06 Oct Brazilian Nickel PLC secures US$ 25 million investment to advance the Piauí Nickel Project in Brazil
- Landmark investment from US International Development Finance Corporation (“DFC”, a US Government funding agency) into the supply chains of metals critical to the energy revolution
- Investment into BRN is through BRN’s funding partner, TechMet Limited
The investment will help fund construction and begin small scale production of the PNP 1000 Project, at BRN’s Piauí Nickel Project site, creating jobs in one of the country’s most underdeveloped regions, while ensuring high environmental and social standards - Brazilian Nickel PLC (“BRN” or the “Company”) is very pleased to report that our main funding partner, TechMet Limited, has secured a commitment of US$ 25 million from the United States International Development Finance Corporation (“DFC”) specifically for investment in BRN. The DFC is America’s development bank; a finance institution of the United States Federal Government.
All of the DFC’s investment into TechMet will be invested by TechMet into BRN. The DFC investment was formally committed on September 30th.
DFC investments are required to adhere to high standards with respect to the environment and human and worker rights while generating returns for the American taxpayer. Following extensive due diligence, BRN has successfully demonstrated the soundness of its business plans and its commitments to environmental protection and employee and human rights. The DFC’s significant financial support of BRN and the PNP 1000 project is, the Company believes, an important milestone for the Company and a potential game changer for the eventual development of the full scale Piauí Nickel Project (“PNP”) in Brazil.
Mike Oxley, Chief Executive Officer of BRN said:
“Our team has shown remarkable resilience and true commitment in bringing an important investment to completion. This investment not only validates our project and technology but confirms that our Company and individual values are aligned with modern sustainability thinking and practices in the extractive industries. We look forward to continuing to work closely with the TechMet team as we develop and build the PNP and BRN into a major provider of the critical energy metals that the world increasingly needs”.
About Brazilian Nickel
Brazilian Nickel PLC is an unlisted UK public company established in May 2013 to develop nickel laterite heaping projects worldwide, beginning with its flagship Piauí Nickel Project in Brazil. The BRN team are all highly experienced mining industry professionals with extensive experience in Latin America and worldwide. The team have been developing and commercialising the heap leaching of nickel laterites for over 20 years with a view to building a world class nickel and cobalt producing company.
About TechMet
TechMet is a private company building world class projects that produce, process and re-cycle “technology metals” critical to EVs, renewable energy systems and energy storage. TechMet’s target metals include: lithium, cobalt, nickel, rare earth metals, tin, tungsten, and vanadium. TechMet has been operational for three years and its core investments include:
– Brazilian Nickel PLC – nickel and cobalt production in Brazil
– Li-Cycle – lithium-ion battery recycling with a producing plant in Canada and a plant under construction in Rochester, NY, USA
– US Vanadium – vanadium specialty chemicals production in Arkansas, USA
– Tinco – the largest tin and tungsten mines in Rwanda
TechMet also has an interest in a producing Rare Earths metals project and is developing TechMet Ventures to invest in new opportunities across the supply-chain.
About the Piauí Nickel Project
The Piauí Nickel Project is an advanced-staged Battery Metals project with a JORC resource of 72 million tonnes at 1.0% Ni and 0.05% Co, with 73% of the resource in the JORC Measured category. All metallurgical test work in support of a BFS is complete and the key environmental permits (Licenças Previas) have been awarded. The project envisages near-term production of nickel hydroxide product and a cobalt hydroxide product to supply the surge in demand for these metals in, among others, electric vehicle batteries. The small scale PNP 1000 project will quick-start operations by expanding the existing demonstration plant at the site, and will allow BRN to benefit from today’s increasingly strong nickel prices.