Atlantic Nickel and Appian Capital Advisory Ltd have marked the beginning of preliminary works for the underground transition on the Santa Rita mine in Bahia, Brazil. The milestone was marked with an inaugural blast to open the primary entry portal.
Preliminary works are advancing in parallel with the finalisation of the Definitive Feasibility Research, “reflecting sturdy conviction within the technical and financial feasibility of the underground undertaking.” The underground undertaking is anticipated to have an annual manufacturing of about 30,000 t of nickel equal
Progressive sublevel caving technique will enable better restoration of mineral sources and cut back floor environmental affect. The completion of the inaugural blast at Atlantic Nickel’s underground undertaking indicators the formal graduation of underground improvement actions at Santa Rita. Appian and Atlantic Nickel are advancing the event of a giant, higher-grade underground useful resource, extending the preliminary eight-year open-pit lifetime of the Santa Rita mine to over 30 years.
The undertaking will use sublevel caving underground manufacturing technique, a confirmed method applied at main mines in Sweden, South Africa, and Australia. The strategy has been chosen to extend useful resource restoration whereas sustaining manufacturing capability with minimal floor affect. The expertise helps exploration at vital depths by using a managed system of rock breaking and dealing with, guaranteeing excessive productiveness and operational security. The strategy can be ideally matched to the geological situations of the deposit, optimising effectivity and security all through the extraction course of. Sublevel caving is anticipated to cut back environmental impacts in comparison with open-pit mining by limiting mud, noise and floor disturbance, whereas sustaining manufacturing efficiency.
Since restarting in 2019, Atlantic Nickel has been working an open-pit mine and a concentrator with a processing capability of about 6.6 Mt of ore per yr. Since 2020, it has exported greater than 632,000 t of nickel focus to Canada, China, and Finland in additional than 50 shipments.
In 2024, Atlantic Nickel delivered its Pre-Feasibility Research (PFS) for the mine’s underground enlargement. The PFS additional bolstered Appian’s confidence within the undertaking, outlining a long-life mine with a better annual manufacturing fee of 30,000 t per yr of nickel equal, low capital depth, and a aggressive value construction. Atlantic Nickel is advancing this state of affairs by way of the continuing Definitive Feasibility Research, with preliminary works on the event now advancing in parallel.
Milson Mundim, Nation Supervisor of Appian Brazil, commented: “The inaugural blast at Santa Rita marks a defining milestone for Atlantic Nickel and reinforces our sturdy conviction within the long-term potential of this asset. The transition to underground mining will considerably prolong the lifetime of mine whereas enabling extra environment friendly useful resource restoration and decreasing our floor environmental footprint. This subsequent part positions Santa Rita as a long-life, high-quality nickel operation, supporting the rising world demand for responsibly produced vital minerals.”
