13th Aug 2019 10:32
(Alliance News) - Horizonte Minerals PLC on Tuesday said it now has one of the world's largest undeveloped nickel and cobalt resources in the world, following an upgrade.
Horizonte has unveiled a mineral resource for the Serra do Tapa nickel deposit, located some 90 kilometres to the north of the Araguaia ferro-nickel project in Para state, north-eastern Brazil.
The company's other asset is the Vermelho nickel-cobalt project, also in Para.
The resource at Serra do Tapa stands at 70.3 million tonnes of ore in the measured and indicated categories, at a grade of 1.22% nickel. Including this, Horizonte's total resource has climbed 30%.
It now stands at 280 million tonnes, containing 3.5 million tonnes of nickel and 155,000 tonnes of cobalt.
Chief Executive Jeremy Martin said: "The release of the new mineral resource covering the Serra do Tapa deposit is another exciting development for the company and increases our total aggregate nickel resource base by 30%.
"The resource is high grade and scalable, using a 1.2% nickel cut-off grade it delivers over 41 million tonnes of mineral resource in the measured and indicated category grading 1.4% nickel."
"The company now has 100% ownership of a nickel district, with over 280 million tonnes of resource (in the measured and indicated category), in one of the largest mining districts in Brazil, the Carajas district, which has good infrastructure, water, energy and skilled labour," Martin continued.
"This generates the potential for Horizonte to develop two mining centres within trucking distance of each other, the first, in the south at Araguaia."
Work at Araguaia is currently concentrated on securing project finance ahead of construction, while Horizonte is currently finalising a pre-feasibility study for the Vermelho project, which is due later in the third quarter.
Shares were up 8.2% on Tuesday morning in London at a price of 2.44 pence each.
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