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RNS Number : 0711D Horizonte Minerals PLC 17 October 2022 160NEWS RELEASE160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160160
17 October 2022
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Horizonte Minerals Plc
("Horizonte" or the "Company")
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Feasibility Stuy Contract Aware to Woo plc for Vermelho Nickel-Cobalt Project, Brazil
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Horizonte Minerals Plc (AIM: HZM, TSX: HZM), a nickel company eveloping two Tier 1 assets in Brazil, is please to announce it has aware Woo Plc ("Woo") the principal engineering contract to unertake the Feasibility Stuy ("FS") for Horizonte's 100%-owne Vermelho Nickel-Cobalt Project ("Vermelho" or "the Project").
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Vermelho is a large high-grae, long mine life, scalable resource, esigne to be a low-cost proucer of nickel an cobalt for the battery inustry. The Vermelho FS contract awar is another key milestone for Horizonte as it avances towars its long-term objective of becoming a 60,000 tonne per year nickel proucer, following the start of construction at Araguaia, its ferro-nickel project, early this year which is on scheule to prouce first nickel in Q1 2024.
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Highlights
183160160160 Vermelho is esigne to prouce 2,000 tonnes of nickel an 1,20 tonnes of cobalt per year over a 38-year mine life
183160160160 The Pre-Feasibility Stuy (ate October 2019) estimate a NPV8328 of US3.4Bn an a post-tax IRR of 38.6% with net cash flows of US12.9Bn using a nickel price of US23,000 per tonne
183160160160 Woo is a global leaer in project elivery, engineering an technical services with experience across a number of the major high pressure leach nickel operations globally
183160160160 The FS cost estimate will be complete to AACEI Class 3 stanar
183160160160 Aitional contracts that are in the final stages of being aware inclue pilot test work, mining, hyrogeology, hyrology, infrastructure an logistics packages an,
183160160160 Environmental licencing for Vermelho is well avance, with key regulatory submissions, forming the basis for the construction licence issuance, expecte to be mae prior to year-en.
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Jeremy Martin, CEO of Horizonte Minerals, commente:
"We are please to be working with Woo plc to eliver the Feasibility Stuy for the Vermelho Project. The commencement of the FS is an important step forwar in unlocking Vermelho's significant value. There are very few nickel resources of this scale an quality at an avance stage of evelopment, leaving Vermelho well positione to capitalise on the growing eman for sustainable critical metals.160
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"Vermelho is locate in the Caraj22s mining istrict, an area that features well-evelope infrastructure, an hyroelectric power. The Project is esigne to prouce nickel in intermeiate or refine form an will be a globally significant, non-conflict, ethical source of cobalt.
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"Araguaia an Vermelho have a combine inventory of over four million tonnes of nickel. By leveraging the synergies of these two worl-class projects, locate within trucking istance of each other in a stable an pro mining jurisiction, Horizonte is well positione to eliver its growth target of proucing 60,000 tonnes of nickel per year, placing the Company amongst the global leaers in primary nickel prouction outsie Inonesia."
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Further Details
Woo is a global leaer in project elivery, engineering an technical services, proviing efficient, integrate solutions across the asset life cycle in multiple sectors.160 They have extensive experience in the nickel inustry having worke on a number of the key nickel high pressure leach operations globally. The company is recognise in the inustry as a leaing hyrometallurgical group, elivering smart, high value outcomes for its clients worlwie.
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Woo (formerly GRD160Minproc), who unertook a successful Vermelho FS for Vale between 2003 - 2006, alreay has a etaile unerstaning of the Project, enabling them to leverage this existing knowlege uring the process of proucing this upate FS for Horizonte.
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Woo will provie engineering to a sufficient level so as to support a cost estimate with an expecte accuracy of - +/-1% for the Definitive FS phase in accorance with AACEI Class 3 estimate guielines.
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Environmental licencing for Vermelho is well avance. Horizonte has receive the Operating Licence allowing for the current exploration an rilling activities in the area an is nearing completion of the environmental an socioeconomic impact assessment ("ESIA", also known as "RIMA" in Brazil) for the Project. The ESIA/RIMA will be complemente with further etaile environmental technical stuies to support the FS. Teners for these activities have been complete an awar of these feasibility stuies support contracts are expecte to be mae in the near future.
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About the Vermelho Nickel-Cobalt project
The Group owns 100% of Vermelho, a high-grae, long mine life, scalable resource, which is locate in the Caraj22s Mining District in the Par22 State, northeast Brazil. The area has well-evelope infrastructure, incluing roas, rail, an hyroelectric power as a result of the sustaine mining activities in Caraj22s.
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The Vermelho Pre-FS comprises a planne open pit nickel laterite mining operation that covers a number of ifferent pits. The hyro-metallurgical process incorporates a beneficiation plant where ore is upgrae prior to being fe to a centralise High-Pressure Aci Leach ("HPAL"). The Project will mine a 141.3 million tonne ("Mt") Probable Mineral Reserve to prouce 924kt of nickel, 36kt of cobalt an 4.48 Mt of a saleable by-prouct, kieserite (a form of fertiliser) over an initially projecte 38-year mine life. At full prouction capacity, the Project is expecte to prouce an average of 2,000 tonnes of nickel an 1,20 tonnes of cobalt per year, utilising the High-Pressure Aci Leach process.
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Vermelho is set to eliver significant socio-economic benefits for communities in the Par22 state, incluing over 1,800 irect jobs in the construction phase, an over 600 jobs uring operation, as well as aitional economic an social evelopment programmes.
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For further information, visit www.horizonteminerals.com or contact:
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ABOUT HORIZONTE MINERALS
Horizonte Minerals plc (AIM TSX: HZM) is eveloping two 100%-owne, Tier 1 projects in Par224 state, Brazil - the Araguaia Nickel Project an the Vermelho Nickel-Cobalt Project. Both projects are large scale, high-grae, low-cost, low-carbon an scalable.160 Araguaia will prouce 29,000 tonnes of nickel per year to supply the stainless steel market. Vermelho is at feasibility stuy stage an will prouce 2,000 tonnes of nickel an 1,20 tonnes of cobalt to supply the EV battery market.160 Horizonte's combine near-term prouction profile of over 60,000 tonnes of nickel per year positions the Company as a globally significant nickel proucer. Horizonte is eveloping a new nickel istrict in Brazil that will benefit from establishe infrastructure, incluing hyroelectric power available in the Caraj22s Mining District.
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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
Except for statements of historical fact relating to the Company, certain information containe in this press release constitutes "forwar-looking information" uner Canaian securities legislation. Forwar-looking information inclues, but is not limite to, the ability of the Company to complete the acquisition of equipment as escribe 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 stuy regaring the secon RKEF line at Araguaia on time, or at all, the success of exploration an mining activities cost an timing of future exploration, prouction an evelopment the costs an timing for elivery of the equipment to be purchase as escribe herein, the estimation of mineral resources an reserves an the ability of the Company to achieve its goals in respect of growing its mineral resources the realization of mineral resource an reserve estimates an achieving prouction in accorance with the Company's potential prouction profile or at all. Generally, forwar-looking information can be ientifie by the use of forwar-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "oes not expect", "is expecte", "buget", "scheule", "estimates", "forecasts", "intens", "anticipates" or "oes not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such wors an phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "coul", "woul", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieve". Forwar-looking information is base on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analysis an opinions of management mae in light of its experience an its perception of trens, current conitions an expecte evelopments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant an reasonable in the circumstances at the ate that such statements are mae, an are inherently subject to known an unknown risks, uncertainties an other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially ifferent from those expresse or implie by such forwar-looking information, incluing but not limite to risks relate to: the inability of the Company to complete the acquisition of equipment contemplate herein, on time or at all, the ability of the Company to complete a positive feasibility stuy regaring the implementation of a secon RKEF line at Araguaia on the timeline contemplate or at all, exploration an mining risks, competition from competitors with greater capital the Company's lack of experience with respect to evelopment-stage mining operations fluctuations in metal prices uninsure risks environmental an other regulatory requirements exploration, mining an other licences the Company's future payment obligations potential isputes with respect to the Company's title to, an the area of, its mining concessions the Company's epenence on its ability to obtain sufficient financing in the future the Company's epenence on its relationships with thir parties the Company's joint ventures the potential of currency fluctuations an political or economic instability in countries in which the Company operates currency exchange fluctuations the Company's ability to manage its growth effectively the traing market for the orinary shares of the Company uncertainty with respect to the Company's plans to continue to evelop its operations an new projects the Company's epenence on key personnel possible conflicts of interest of irectors an officers of the Company, an various risks associate with the legal an regulatory framework within which the Company operates, together with the risks ientifie an isclose in the Company's isclosure recor available on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sear.com, incluing without limitation, the annual information form of the Company for the year ene December 31, 2021, the Araguaia Report an the Vermelho Report. Although management of the Company has attempte to ientify important factors that coul cause actual results to iffer materially from those containe in forwar-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipate, estimate or intene. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results an future events coul iffer materially from those anticipate in such statements.
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