Santa Rita nickel operation

The Santa Rita mine is located about 6km from the town of Ipiau (50,000 people). Mains power, water, sealed roads, accommodation, and engineering facilities are all within close proximity of the site. The Atlantic ports of Ilheus (143km) and Aratu (340km) are within reasonable trucking distance for shipping of concentrates. Operations ceased at Santa Rita in early 2016 due to a prolonged period of low nickel prices, and the mine was placed on care and maintenance. In 2018 Santa Rita was purchased by Appian Capital Advisory LLP. The company, later renamed Atlantic Nickel, recommenced operations in late 2019. First concentrate was shipped to China in January 2020. In September 2020, Atlantic Nickel released high-level results from its Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) which outlined the expansion of mine life from 8 to 34 years based on new resource estimates. This included operation of its existing open pit mine for 8 years and the start-up of an underground mine from 2028.