Name
Santa Rita mine.

Location
Bahia, in Brazil.

Mine Owner/s
Sibanye-Stillwater.

Brief Description
Santa Rita is one of the biggest nickel/cobalt sulphide openpit mines in the world. The mine produces a sulphide concentrate suitable for downstream processing to produce battery precursors and has outstanding infrastructure resulting from significant historical investment.

The nickel operation has a seven-year openpit operating life with significant potential to access underground resources, with the potential to extend the mine life by 27 years.

Brief History
On October 26, 2021, Sibanye announced that it had signed definitive purchase and sale agreements with affiliates of funds advised by Appian Capital Advisory to acquire 100% of the Santa Rita nickel sulphide mine.

Primary Metals/Minerals
Nickel.

Secondary Metals/Minerals
Copper, cobalt and gold.

Geology/Mineralisation
Not disclosed.

Reserves
Total proven and probable mineral reserves as at April 30, 2021, were estimated at 43.3-million tonnes at an average grade of 0.31% nickel, 0.11% copper and 0.01% cobalt, containing about 134 000 t of nickel, 49 000 t of copper and 5 000 t of cobalt.

Resources
Total mineral resources as at April 30, 2021, were estimated at 255.1-million tonnes at an average grade of 0.54% nickel, 0.17% copper and 0.01% cobalt, containing about 1.38-million tonnes of nickel, 446 000 t of copper and 25 000 t of cobalt.

Mining Method
Conventional openpit nickel operations.

Major Infrastructure and Equipment
The existing 6.5-million-tonne-a-year processing plant comprises crushing, grinding, floatation, thickening and filtration, producing a saleable nickel concentrate.

Floatation tailings are pumped to a tailings storage facility constructed through downstream raises.

Prospects
Following the restart of the mine in 2019, the current management team has undertaken a number of operational improvements and, as a result, Santa Rita is generating strong free cash flow.

Contact Details
Sibanye-Stillwater
Tel +27 11 278 9600
Email ir@sibanyestillwater.com

Sources
Sibanye-Stillwater. Delivering on green metals strategy: https://thevault.exchange/?get_group_doc=245/1635248727-Greenmetalspresentation-InvestorPresentation26Aug2021.pdf (accessed on November 29, 2021).
Sibanye-Stillwater. Market release: Sibanye-Stillwater to acquire the Santa Rita nickel mine and the Serrote copper mine in Brazil and a withdrawal of cautionary (October 26, 2021).
Sibanye-Stillwater. Website https://www.sibanyestillwater.com.