Brazilian Nickel PLC, the privately held UK company developing its nickel laterite heap leach project in Brazil, has announced the commencement of its Bankable Feasibility Study for the company’s 100% owned Piauí Nickel Project. The BFS is the next stage in the development of PNP which will produce an average of 25,000 t of nickel and 900 t of cobalt per year.
The BFS will be predominantly conducted by the engineering and construction group SNC Lavalin from its offices in Brazil. The company expects the engineering work to take 12 months, and the Company aims to publish the final BFS document in the first quarter of 2022.
Mike Oxley, CEO, commented: “This achievement is a culmination of the collective effort from the Brazilian Nickel team, our funding partners TechMet and Anglo Pacific as well as our other financial partners. We look forward to working alongside SNC Lavalin whose expertise in delivering studies of this kind is recognised globally. The successful finalisation of the study will mean that we can conclusively demonstrate to future investors the significant contribution of the project to supply critical energy metals.”
He adds: “The nickel and cobalt products from PNP will be targeted at new growth markets, such as lithium-ion battery cathodes for use in electric vehicles. They can also serve conventional industrial markets that are witnessing a boom as countries around the world look to progress infrastructure and manufacturing development following a period of comparative inactivity during the pandemic. Not only does the project have significant potential to supply key metals, it will also result in the creation of jobs in one of the country’s most underdeveloped regions, and for this reason has been widely welcomed by local communities and the Piauí state government. We look forward to updating the market as the study progresses, as well as reporting on the developments at our PNP 1000 project and the results of our ongoing discussions in regard to product marketing and distribution.”
Anne Oxley, Technical Director, commented: “I am delighted at the progress Brazilian Nickel is making with the Piauí Nickel Project and would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to everyone for their efforts in bringing the globally significant project to this stage. We are now one step closer to producing materials that will be integral to powering tomorrow’s technology in a more sustainable way.”
The statement said the BFS at the Piauí Nickel Project will be conducted in line with both SNC Lavalin’s and BRN’s dedication to the highest possible environmental, health and safety considerations. The process will have an inherently low carbon dioxide footprint, with further research underway to reduce or even fully eliminate CO2 emissions. The Piauí Nickel Project is an advanced-staged Battery Metals project with a JORC resource of 72 Mt at 1.0% Ni and 0.05% Co, with 73% of the resource in the JORC Measured category. All metallurgical test work in support of a BFS is complete and the key environmental permits (Licenças Previas) have been awarded. The project envisages near-term production of nickel hydroxide product and a cobalt hydroxide product to supply the surge in demand for these metals in, among others, electric vehicle batteries. The small scale PNP 1000 project will quick-start operations by expanding the existing demonstration plant at the site and will allow BRN to benefit from today’s increasingly strong nickel prices.
