LONDON, Nov. 10, 2015 /CNW/ - Horizonte Minerals Plc,
(AIM: HZM, TSX: HZM) ('Horizonte' or 'the Company') the nickel
development company focused in Brazil, is pleased to announce the completion
of the integrated Rotary Kiln Electric Furnace ('RKEF') pilot plant
campaign for its 100% owned Araguaia nickel project ('Araguaia') in
Parà State, north-central Brazil,
which produced high grade ferronickel on a continuous and sustained
basis to commercial specification.
The pilot plant, located at Morro Azul in the State of Minas
Gerais, processed 160 wet tonnes of ore over an 11 day period, 24
hours per day. The bulk sample was representative of the ore which
the Company anticipates to be processed during the first nine years
of commercial operation at Araguaia.
Highlights
- Pilot plant campaign confirmed production of high grade
commercial ferronickel from representative Araguaia ore
- Drying and agglomeration produced excellent feed material for
processing in the high temperature rotary kiln
- Good quality calcine continuously produced in the rotary kiln
with very low dust generation and favourable pre-reduction levels
of about 60% for iron oxide and 10% nickel oxide
reduction
- Electric furnace smelting of the calcine produced high quality
ferronickel over a target range of commercial nickel grades and at
a nickel recovery over 93%; both ingot casting and nickel
granulation of the Fe-Ni product was successfully demonstrated
- No critical flaws were identified in the process flow
sheet
- Full range of technical data to be incorporated in full
Feasibility Study for final commercial RKEF design due in 2016,
together with the additional data from the recently acquired
Glencore nickel project
Horizonte CEO Jeremy Martin
said, "I am delighted that the pilot plant campaign has
demonstrated the production of commercial grade ferronickel on a
continuous and sustained basis. The pilot facility operated by our
metallurgical consultants IGEO is one of the most comprehensive
facilities globally, being able to offer the complete integrated
RKEF flow sheet which simulates full commercial
production. The plant operated over an 11 day period, 24 hours
per day with two metal pours each day, treating the representative
bulk sample that was transported down from the Project. It was
possible to produce high grade ferronickel with the key equipment
operating in stable condition. No critical flaws were
identified and the ore performance exceeded our original
expectations. All of the information generated during this test
will now be utilised to finalise the commercial RKEF design in the
Feasibility Study. It was also good to have senior personnel
from equipment suppliers ThyssenKrupp and SMS Siemag attending the
programme.
"Our recently announced acquisition of the adjacent Glencore
nickel project will also be integrated into the Feasibility Study.
The ore type is very similar to Araguaia, with extensive
metallurgical test work also completed. At this stage it is
not envisaged that it will be necessary to run further pilot work
on the combined project due to the high quality work completed by
Xstrata / Glencore. I look forward to updating shareholders
as we advance the combined projects through to Feasibility."
A short video of the pilot process is available on our website;
http://horizonteminerals.com/uk/en/araguaia_short_video/
Further Details
The key objectives of the integrated pilot plant campaign were
to confirm the smelting behaviour of the Araguaia ore, the mode of
operation of the dryer/agglomerator-kiln-electric furnace, as well
as the production of ferro-nickel and slag at the temperatures and
quality under conditions similar to a commercial
operation.
As previously reported by Horizonte on 27
April 2015, 240 wet tonnes
(approximately 135 tonnes dry) of Araguaia ore, representative of
that anticipated for the first nine years of commercial operation,
were delivered to the RKEF pilot plant located at Morro Azul, Minas
Gerais, Brazil. Of this,
about 160 tonnes (wet) were processed.
The Morro Azul pilot plant was originally built by Anglo American and is now operated by Morro Azul
in association with IGEO of Sao
Paulo, Brazil. The facility has been used by a number
of major nickel companies (including Vale and Anglo American) for pilot test work, staff
training and final product testing. Horizonte has been the
beneficiary of the many years of accumulated experience in the
operation of and on-going improvements to the pilot plant.
The processing of the Araguaia ore commenced in mid-April 2015. For ease of ore handling in
the pilot crusher, the as-received ore at about 42% moisture was
first air-dried to about 30% moisture then, after crushing to less
than 30mm, the material was homogenised and stockpiled. The
crushed ore was then dried and agglomerated in a rotary drier
specially fitted with lifters to reduce the free moisture content
to approximately 20% while producing well-sized agglomerated
particles. The pre-testing and commissioning of the
dryer/agglomerator unit was previously completed in late January on
a separate batch of Araguaia ore, as reported by Horizonte on
9 March 2015.
The dried and agglomerated ore mixed with coal as reductant was
continuously introduced to the diesel-fired rotary kiln, producing
excellent quality calcine with very little dust generation.
Hot calcine at about 8000C was transferred to the
electric furnace for smelting to ferronickel of pre-determined
nickel grade and a low nickel slag. The ferronickel was
periodically tapped and either cast as ingots or granulated. Slag
was tapped and granulated for later storage. After toxicity
characteristic leaching procedure analysis (TCP), the slag was
classified as Solid Waste Class IIB, Non-hazardous and Inert in
accordance with the Brazilian solid waste classification.
The successful pilot campaign confirmed that smelting of
Araguaia ore by the proven RKEF process is feasible and provided a
wealth of technical data to be incorporated into the Feasibility
Study.
About Horizonte Minerals:
Horizonte Minerals plc is an
AIM and TSX-listed nickel development company focused in
Brazil, which wholly owns the
advanced Araguaia nickel laterite project located to the south of
the Carajas mineral district of northern Brazil.
The Company is developing Araguaia as the next major nickel mine
in Brazil.
The Project, which has excellent infrastructure in place
including rail, road, water and power, has a current NI 43-101
compliant Mineral Resource of 71.98Mt grading 1.33% Ni (Indicated)
and 25.4Mt at 1.21% Ni (Inferred) at a 0.95% nickel cut-off;
included in Resources is a Probable Reserve base of 21.2Mt at
1.66%Ni.
The Pre-Feasibility Study which was completed and reported on
25 March 2014, underpins the robust
economics of developing a mine with a targeted 15,000tpa nickel in
ferro-nickel output with a 20% Fe-Ni product over a 25 year mine
life utilising the proven pyrometallurgical process of Rotary Kiln
Electric Furnace technology. At these production rates, the project
has a post-tax NPV of US$519M at a
discount rate of 8% and an IRR of 20%, with a capital cost of
US$582M which puts this project in
the lowest quartile of the cost curve.
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, statements with respect to the potential of the
Company's current or future property mineral projects; the success
of exploration and mining activities; cost and timing of future
exploration, production and development; the estimation of mineral
resources and reserves and the ability of the Company to achieve
its goals in respect of growing its mineral resources; and the
realization of mineral resource and reserve estimates. 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: 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.
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.
SOURCE Horizonte Minerals plc