MEDIA RELEASE
2 October 2007
ENVIRONMENTAL
LICENSE AWARDED
BOARD
APPROVES COMMENCEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION
PERTH, AUSTRALIA Mirabela Nickel Limited (TSX: MNB, ASX: MBN) is pleased to
announce the approval of its Environmental Management Plan and subsequent
granting of an Installation License for construction of the Santa Rita nickel sulphide concentrator. As a result, the Board of Mirabela has approved the immediate commencement of
construction of the Santa Rita project. An Environmental Impact
Assessment study that included a detailed community consultation and hearings
process was approved last December.
The Company will now
establish an operating presence on site, including the installation of Company
and contractor site offices and basic amenities such as water and power as well
as an upgrade of site roads. This work is expected to take about one to
two months whereupon work will commence on the plant foundations and pre-stripping
of the open cut mine. Construction of a bridge over the Rio de Contas river, to improve site
access, can now start immediately and is expected to be completed by Q3 next
year.
“With the Installation
License now granted, the Company is very pleased to commence construction of
the Santa Rita project immediately, which puts the project on track for a mid
2009 commissioning.” commented Nick Poll,
Managing Director. “Approval for the project reflects strong
encouragement received from the community and the state. CBPM, a state
owned company mandated to encourage mining investment in Bahia
and royalty holder in the Santa Rita project, also assisted with the approval
process.”
The Mirabela
team is well positioned to begin full construction. Raphael Bloise has been appointed Project Director for the
construction of Santa Rita. He is well regarded, having managed the
construction and commissioning of CVRD projects over 30 years, including Sossego – a 13mpta copper sulphide
project in Brazil
that was commissioned in 2003. Narayan Krishnan is Director of
Metallurgy and brings invaluable nickel experience to the team, particularly
from his involvement in commissioning the Mt Keith disseminated nickel sulphide project in Western
Australia with a throughput rate of 11.5mtpa.
GRD Minproc
Ltd has completed basic engineering for the plant and has been engaged to
provide consulting services in relation to the engineering, procurement,
construction and commissioning for the Santa Rita nickel project.
GRD Minproc also completed detailed engineering
on the grinding circuit and primary crusher late last year, which enabled these
items to be ordered for a Q4 2008 delivery. These are the two most
important long lead-time items.
Two Brazilian engineering
firms have also been appointed. ECM will be responsible for project
scheduling, detailed engineering and procurement, whilst Construtora
Barbosa Mello (CBM) will be responsible for
construction of the plant and local infrastructure. Both ECM and CBM
participated in the construction of Sossego under the
management of Mr Bloise.
CBM will also provide a mining fleet to commence pre-stripping before the end
of the year. It is intended to use contract miners until delivery of a
mining fleet, expected late next year.
Detailed engineering for a
power line to access the state power grid has been completed and the Company is
currently finalizing permitting details and commercial arrangements.
Tenders are currently out for plant and mining equipment, whilst detailed
mine design/scheduling and installation of site communications is underway.
Three additional follow-up
licenses for mining, clearing of vegetation and water are expected to be
granted within the next few months. They are not expected to interfere
with the construction schedule. The formal Mining License (or Concession)
can only be obtained after the Installation License is granted and a positive
economic study of the project has been accepted. Both the Installation
License and the economic study have now been submitted. Obtaining the
Mining License is understood to be a relatively straight forward follow-on from
the Installation License. Pre-stripping can commence once the
Mining License is granted.
A license to clear
vegetation is contingent upon the Company creating an environmental reserve on
a minimum of 20% of the total area of the farms that it has acquired. The
area under acquisition is considered more than adequate for this
requirement. A reserve has now been created and an application
submitted. This license will be required to enable site clearing for the
concentrator foundations. An environmental study to draw water from the Rio de Contas is positive and has been submitted to the state
environmental authorities for approval.
“The next 6 months will
be an exciting time for Mirabela,” said Mr Poll. “On the resource side, recent drilling
results look set to provide more tonnes with a
resource upgrade due late October and a mining reserve estimate is expected the
following month. On the commercial side, negotiations for bank financing
and an off-take agreement are progressing well and are expected to be finalized
over the next 6 months.”
Mirabela is a mineral exploration company
incorporated under the laws of Australia
and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Australian Securities
Exchange. Mirabela has a portfolio of
prospective nickel and other base metal projects in Brazil. Additional
information relating to Mirabela is available on the
Company’s website at: www.mirabela.com.au.
For further information please
contact:
Stephen Hills, CFO
Telephone: +61 8 9324 1177
Facsimile:
+61 8 9324 2171
Email: info@mirabela.com.au
***
Issued by
Purple Communications
Level 3, 28 Kings Park
Road, WEST PERTH
WA 6005
Ph: 08 9485 1254 Fax: 08 6263 0455
purple@purplecom.com.au
