Horizonte Minerals PLC (AIM:HZM, TSX:HZM, OTC:HZMMF) said it has officially started construction and broken ground at its flagship Araguaia nickel project in Brazil, a key milestone that marked the project’s transition from the development to construction phase.
Araguaia is fully funded for construction and is set to produce 29,000 tonnes of nickel annually to supply the stainless steel market.
"We are extremely excited to have broken ground at our fully-funded Araguaia project,” said chief executive Jeremy Martin.
“We are a step closer to achieving our vision of bringing this project into production and generating first revenues. This all comes at a time where the nickel market is facing constrained supply which will benefit Horizonte as we become a globally significant producer.”
The Tier 1 project has a 24-month construction timeframe with Stage 1 target production of 14,500 tonnes per annum of nickel.
AIM-traded Horizonte noted current global inflation and said that at end-April it had awarded contracts for the project totalling US$204mln with a further U$66mln of contracts to be awarded imminently, on budget.
“Whilst we are facing inflationary pressures along with all other global projects, to date we have been able to award approximately 50% of our pre-contingency project direct capex on budget, which is a very positive result," said Martin.