Name of the Project
Araguaia nickel project.

Location
The project is located on the eastern margin of the state of Pará, in north-eastern Brazil, to the north of the town of Conceição do Araguaia.

Client
Horizonte Minerals.

Project Description
Araguaia has proven and probable reserves of 24.6-million tonnes grading 1.77% nickel and comprises the Araguaia nickel project area (HZMA) and the Glencore Araguaia project (GAP) area.

The project is based on a 28-year life-of-mine, producing about 14 500 t/y of nickel in ferronickel from a single-line rotary kiln electric furnace (RKEF) plant.

The prefeasibility study (PFS) has proposed openpit mining for the exploitation of nickel laterite to establish the production of run-of-mine from eight openpits (seven for the HZMA and one for the GAP) to supply a targeted 900 000 t/y of ore to a processing and smelter facility. This facility will use the proven RKEF process, with the product being sold free-on-board at the selected port of export. 

Overall nickel recovery has been estimated at 93%.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a post-tax net present value (NPV), at an 8% discount rate, of $581-million at a nickel price of $14 000/t and an NPV of $328-million at a nickel price of $12 000/t of nickel. 

A post-tax internal rate of return of 26.4% at $14 000/t of nickel and 19.3% at $12 000/t nickel has been estimated. 

Value
Total preproduction capital costs are estimated at $353.5-million.

Duration
Construction is expected to start in 2017.

Latest Developments
The granting of a water permit for industrial water consumption at Horizonte’s Araguaia project has brought the nickel project one step closer to its objective of being “construction ready” by the end of this year.

The water licence, granted by the Pará State Environmental Agency, guarantees Horizonte access to water for the full-scale commercial operation, including mining and beneficiation plant activities.

Water will be pumped from the Arraias river through an 11 km pipeline to a water cooling dam, which will be located beside the Araguaia beneficiation plant. The planned operation includes a closed-circuit system and the company aims to recycle between 80% and 90% of the total water used in the process.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Worley Parsons Group (process engineering); Snowden Mining Industry Consultants (mine planning, mineral resource and the reserve estimate and ERM (hydrogeology and the environmental and social permitting); Steinweg Handelsveem (material transport and logistics), SM&A Electrics (power infrastructure and transmission lines); and VCE Mine Consultancy (mining permit reporting).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Horizonte Minerals, tel + 44 207 763 7157 or email info@horizonteminerals.com.