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Brazil

Onca Puma Mine

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Onca Puma Mine

Location: 21 km N from Tucuma, Brazil

Address:

Parauapebas - State of Pará
Brazil
68533-000

Contacts:

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Categories

Summary

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Nickel
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Production Start... Lock
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotOnça Puma Operaton is the largest global producer of nickel.

Onça Puma Operaton consist of two main open pits (Onça and Puma), satellite deposits (Puma W, Guepardo and Mundial), and a smelting operation producing a high-quality ferronickel for application within the stainless-steel industry.

On April 2, 2024, the TJPA suspended the injunction that allowed Onça Puma to continue to operate.

In February 2025, the MPF filed a public civil action against the federal government, Pará, and Vale over the health of the Xikrin do Cateté People, allegedly affected by contamination from the Onça Puma mine.

In March 2025, Vale submitted a preliminary statement to the court, denying any link between contamination and the Onça Puma mine project, based on arguments supported by a 2018 Federal Court report. A decision on the MPF's request is still pending.

The second furnace project at Onça Puma is expected to start up in the second half of 2025.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Manara Minerals Investment Co. 10 % Indirect
Vale S.A. 90 % Indirect
Mineração Onça Puma S.A. (operator) 100 % Direct
Onça Puma is owned and operated by Mineração Onça Puma S.A., a subsidiary of Vale Base Metals Ltd. (VBM), the holding entity for Vale’s Energy Transition Metals business. Vale S.A. holds a 90% stake in VBM, while the remaining 10% is held by Manara Minerals.

On April 30, 2024, Vale S.A. announced the completion of the sale of a 10% interest in VBM to Manara Minerals, finalizing the previously announced transaction.

Contractors

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SourceSource

Deposit type

  • Laterite
  • Saprolite

Summary:

The Onca Puma mine is built on lateritic nickel deposits of saprolitic laterite ore.

Lateritic weathering profiles at Onca and Puma can be classified according to protolith mineralogy and the accumulation of quartz. Protolith mineralogy, the presence of significant chlorite and/or vermiculite in the serpentine #3 host at Puma distinguishes that deposit from Onca where the dominant Serpentinite #2 host is largely serpentine and chromite.

Each of the deposits has a saprolitic zone overlaid by a limonitic zone (if it has survived erosion). Nonsiliceous or normal profiles consist of serpentinite saprolite overlain by thin layers of limonite and in rare cases by some form o f ferricrete. Siliceous profiles are defined as having greater than 15% quartz in both siliceous saprolite and siliceous limonite. The limonite zones overlying tire On9a and Puma saprolites are generally thin, discontinuous, and from their chemistry consist of goethite, chromite, several manganese oxide phases, and sporadic amounts of quartz.

The principal minerals in the Onca saprolite in decreasing order of importance are serpentine, limonite, quartz, chromite and vermiculite. Ni occurs in solid solution largely in serpentine with subordinate amounts in goethite (=limonite) and vermiculite. Minor amounts of various green silicates, “gamierites” intergrown with chalcedonic quartz, are seen locally in Onca saprolite; grains of possible nepouite contained 13-19 wt% Ni have also been identified in mineralogical studies. Nickel and Cobalt also occur in manganese oxide phases but not in significant amounts of the saprolite unit. Intergrowths of a Mn-Al oxide phase have also been observed (typically this would be lithiophorite) and tamaite, (K,Ba)3Mn24(Si,Al)40(O,OH)u22*(H2O), with - 10% contained Ni.

Nickel in the Puma serpentinite is associated with narrow zones of fine-grained serpentine micro-breccia and centimeter-scale subhedral patches of very fine-grained polycrystalline chlorite and vermiculite. Locally significant amounts of chlorite and vermiculite are cut by millimeter to centimeter thick garnierite ± chalcedony veinlets controlled by a structural event which has cross-cut the igneous-layering. Vermiculite and chlorite are strongly enriched in nickel in the saprolite zone. Because both are more insoluble than serpentine, they persist upward in the laterite profile and are present in limonite and siliceous limonite.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Heavy Mobile Equipment

Fleet data has not been reported.

Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Milling equipment has not been reported.

Processing

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Commodity Production

CommodityUnits2024202320222021202020192018201720162015
Nickel kt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe1223252424
All production numbers are expressed as alloy.

Operational metrics

Metrics202420232022202120202019201720162015
Annual production capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe27,000 t of nickel metal in alloy
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe321 kt964 kt1,710 kt1,024 kt

Production Costs

CommodityUnits202120202019
Cash costs (sold) Nickel USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 9,965 / t **  
** Net of By-Product.

Mine Financials

Units202420232022202120202019
Revenue M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
EBITDA M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 9  

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 25, 2025
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....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 25, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 25, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 25, 2025

Workforce

Aerial view:

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