “Itafos is pleased with the results of this PEA and believes it supports our fertilizer restart strategy at the Arraias Project. The results of this study point towards a project with robust economics and allow us to proceed to the next stages of project development. Further exploration work will be focused on increasing resources and mine life.
“Over the last four years, Itafos Brazil has focused on developing the market for its blend of non-traditional fertilizers and 2025 marked a record year of profitability at Arraias. 2026 will represent a period of transition as we move to upgrade the beneficiation circuit in order to produce SSP, with the goal of selling this product into the large and growing Brazilian market during 2027.”
Arraias Project preliminary economic assessment
A technical report, entitled, “NI 43-101 Technical Report Preliminary Economic Assessment Arraias Phosphate Operations, Tocantins, Brazil” (the Arraias PEA) was prepared for the Company by WSP Canada Inc. (WSP) in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101). The Report was prepared to summarise the results of the PEA and consolidate all project work to date. WSP was supported by Millcreek Engineering.
Read the full report and assessment here.