Horizonte Minerals (LON:HZM) has expanded its footprint around its Araguaia nickel property in northern Brazil following the award of four new concessions.
In the wake of the acquisition of Glencore’s GAP Project it is amassing a considerable footprint in the region.
The two northern concessions it has acquired total 4,325 hectares and butt up to GAP’s Serra do Tapa laterite deposit.
The two new southern plots, meanwhile, cover 15,674 hectares and are next to Araguaia’s Jacutinga and Pequizeiro deposits.
It has applications in for three further concessions totalling just under 6,000 hectares and it now owns around 110,000 hectares of land comprising 16 concessions.
“Following the acquisition of the Glencore project in late 2015 we have been actively identifying any new target areas that may have potential to host additional nickel mineralisation adjacent to our existing resources,” said chief executive Jeremy Martin.
“Furthermore we have a number of other new concession applications pending with the Mines Department.”
He said the Horizonte team is currently in the process of bringing together Araguaia and GAP Project with the aim of delivering a pre-feasibility study by the second half of the year.
In the shorter term the firm is focused on the completion of the environmental and social baseline data collection and working towards obtaining the preliminary mine licence.
Horizonte’s Araguaia project contains 72mln tonnes of ore in the indicated category, grading 1.33% nickel; however, last September it unveiled plans to more than double the size of its holding in Brazil by acquiring struggling mining major Glencore’s neighbouring project, which weighs in at 105mln tonnes.