TIDMHZM
RNS Number : 8321D
Horizonte Minerals PLC
05 February 2018
NEWS RELEASE
5 February 2018
COMPLETION OF TRIAL EXCAVATION PROGRAMME AT ARAGUAIA
_____________________________________________________________________
Horizonte Minerals Plc, (AIM/TSX: HZM) ('Horizonte' or 'the
Company') the nickel development company focussed in Brazil, is
pleased to announce the completion of the Trial Excavation
programme for its Araguaia nickel project ('Araguaia' or 'the
Project'), Brazil's next ferronickel mine.
Highlights
-- A Trial Excavation programme has been successfully completed
with all technical objectives met;
-- The programme included:
o Pre-mining diamond drilling;
o A test pit with 27,000 tonnes of ore mined; and,
o Analysis/reconciliation of the mined material.
-- Snowden Mining Industry Consultants Pty Ltd ('Snowden')
supervised the programme on site in Brazil; and,
-- The technical and economic results are currently being
compiled by Snowden with the information feeding into Araguaia's
ongoing Feasibility Study.
Horizonte CEO, Jeremy Martin, commented:
"The completion of the trial excavation programme at Araguaia,
marks another key development milestone for Horizonte. This
programme has generated real in-situ data that will allow us to
confirm the mining technique, slope stability, grade profiles,
dewatering requirement with additional work on ore handling which
has allowed the primary crushing design to be finalised.
"The Feasibility Study is well advanced with the focus now
around the build-up of the capital costs, the implementation
strategy and overall project economics. The recent increase in
nickel price will require some additional optimisation work to be
undertaken around the mining schedule as we work to optimise the
project economics. We look forward to providing further updates to
the market as we advance the project permitting and Feasibility
Study."
A video of the trial excavation programme at Araguaia can be
found at www.horizonte.com
Further Details
During late Q2 running through Q3, 2017 , the Company excavated
a test pit at the Pequizeiro deposit ('PQZ') at Araguaia. The final
trial excavation at Araguaia comprised approximately 27,000 tonnes
of material. The exercise was part of the field work completed for
the ongoing Feasibility Study and met the recommendations set out
by Snowden mining engineers, in the Pre-Feasibility Study,
announced in October 2016. The exercise was undertaken by mining
contractors under the direct supervision of Snowden, with the
support of the Company's geological team on site.
The objectives of this Trial Excavation programme included:
-- Assessment of short scale variability to optimise grade control;
-- Assessment of grade control sampling using the channel sampling method;
-- Reconciliation of mined blocks with estimated grades and
tonnes using two borehole spacings (5m and 10m);
-- Reconciliation of contact surfaces as predicted by the resource model;
-- Assessment of the presence or not of core stones;
-- Samples to measure the granulometry of the ore;
-- Confirmation of dilution factors;
-- Large scale measurement of bulk density factors;
-- In situ confirmation of groundwater and concept of dewatering required;
-- Technical support for the mining cost and input assumptions; and,
-- Testing the effectiveness of pisolitic ferricrete as sheeting.
The Company collected 'typical ore' samples for large scale
granulometry and crushing test work, which was completed at the
University of São Paulo. Horizonte also conducted detailed mapping
and sampling of individual Selective Mining Units ('SMUs'),
measuring 5m x 5m x 2m. All analytical work was undertaken at the
ALS laboratories in Brazil and Peru with full QA/QC protocols
applied.
Prior to the excavation, a 30 hole (600m) diamond drilling
programme was completed on a 5m x 5m grid over the excavation site.
The data from this programme has been used for estimation of
tonnage and grade for reconciliation with the SMUs excavated during
the trial mining.
All of the above objectives listed were met and results are
currently being compiled by Snowden for a complete and integrated
analysis in the final Araguaia Feasibility Study.
The Araguaia Nickel Project
Araguaia, which is 100% owned by Horizonte, is located on the
eastern margin of the
State of Pará, north-eastern Brazil, in the Municipal of
Conceição do Araguaia
(population of 46,206), south of the main Carajás Mining
District.
The region has good infrastructure in place including rail,
road, water and power.
Araguaia plans to produce around 14,500 tonnes of contained
nickel in approximately 50,000 tonnes of ferronickel per year from
processing 0.9 million tonnes of ore via the proven and widely
utilized Rotary Kiln Electric Furnace (RKEF) process route.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of EU
Regulation 596/2014.
* *S * *
For further information visit www.horizonteminerals.com or
contact:
Contacts:
Horizonte Minerals plc
Jeremy Martin (CEO)
+44 (0)203 356 2901
Numis Securities Limited (Broker)
John Prior/James Black/Paul Gillam
+44 (0)207 260 1000
FinnCap Ltd (NOMAD & Joint Broker)
Christopher Raggett/ James Thompson /
Anthony Adams / Emily Morris
+44 (0) 20 7220 0500
Shard Capital (Joint Broker)
Damon Heath / Erik Woolgar
+44 (0) 20 7186 9952
Tavistock (Financial PR)
Jos Simson / Barney Hayward
+44 (0) 20 7920 3150
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 Carajás mineral district of northern Brazil. The Company is
developing Araguaia as the next major nickel mine in Brazil, with
targeted production by 2021.
The Project has good infrastructure in place including rail,
road, water and power.
Horizonte has a strong shareholder structure including Teck
Resources Limited 14.7%, Hargreave Hale Ltd 9.6%, Richard Griffiths
8.9%, Lombard Odier Asset Management (Europe) Limited 8.6%, JP
Morgan 8.3%, City Financial 7.6% and Glencore 5.2%.
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, the ability of the Company to complete the Acquisition
as described herein, 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; the
ability of the Company to complete the Placing as described herein,
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: the inability of the Company
to complete the Acquisition as described herein, 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, the inability of the Company to complete the
Placing on the terms as described herein, 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.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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