LONDON (Alliance News) - Horizonte Minerals PLC on Tuesday said its new integrated rotary kiln electric furnace that has been installed at the Araguaia nickel project in Brazil has produced high grade ferronickel that is of a commercial specification.
The pilot plant processed 160.0 wet tonnes of ore over an 11 day period for 24 hours a day, and the company said the ore that was treated is the same as the ore it anticipates treating over the first nine years of commercial operations at the project.
"I am delighted that the pilot plant campaign has demonstrated the production of commercial grade ferronickel on a continuous and sustained basis," said Chief Executive Jeremy Martin.
Horizonte said drying and agglomeration produced "excellent feed material" for processing in the high temperature rotary kiln, which continuously produced good quality calcine with very low dust generation and favourable pre-reduction levels of about 60% for iron oxide and 10% nickel oxide reduction.
The calcine, which is then smelted in the electric furnace, produced high quality ferronickel of commercial nickel grades, with a nickel recovery rate of 93%.
The data collected from the pilot plant over that 11 day test will be integrated into the full feasibility study for the project, which will form the basis for the final commercial design of the rotary kiln electric furnace which is due in 2016.
Horizonte shares were untraded on Tuesday morning, last trading at 1.87 pence per share.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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Horizonte Minerals (HZM)