Votorantim Signs Purchasing Agreement with Mirabela

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Brazil's Votorantim Metais Niquel S.A. (Sao Paulo) has signed an agreement with Australia's Mirabela Nickel Limited (TSX:MNB) (West Perth) to purchase nickel concentrate from the Santa Rita mine being developed in Brazil through Mirabela Mineracao do Brasil Limitada (Ipiau). The agreement provides for the purchase of 50% of Mirabela's production in Brazil until 2014. It will also allow Votorantim to expand contained-nickel production at the Fortaleza de Minas site from the current 10,000 tons per year to 18,000 tons per year. Shipments are scheduled to start in mid-2009 when Mirabela expects production from its Santa Rita mine to start.

Santa Rita, considered the biggest greenfield nickel project in the world, is located near the towns of Itagiba and Ipiau in the Brazilian state of Bahia. Mirabela is developing a 4.6 million-ton-per-year open pit mine and concentrator at Santa Rita, expecting to initially produce approximately 18,500 tons per year of nickel concentrate. The capital cost for this project is estimated at $263 million. With the implementation of Santa Rita, Mirabela will become a substantial nickel producer. For details, see related June 20, 2008, article - Mirabela Advances Nickel Project in Brazil.

In Fortaleza de Minas, located in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, Votorantim produces nickel matte for the international market. The productive capacity is 10,000 tons of contained nickel. Votorantim, which concentrates on production in the zinc, nickel and structural steel market sectors, is currently the largest Brazilian producer of nickel and Latin America's only producer of electrolytic nickel.

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