UK-based Brazilian Nickel has completed a further equity raise of $24.8-million to fund the expansion of its existing PNP 1000 demonstration plant.
PNP1000 is the initial, small scale commercial production project at the Piaui nickel project, in Brazil.
The investment will be made in three tranches, with an initial $15-million, followed by two tranches of $4.9-million each. Following the three tranches, RCF will have a shareholding of 11.27%, TechMet will have maintained a shareholding of 31.22% and Monazita Resources will hold 20.39%.
Brazilian Nickel in December raised $27.57-million, which it deployed to advance the PNP 1000 construction to about 40% completion and the bankable feasibility study (BFS) to about 65% completion.
“The $24.8-million raise means that since December, we have successfully secured a total investment of $52.37-million, allowing for the funding of significant project milestones such as the delivery of the BFS and the construction of, and eventual production from, the PNP 1000 project,” said CEO Mike Oxley.
Following completion of the first tranche of the investment, RCF’s nominee, Calum Semple, has joined the board as nonexecutive director.
Brazilian Nickel will convert the demonstration plant, which successfully demonstrated the recovery of nickel and cobalt from the Piauí ore in 2016 and 2017, into a small-scale operation producing about 1 400 t/y of nickel and about 35 t/y of cobalt contained in intermediate products.
The subsequent full-scale project will increase the ore mining rate from 100 000 t/y to 3-million dry metric tonnes a year.