REG - Horizonte Minerals - Feasibility Study Contract Awarded for Vermelho

Horizonte MineralsAnnouncement

17/10/2022 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20221017:nRSQ0711Da&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 0711D  Horizonte Minerals PLC  17 October 2022

NEWS
RELEASE

17 October 2022

 

Horizonte Minerals Plc

("Horizonte" or the "Company")

 

Feasibility Study Contract Awarded to Wood plc for Vermelho Nickel-Cobalt
Project, Brazil

 

Horizonte Minerals Plc (AIM: HZM, TSX: HZM), a nickel company developing two
Tier 1 assets in Brazil, is pleased to announce it has awarded Wood Plc
("Wood") the principal engineering contract to undertake the Feasibility Study
("FS") for Horizonte's 100%-owned Vermelho Nickel-Cobalt Project ("Vermelho"
or "the Project").

 

Vermelho is a large high-grade, long mine life, scalable resource, designed to
be a low-cost producer of nickel and cobalt for the battery industry. The
Vermelho FS contract award is another key milestone for Horizonte as it
advances towards its long-term objective of becoming a 60,000 tonne per year
nickel producer, following the start of construction at Araguaia, its
ferro-nickel project, early this year which is on schedule to produce first
nickel in Q1 2024.

 

 

Highlights

·    Vermelho is designed to produce 25,000 tonnes of nickel and 1,250
tonnes of cobalt per year over a 38-year mine life;

·    The Pre-Feasibility Study (dated October 2019) estimated a NPV₈ of
US$3.4Bn and a post-tax IRR of 38.6% with net cash flows of US$12.9Bn using a
nickel price of US$23,000 per tonne;

·    Wood is a global leader in project delivery, engineering and
technical services with experience across a number of the major high pressure
leach nickel operations globally;

·    The FS cost estimate will be completed to AACEI Class 3 standard;

·    Additional contracts that are in the final stages of being awarded
include pilot test work, mining, hydrogeology, hydrology, infrastructure and
logistics packages; and,

·    Environmental licencing for Vermelho is well advanced, with key
regulatory submissions, forming the basis for the construction licence
issuance, expected to be made prior to year-end.

 

Jeremy Martin, CEO of Horizonte Minerals, commented:

"We are pleased to be working with Wood plc to deliver the Feasibility Study
for the Vermelho Project. The commencement of the FS is an important step
forward in unlocking Vermelho's significant value. There are very few nickel
resources of this scale and quality at an advanced stage of development,
leaving Vermelho well positioned to capitalise on the growing demand for
sustainable critical metals.

 

"Vermelho is located in the Carajás mining district, an area that features
well-developed infrastructure, and hydroelectric power. The Project is
designed to produce nickel in intermediate or refined form and will be a
globally significant, non-conflict, ethical source of cobalt.

 

"Araguaia and Vermelho have a combined inventory of over four million tonnes
of nickel. By leveraging the synergies of these two world-class projects,
located within trucking distance of each other in a stable and pro mining
jurisdiction, Horizonte is well positioned to deliver its growth target of
producing 60,000 tonnes of nickel per year, placing the Company amongst the
global leaders in primary nickel production outside Indonesia."

 

Further Details

Wood is a global leader in project delivery, engineering and technical
services, providing efficient, integrated solutions across the asset life
cycle in multiple sectors.  They have extensive experience in the nickel
industry having worked on a number of the key nickel high pressure leach
operations globally. The company is recognised in the industry as a leading
hydrometallurgical group, delivering smart, high value outcomes for its
clients worldwide.

 

Wood (formerly GRD Minproc), who undertook a successful Vermelho FS for Vale
between 2003 - 2006, already has a detailed understanding of the Project,
enabling them to leverage this existing knowledge during the process of
producing this updated FS for Horizonte.

 

Wood will provide engineering to a sufficient level so as to support a cost
estimate with an expected accuracy of - +/-15% for the Definitive FS phase in
accordance with AACEI Class 3 estimate guidelines.

 

Environmental licencing for Vermelho is well advanced. Horizonte has received
the Operating Licence allowing for the current exploration and drilling
activities in the area and is nearing completion of the environmental and
socioeconomic impact assessment ("ESIA", also known as "RIMA" in Brazil) for
the Project. The ESIA/RIMA will be complemented with further detailed
environmental technical studies to support the FS. Tenders for these
activities have been completed and award of these feasibility studies support
contracts are expected to be made in the near future.

 

About the Vermelho Nickel-Cobalt project

The Group owns 100% of Vermelho, a high-grade, long mine life, scalable
resource, which is located in the Carajás Mining District in the Pará State,
northeast Brazil. The area has well-developed infrastructure, including roads,
rail, and hydroelectric power as a result of the sustained mining activities
in Carajás.

 

The Vermelho Pre-FS comprises a planned open pit nickel laterite mining
operation that covers a number of different pits. The hydro-metallurgical
process incorporates a beneficiation plant where ore is upgraded prior to
being fed to a centralised High-Pressure Acid Leach ("HPAL"). The Project will
mine a 141.3 million tonne ("Mt") Probable Mineral Reserve to produce 924kt of
nickel, 36kt of cobalt and 4.48 Mt of a saleable by-product, kieserite (a form
of fertiliser) over an initially projected 38-year mine life. At full
production capacity, the Project is expected to produce an average of 25,000
tonnes of nickel and 1,250 tonnes of cobalt per year, utilising the
High-Pressure Acid Leach process.

 

Vermelho is set to deliver significant socio-economic benefits for communities
in the Pará state, including over 1,800 direct jobs in the construction
phase, and over 600 jobs during operation, as well as additional economic and
social development programmes.

 

 

 

For further information, visit www.horizonteminerals.com
(http://www.horizonteminerals.com) or contact:

 

 Horizonte Minerals plc                                                     info@horizonteminerals.com (mailto:info@horizonteminerals.com)

 Jeremy Martin (CEO)                                                        +44 (0) 203 356 2901

 Simon Retter (CFO)

 Patrick Chambers (Head of IR)

 Peel Hunt LLP (Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker)                           +44 (0)20 7418 8900

 Ross Allister

 David McKeown

 BMO (Joint Broker)                                                         +44 (0) 20 7236 1010

 Thomas Rider

 Pascal Lussier Duquette

 Andrew Cameron

 Tavistock (Financial PR)                                                   +44 (0) 20 7920 3150

 Emily Moss

 Cath Drummond

 

 

ABOUT HORIZONTE MINERALS

Horizonte Minerals plc (AIM & TSX: HZM) is developing two 100%-owned, Tier
1 projects in Parà state, Brazil - the Araguaia Nickel Project and the
Vermelho Nickel-Cobalt Project. Both projects are large scale, high-grade,
low-cost, low-carbon and scalable.  Araguaia will produce 29,000 tonnes of
nickel per year to supply the stainless steel market. Vermelho is at
feasibility study stage and will produce 25,000 tonnes of nickel and 1,250
tonnes of cobalt to supply the EV battery market.  Horizonte's combined
near-term production profile of over 60,000 tonnes of nickel per year
positions the Company as a globally significant nickel producer. Horizonte is
developing a new nickel district in Brazil that will benefit from established
infrastructure, including hydroelectric power available in the Carajás Mining
District.

 

 

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Except for statements of historical fact relating to the Company, certain
information contained in this press release constitutes "forward-looking
information" under Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking
information includes, but is not limited to, the ability of the Company to
complete the acquisition of equipment as described herein, statements with
respect to the potential of the Company's current or future property mineral
projects; the ability of the Company to complete a positive feasibility study
regarding the second RKEF line at Araguaia on time, or at all, the success of
exploration and mining activities; cost and timing of future exploration,
production and development; the costs and timing for delivery of the equipment
to be purchased as described herein, the estimation of mineral resources and
reserves and the ability of the Company to achieve its goals in respect of
growing its mineral resources; the realization of mineral resource and reserve
estimates and achieving production in accordance with the Company's potential
production profile or at all. Generally, forward-looking information can be
identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans",
"expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled",
"estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate",
or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that
certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will
be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is based on
the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management
made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current
conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management
believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that
such statements are made, and are inherently subject to known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results,
level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially
different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information,
including but not limited to risks related to: the inability of the Company to
complete the acquisition of equipment contemplated herein, on time or at all,
the ability of the Company to complete a positive feasibility study regarding
the implementation of a second RKEF line at Araguaia on the timeline
contemplated or at all, exploration and mining risks, competition from
competitors with greater capital; the Company's lack of experience with
respect to development-stage mining operations; fluctuations in metal prices;
uninsured risks; environmental and other regulatory requirements; exploration,
mining and other licences; the Company's future payment obligations; potential
disputes with respect to the Company's title to, and the area of, its mining
concessions; the Company's dependence on its ability to obtain sufficient
financing in the future; the Company's dependence on its relationships with
third parties; the Company's joint ventures; the potential of currency
fluctuations and political or economic instability in countries in which the
Company operates; currency exchange fluctuations; the Company's ability to
manage its growth effectively; the trading market for the ordinary shares of
the Company; uncertainty with respect to the Company's plans to continue to
develop its operations and new projects; the Company's dependence on key
personnel; possible conflicts of interest of directors and officers of the
Company, and various risks associated with the legal and regulatory framework
within which the Company operates, together with the risks identified and
disclosed in the Company's disclosure record available on the Company's
profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com (http://www.sedar.com) , including without
limitation, the annual information form of the Company for the year ended
December 31, 2021, the Araguaia Report and the Vermelho Report. Although
management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in
forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not
to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that
such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events
could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  MSCXDLBFLBLLFBL