Brazil's Atlantic Nickel plans for underground expansion in 8 years

Atlantic Nickel, a Brazil-based nickel producer owned by private-equity fund manager Appian Capital Advisory, plans to develop its Santa Rita operation into an underground mine in the next eight years, with an economic feasibility study to be run in 2021.

The move would increase production capacity from the current 20,000-25,000 tonnes per year (tpy) in nickel content to 40,000-45,000 tpy, according to a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) published on Monday September 14.
"[The final] decision [to move underground] will be commercial in nature. [The project would be] highly accretive to the operation," Appian founder and chief executive officer Michael Scherb told Fastmarkets on Monday.

For the underground expansion to take place, Atlantic Nickel would...

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