Name of the Project
Piauí nickel project.

Location
North-east of Brazil.

Project Owner/s
Private nickel and cobalt company Brazilian Nickel.

Project Description
Piauí is an advanced-staged nickel laterite project. 

The project will have an average production rate of 27 000 t/y of nickel and 900 t/y of cobalt in the first ten years of operation. 

Brazilian Nickel’s successful application of heap leaching technology to nickel laterite orebodies is a materially less capital-intensive process than traditional high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL). 

Heap leaching, therefore, permits the exploitation of resources that cannot support the much higher capital burden of HPAL, giving the company a competitive advantage.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not disclosed.

Capital Expenditure
Brazilian Nickel received a letter of interest from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) in December 2024 that expressed DFC’s interest in providing the project with a loan facility of up to $550-million, representing almost 40% of the project’s overall financing package.

Planned Start/End Date
Brazilian Nickel is optimistic that it will have a fully financed project in 2025, with first production from Piauí targeted for 2028.

Latest Developments
Brazilian Nickel has secured $19.2-million in financing from Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES), in Brazil, for its subsidiary Piauí Nickel Metais to develop the flagship Piauí nickel project.

The company's business plan was selected by the Public Call for Investments in the Transformation of Strategic Minerals, launched in 2025 by BNDES and the Brazilian Innovation Agency to support projects with the potential to strengthen Brazil’s position in critical mineral supply chains and contribute to the global energy transition.

The funding will support the acquisition of machinery, equipment, industrial systems, components, computer and automation goods, and related industrial services. The facility may also be used for the acquisition of imported equipment where no comparable domestic alternative is available.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Not disclosed.

Contact Details for Project Information
Brazilian Nickel, email info@braziliannickel.com.