Oct 25 2017
Horizonte Minerals Plc, the nickel development company focussed in Brazil, is pleased to announce that is has completed and filed the Mine Construction Licence ('Installation Licence' or 'LI') for its Araguaia nickel project ('Araguaia' or 'the Project'), Brazil's next ferronickel project.
The LI was submitted to SEMAS, the Pará State authority responsible for environmental licensing, for the construction of the Project, including mine, associated infrastructure and pyro-metallurgical processing plant.
Highlights
- Extensive work programmes were completed to produce the LI suite of documents; including full environmental monitoring across all principal disciplines;
- This enabled Horizonte to develop social and environmental mitigation and monitoring plans for all phases of Araguaia, including: construction, operation and closure;
- Horizonte have formally gazetted the filing of the LI and vegetation suppression permit in the Brazilian Diário Oficial da União; and,
- Upon approval of the LI together with approval of the Mine Plan from the Brazilian mining authority, Horizonte will have the necessary permits in place to commence construction.
Horizonte CEO, Jeremy Martin, commented:
"The submission of the Mine Construction Licence ('LI') marks a major milestone for the Araguaia nickel project, as it moves towards the construction decision. The work required to collect the data and develop the suite of documents that make up the LI has been finalised as part of Araguaia's ongoing Feasibility Study, which is on track for completion in Q1 2018. This has been a major piece of work, involving a number of consulting groups across a variety of disciplines led by our inhouse team.
"The Araguaia project has the potential to create approximately 500 new jobs in the operational phase in a rural area where the average family income ranges between US$2 - US$4 per day. As a result, the Pará Government considers Araguaia to be a key economic driver for the southern part of the State. Additionally, we continue to receive positive community support for the project as evidenced through our ongoing community engagement programmes."
Mine Construction Licence
The completed LI was filed at SEMAS, and published in the Brazilian official gazette (Diário Oficial da União) by Horizonte's local subsidiary, Araguaia Níquel Mineração Ltda. Approval of the LI from SEMAS, together with the approval of the Mine Plan from the Brazilian mining authority, will permit Horizonte to commence construction at Araguaia.
Social and environmental mitigation and monitoring plans, together with licence condition reports, were elaborated by a leading environmental consultancy group, Environmental Resource Management ('ERM'), in conjunction with experienced local Pará State consultants on fauna and flora programmes. Both Horizonte and ERM representatives presented the LI to SEMAS in a meeting held in Belém, the capital of Pará State.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.