HIGHLIGHTS:

Araguaia Nickel Project Line 1 remains on-schedule for production in Q1 2024 with over 50% of the construction programme completed to date
Strong safety performance, no lost time injuries with over two million hours worked
Earthworks are complete and detailed engineering is 95% complete
Key long lead items remain on track, with the rotary kiln and dryer en route to site
Pre-stripping activities have commenced on the main Pequizeiro Pit with ore stockpiling to begin in Q3 2023
Araguaia Nickel Project Line 1 remains on-budget with 90% of the total capital awarded as at 31 March 2023
Araguaia Nickel Project line 2 Feasibility Study, which aims to double nickel production from 14,500 tonnes per annum to 29,000 tonnes per annum, remains on track for publication in H2 2023
Horizonte Minerals Plc (AIM/TSX: HZM) (“Horizonte” or the “Company”) reports that it is continuing to make good progress on the construction of its 100%-owned Araguaia Nickel Project Line 1 (“Araguaia” or “the Project”) in Brazil, which remains on-budget and on-schedule to commence production in Q1 2024.

As of 30 March 2023, approximately 50% of the Araguaia Line 1 construction programme had been completed and approximately 90% of capital expenditure had been awarded, amounting to approximately US$485 million. Moreover, the earthworks have been completed, detailed engineering works are at 95% maturity, and electro-mechanical installations are advancing. The key long lead items remain on schedule for delivery to site, with the rotary kiln and dryer in Brazil and currently en route to site. In addition, the grade control drilling programme has been completed with the data utilised for the short term mining planning and the commencement of pre-stripping activities on the main Pequizeiro Pit, with ore stockpiling to begin in Q3 2023.

In addition to advancing the Araguaia construction activities, Horizonte is also making good progress on advancing its growth pipeline. The Araguaia Line 2 Feasibility Study (“FS”), which aims to double nickel production from 14,500 tonnes per annum to 29,000 tonnes per annum and allow Araguaia to not only produce high-grade low impurity ferronickel but also potentially nickel matte that can be upgraded to feed directly into the electric vehicle battery chemistry supply chain, remains on track for publication in H2 2023. Regarding Horizonte’s 100% owned Vermelho project in Brazil, which is expected to produce 24,000 tonnes of nickel and 1,250 tonnes of cobalt to supply the EV battery market, work remained centred on the FS and the EIA permitting process, with the FS due for completion in H1 2024.

Jeremy Martin, CEO of Horizonte, commented: “We are pleased to confirm we remain on-schedule for first metal at Araguaia targeting Q1 2024, most importantly with a strong safety culture installed across the project. There is currently a key focus on operational readiness as we build out the operational team and establish the systems, processes and training required for the start-up phase.

“Alongside the construction progress at Araguaia Line 1, with the award of the Line 2 Feasibility Study contracts, we are one step closer to delivering on this low capex project that will double nickel production. Vermelho workflows remain centred around the Feasibility Study with onsite data collection progressing well, feeding into the process engineering that is underway with Wood plc in Perth.

“We are pleased by the progress made to date on all workstreams and are confident in our ability to continue to deliver as we head toward first nickel in Q1 2024.”

Management will be hosting a webinar today, 24 April 2023, at 14:00 BST to discuss Araguaia’s construction progress. Investors and analysts are invited to access the webinar by registering in advance via the following link: https://www.investormeetcompany.com/horizonte-minerals/register-investor. Questions may be submitted at any time during the live presentation. A recording of the webinar will be available on the Company’s website shortly after its conclusion.

ARAGUAIA LINE 1 CONSTRUCTION: FIRST METAL ON-SCHEDULE FOR Q1 2024

Health, Safety & Wellbeing

The lost-time injury frequency rate (“LTIFR”) for Araguaia as at March 31 2023 was 0.00 and the total recordable injury frequency rate (“TRIFR”) was 0.97 based on a 12-month rolling average, which are calculated per million hours worked. This compares favourably with a TRIFR of 1.16, as at the end of the previous quarter. Horizonte has continued to focus its efforts on embedding the critical risk controls with its growing workforce and reinforcement of its safety Golden Rules. To complement these activities, the Company continued to implement tools to increase involvement and participation by our contracting partners in our safety systems and processes. From project life to date, over 4,100 internal safety audits have been conducted and over 5,100 safety plan observations have been completed. In the quarter, to coincide with the projects move to mechanical construction, an extensive focus on working at heights and associated training and rescue planning was completed. Fire and emergency services training also occurred.

Construction activities

As seen in Figure 1, solid progress has been made on the construction of the electric arc furnace, the core of the Araguaia RKEF processing facility. Supplied by Hatch ltd, the 18-metre diameter furnace will operate at a temperature range of up to 1,550 ºC with a nameplate capacity of 65 MW, producing up to 14,500 tonnes of nickel per year. As part of the modular build schedule for the furnace building, the third of five stories is being lifted into place. The electro-mechanical installation continues to advance on schedule with the erection of the furnace baseplate and the lower and upper side walls of the furnace now interlocked with welding near complete.

Figure 1: Electric Arc Furnace facility, showing the circular furnace in the centre of the facility covered to allow internal welding to take place, surrounded by the blue structural steel work of the building that supports all of the associated equipment required for furnace operation.

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