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Brazil
Araguaia Project

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 Location:
45 km NW from Conceição do Araguaia, Brazil

  Project Contacts:
Avenida Afonso Pena, n° 3.111, sala 303
Belo Horizonte
Brazil
Phone  ...  Subscription required
Fax55-31-25140848
WebsiteWeb
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  • Overview
  • Owners
  • Geology
  • Mining
  • Processing
  • Production
  • Reserves
  • Costs & Financials
  • Fleet
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  • Filings & News

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Overview

StagePermitting
Mine TypeOpen Pit
Commodities
  • Nickel
  • Cobalt
  • Iron
  • Magnesia
  • Silica
  • Aluminum
  • Chrome
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Processing
  • Calcining
  • Rotary kiln & Electric furnace
Mine Life28 years (as of Jan 1, 2018)
Fully Permitted and Development Ready. Recent approval of the Construction Licence positions Horizonte with the environmental permits required to commence construction at Araguaia.
Latest NewsHorizonte Minerals Plc: Results of Placing     February 19, 2021


Owners

 
CompanyInterestOwnership
Horizonte Minerals Plc. 100 % Indirect

Deposit Type

  • Laterite
  • Sedimentary


Summary:

The Project lies within the north to south trending Neoproterozoic Araguaia Fold Belt.

The belt comprises metamorphosed and deformed marine-clastic sediments of the Tocantins Group and is split into two formations based on the degree of metamorphism present. The prospective areas of HZM are located in the western Couto de Magalhães Formation which contains weakly metamorphosed, marine pelites with local carbonate, iron-rich, and mafic to ultramafic bodies.

The local geology has largely been interpreted from airborne geophysical survey data, soil sampling data, mapping and core drilling by HZM and previous owners of the tenements. Various types of metasediments cover the vast majority of the licence area. Large plateau areas, varying in size from a few hundred square metres to several square kilometres, and generally capped with a hard iron-rich duricrust that is occasionally silicified are frequently developed over mafic and ultramafic bodies. These bodies and numerous northwest-southeast to north-south trending lineaments have been identified from magnetic data and outcrop. These bodies are often bounded by a siliceous breccia. Bodies of pillow lava and other volcanic material also exist. The area is cut by numerous mafic dykes.

A distinctive lateritic sequence is developed over ultramafic and mafic rocks within the Project area and the same sequence can be recognised at each of the target sites though the thickness and extent of each facies varies from location to location. The sequence can be split into six main facies types: soil, ferricrete, limonite, transition, saprolite and fresh rock, as well as numerous sub-facies.

The Project can be divided into Araguaia Nickel North (ANN) and Araguaia Nickel South (ANS). The ANN section comprises the Vale dos Sonhos (VDS) deposit. ANS comprises the following deposits:
- Jacutinga (JAC)
- Vila Oito West (VOW)
- Vila Oito (VOI)
- Vila Oito East (VOE)
- Pequizeiro (PQZ)
- Pequizeiro West (PQW)
- Baião (BAI)

The target mineralisation of the Project area is characteristic of typical nickel laterite deposits formed in a seasonally wet tropical climate, on weathered and partially erpentinised ultramafic rocks. Features of nickel laterites include:
- The nickel is derived from altered olivine, pyroxene and serpentine that constitute the bulk of tectonically emplaced ultramafic oceanic crust and upper mantle rocks.
- Lateritisation of serpentinised peridotite bodies occurred during the Tertiary period and the residual products have been preserved as laterite profiles over plateaus/amphitheatres, elevated terraces and ridges/spurs.
- The process of formation starts with hydration, oxidation, and hydrolysis, within the zone of oxidation, of the minerals comprising the ultramafic protore.
- The warm/hot climate and the circulation of meteoric water (the pH being neutral to acid and the Eh being neutral to oxidant) are essential to this process. Silicates are in part dissolved, and the soluble substances are carried out of the system.
- This process results in the concentration of nickel in the regolith in hydrated silicate minerals and hydrated iron oxides; nickel and cobalt also concentrate in manganese oxides. The regolith hosting nickel laterite deposits is typically 10 m to 50 m thick, but can exceed 100 m.
- Concentration of the nickel by leaching from the limonite zone and enrichment in the underlying saprolite zones is also common. Leaching of magnesium +/- silicon causes nickel and iron to become relatively concentrated in the limonite zone. Nickel is released by recrystallisation and dehydration of iron oxy-hydrides and is slowly leached downwards through the profile, both vertically and laterally, re-precipitating at the base with silicon and magnesium to form an absolute concentration within the saprolite.
- The degree of the nickel concentration and the detailed type of regolith profile developed is determined by several factors including climate, geomorphology, drainage, lithology composition, and structures in the parent rock, acting over time.
- A typical laterite profile contains three distinct horizons (limonite, transition and saprolite).


Mining Methods

  • Truck & Shovel / Loader


Summary:

Planned mining at ANP is to be completed with conventional open pit truck and excavator mining methods. No blasting will be necessary. The orebodies are flat lying and variable in composition. Waste overburden will be stripped on 4 m benches, and ore on 2 m benches for additional selectivity.

Reverse circulation (RC) grade control drilling will be completed at 10 m x 10 m spacing to define the waste/ore/ore type boundary ahead of mining. In addition, visual control at the boundary of the limonite and the transition ore will be used to minimise the amount of limonite being included in the ore feed.

Waste will be stored in external dumps nearby the pits. Ore will be transported to stockpile hubs near each deposit. Sheeting (using ferricrete won from the overburden) will be required to support trafficability in and around the mine during the wet season. Depending on plant demand, ore will be hauled from hub stockpiles or directly from the pits to the run of mine (ROM) at the RKEF process facility. Stockpiles on the (ROM) will be sheeted and classified according to ore type and chemistry for blending.

Due to the high rainfall in the wet season, mining (including stockpile rehandling) will be restricted to the Pequizeiro area between October and March. Mining rates are approximately three times higher in the dry season, which is typical in Brazilian open pit mining operations.

The annual mining rate peaks at 3.5 Mt/a between production years 2 and 7 before dropping down to 3.0 Mt/a for the remainder of the Project.

The equipment deployed on the mining operations will be dependent on the mining contractor awarded the work.


Crushing and Grinding


Processing

  • Calcining
  • Rotary kiln & Electric furnace

Flow Sheet: Subscription required

Summary:

The Project comprises a planned open pit nickel laterite mining operation that mines a 27.5 million tonne (Mt) Mineral Reserve of a 119 Mt Mineral Resource to produce 52,000 tonnes of ferronickel (FeNi) (containing 14,500 tonnes of nickel) a year.

After an initial ramp-up period, the plant will reach full capacity of approximately 900,000 tonnes per annum (t/a) of dry ore feed.

The Project will utilise a single rotary kiln electric furnace (RKEF) processing line from ore receipts through to shotting of the FeNi product. The product is a FeNi alloy having a 30% Ni content.


The key steps in the RKEF flowsheet are:
- ROM ore, at an average moisture content of 34%, is first blended to meet metallurgical processing requirements, then transported to the primary crushing stage. Here the ore is sized using two stages of crushing to match the requirements of the subsequent steps. A mineral sizer with a 200 mm gap is used for primary sizing, while a ........

Recoveries & Grades:

CommodityParameterAvg. LOM
Nickel Recovery Rate, %  ......  Subscription required
Nickel Head Grade, % 1.69
Nickel Concentrate Grade, %  ......  Subscription required
Iron Recovery Rate, %  ......  Subscription required
Iron Head Grade, % 17.2
Iron Concentrate Grade, %  ......  Subscription required
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Projected Production:

CommodityUnitsAvg. AnnualLOM
Nickel kt 14426
Iron kt  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
All production numbers are expressed as metal in alloy.

Operational Metrics:

Metrics
Stripping / waste ratio  ......  Subscription required
Annual mining capacity  ......  Subscription required
Waste tonnes, LOM  ......  Subscription required
Ore tonnes mined, LOM  ......  Subscription required
Annual milling capacity  ......  Subscription required
Tonnes processed, LOM  ......  Subscription required
* According to 2018 study.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Reserves at November 30, 2018:

CategoryTonnage CommodityGradeContained Metal
Proven 7.33 Mt Nickel 1.72 %
Proven 7.33 Mt Iron 16.01 %
Proven 7.33 Mt Al2O3 6 %
Probable 19.96 Mt Nickel 1.68 %
Probable 19.96 Mt Iron 17.57 %
Probable 19.96 Mt Al2O3 4.56 %
Proven & Probable 27.29 Mt Nickel 1.69 %
Proven & Probable 27.29 Mt Iron 17.15 %
Proven & Probable 27.29 Mt Al2O3 4.94 %
Measured 18,168 kt Nickel 1.44 % 261 kt
Measured 18,168 kt Cobalt 0.05 %
Measured 18,168 kt Iron 16.26 %
Measured 18,168 kt Al2O3 5.4 %
Measured 18,168 kt Magnesia 17.51 %
Measured 18,168 kt Silica 39.91 %
Measured 18,168 kt Chrome 1.17 %
Indicated 101,169 kt Nickel 1.25 % 1,264 kt
Indicated 101,169 kt Cobalt 0.06 %
Indicated 101,169 kt Iron 19.39 %
Indicated 101,169 kt Al2O3 5.06 %
Indicated 101,169 kt Magnesia 16.9 %
Indicated 101,169 kt Silica 36.26 %
Indicated 101,169 kt Chrome 1.39 %
Measured & Indicated 119,337 kt Nickel 1.27 % 1,525 kt
Measured & Indicated 119,337 kt Cobalt 0.06 %
Measured & Indicated 119,337 kt Iron 18.91 %
Measured & Indicated 119,337 kt Al2O3 5.11 %
Measured & Indicated 119,337 kt Magnesia 16.99 %
Measured & Indicated 119,337 kt Silica 36.81 %
Measured & Indicated 119,337 kt Chrome 1.36 %
Inferred 12,920 kt Nickel 1.19 % 154 kt
Inferred 12,920 kt Cobalt 0.06 %
Inferred 12,920 kt Iron 20.21 %
Inferred 12,920 kt Al2O3 5.58 %
Inferred 12,920 kt Magnesia 14.9 %
Inferred 12,920 kt Silica 36.77 %
Inferred 12,920 kt Chrome 1.39 %

Commodity Production Costs:

CommodityUnitsAverage
Cash costs Nickel USD  ......  Subscription required *
Total cash costs Nickel USD  ......  Subscription required *
C1 cash costs Nickel USD  ......  Subscription required *
Pre-tax break-even price Nickel USD  ......  Subscription required *
Assumed price Nickel USD  ......  Subscription required *
* According to 2018 study / presentation.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Operating Costs:

Units2018
OP mining costs ($/t milled) USD 26.7 *
Processing costs ($/t milled) USD  ......  Subscription required
* According to 2018 study.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

2018 Study Costs and Valuation Metrics :

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Pre-Production capital costs $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Sustaining CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Closure costs $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Total CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscription required
OP OpEx $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Processing OpEx $M USD 87.8
Total Taxes $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Royalty payments $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Gross revenue (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Pre-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscription required
After-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Pre-tax NPV @ 8% $M USD  ......  Subscription required
After-tax NPV @ 8% $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Pre-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscription required
After-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscription required
Pre-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscription required
After-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscription required
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Proposed Heavy Mobile Equipment:
HME TypeSizeQuantityRef. Date
Dozer 20 t 7 Nov 30, 2018
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required 3 Nov 30, 2018
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required 1 Nov 30, 2018
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required 1 Nov 30, 2018
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required 69 Nov 30, 2018
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required 15 Sep 30, 2016
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required 1 Nov 30, 2018
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Mine Management:

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Nov 15, 2018
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Nov 15, 2018
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 1, 2021
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 1, 2021
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Staff:

Total WorkforceYear
Subscription required 2018

Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
Corporate Presentation 2021
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2018
................................... Subscription required 2018
Pre-Feasibility Study Report 2016
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

News:

NewsDate
Horizonte Minerals Plc: Results of Placing February 19, 2021
Horizonte Minerals Plc: Quarterly Financial Results for the Three Months Ended 30 September 2020 November 12, 2020
Horizonte Announces US$325 Million Senior Debt Facility Mandate Executed for the Development of the Araguaia Project August 12, 2020
Horizonte Minerals Plc: Drawdown of US$25 Million Royalty Funding From Orion Mine Finance October 21, 2019
Horizonte Announces US$25 Million Royalty Funding With Orion Mine Finance for the Development of Its Araguaia Project August 29, 2019
Horizonte Awarded Power Utilisation Permit for the Araguaia Ferronickel Project July 8, 2019
Horizonte Minerals Awarded Construction Licence for Araguaia Ferronickel Project January 14, 2019
Horizonte Minerals Files Feasibility Study for the Araguaia Nickel Project December 12, 2018
Horizonte Minerals: Feasibility Study Confirms Low Cost, Long Life Nickel Project at Araguaia October 29, 2018
Horizonte Minerals Completes Aero Survey for Powerline and Advances Permitting for Araguaia Nickel Project June 21, 2018

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