Aripuanã, Nexa Resources’ wholly owned zinc project, is scheduled to begin production by the beginning of 2022, with completion slated for Q4 2021.
Aripuanã, located in Mato Grosso, Brazil, is an underground polymetallic mine and concentrate processing facility, and its projected annual zinc equivalent output is 119,000mt over approximately 11 years.
The overall assessed CAPEX has risen to $547mn from the initial price of $392mn laid out in Aripuanã’s 2018 feasibility study. The modification is based on a thorough review and update of the project that has taken COVID-19 into consideration.
Tito Martins, Nexa Resources’ chief executive officer, said the producer faced external factors during the implementation period, and that resulted in its timeline being extended, as well as in capital cost increases.
The project is progressing per the revised plan, and its mine production has the capacity to extend beyond 20 years, Martins said. Aripuanã is also one of the world’s few zinc projects in development and it’s expected to buttress the company’s integration of mining and smelting operations, Martins added.