LONDON, March 9, 2015 /CNW/ - Horizonte Minerals
Plc, (AIM: HZM, TSX: HZM) ('Horizonte' or 'the
Company'), the nickel development company, is pleased to
announce positive results following completion of first stage
testing of the Rotary Kiln Electric Furnace Pilot Plant ('RKEF
Pilot Plant') for its 100% owned Araguaia nickel project
('Araguaia') in Para State, north central Brazil.
Highlights
- Completed commissioning of the 'Dryer/Agglomerator' module
ahead of full RKEF Pilot Plant launch targeted for April 2015
- Good drying and agglomeration performance achieved over three
sets of test conditions
- Excellent product quality – well agglomerated material obtained
with low dust generation while meeting target moisture level in the
dryer product (18% H2O)
- Kiln pre-commissioning and testing showed excellent calcination
with no evidence of sticking or sintering up to discharge
temperatures of 1,000oC
Horizonte Minerals CEO Jeremy
Martin said, "The dryer tests, which is the first stage of
the process flow sheet for the full scale RKEF Pilot Plant campaign
have been positive marking another successful milestone in
Araguaia's development. It's important to create the right
blend of ore feed at this first stage in the process flow sheet to
negate problems occurring with the feed throughout the process once
in commercial production. To this end, the Araguaia material
tested formed excellent ore feed, low dust levels and optimum
particle size to be fed into the kiln and subsequently into the
electric arc furnace to produce ferronickel.
"We will be delivering a further 200 tonnes of bulk sample of
Araguaia ore to the RKEF pilot facility in April 2015 to provide feed for the next stage of
testing, the continuous 20 day RKEF pilot plant metallurgical
campaign. The aim is to produce ferronickel to commercial
specification on a continual basis. This will be another
significant de-risking step for the project and a principal part of
the Feasibility Study. We look forward to providing regular
updates as this work progresses."
Further Information
Araguaia 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 the resource is a
Probable Mineral Reserve of 21.2Mt at 1.66%Ni. Furthermore a
Pre-Feasibility study ('PFS') has outlined robust economics for a
'base case' 15,000tpa nickel in ferro-nickel output with a 20%
Fe-Ni product over a 25 year mine life.
As part of the on-going testwork for the Feasibility Study,
Horizonte has successfully completed commissioning of the
'Dryer/Agglomerator' module during late January and February 2015 as part of first stage testing of
the Pilot Plant, ahead of the full Pilot Plant launch targeted for
April 2015.
Ore Preparation. A 20 tonne (wet) bulk sample of Araguaia
ore for Drying/Agglomeration pre-testing was delivered to the IGEO
testwork facility at the Morro Azul pilot plant in Minas Gerais,
Brazil on 22 January 2015. The bulk sample had been
selected for the purposes of drying/agglomeration
commissioning/pre-testing from ore representative of a blend of 60%
saprolite and 40% transition material i.e. the same proportions as
the scheduled feed for the 'base case' life of mine used in the
PFS. Crushing to <30mm and homogenization was carried out
on this bulk sample prior to testing.
Drying/Agglomeration. Drying and agglomeration
testing has been carried out over a range of test conditions in the
1 m diameter by 14 m long LPG-fired dryer at the Morro Azul pilot
plant. At steady state conditions, drying and agglomeration
performance was very good over the range of three test conditions,
with well agglomerated material being obtained while meeting the
target moisture level in the dryer product (18%
H2O).
Kiln Pre-testing. Kiln pre-commissioning and
testing has been carried out on the diesel fired long kiln (1.3 m
diameter by 9.4 m) at the Morro Azul pilot plant. The dryer
product from each of the three dryer runs was mixed with coal and
processed in the kiln. The kiln temperature was allowed to
slowly increase so that calcine discharge temperature increased
from approximately 900oC to 1000oC.
Observations of the movement of the calcine material inside
the kiln showed that over the above temperature range the feed
showed no evidence of sticking or sintering. The calcine
product had good granulometry and averaged reduction
(Fe2+ /Fet) = 54% and the calcine contained
an average of 1.8% carbon.
Full RKEF Pilot Plant Testwork. Preparations are at an
advanced stage with the collection of a 200 tonne bulk sample
underway to provide feed for full Pilot Plant metallurgical
testwork planned for April 2015. The 200 tonne (wet) bulk
sample of Araguaia ore will be representative of the PFS 'base
case' feed for the first nine years of operation.
* * ENDS * *
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, with targeted
production by late 2017 or early 2018.
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.
A Pre-Feasibility Study has been completed which 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.
Horizonte has a strong shareholder structure including Teck
Resources Limited 38.5%, Henderson Global Investors 14%, Anglo
Pacific Group 7%.
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