Mirabela Announces Fixed Price Electricity Supply Agreement Finalised
Wednesday October 8, 2:22 am ET
biz.yahoo.com
<< TSX: MNB, ASX: MBN Ordinary shares outstanding: 129,791,100 >>
PERTH, Australia, Oct. 8 /CNW/ - Mirabela Nickel Limited (TSX: MNB, ASX: MBN) is pleased to announce that, as part of its strategy to become a low cost producer of nickel, the Company has entered into a fixed price electricity supply agreement for the Santa Rita project. The key terms of the agreement are:
- Coelba will supply up to 25MWh of electrical power to Santa Rita in
2009, with a forecast increase to 32MWh from the first quarter of
2010. This is sufficient power for the full 6.4 mtpa throughput
planned at Santa Rita and will be supplied via a 7km transmission
line currently being constructed by Mirabela to connect the mine site
to the grid.
- The agreement is for an initial period of 5 years until the end of
2013 and is extendable thereafter.
- The price of the power is fixed and regulated by the government as
follows:
2009 R13.62c kWh (US5.92c kWh at current exchange rate of 2.30)
2010 R13.94c kWh (US6.06c kWh)
2011 R14.18c kWh (US6.17c kWh)
2012 R14.58c kWh (US6.34c kWh)
2013 R14.98c kWh (US6.52c kWh)
The Company can use forward currency agreements to convert these electrical power costs into US$. Due to the higher Real interest rate, the forward exchange rates obtainable improve with time more than offsetting the fixed annual price increases (inflation allowances). Accordingly, these power costs can be fixed at about US6c kWh for the entire 5 year period.
"Mirabela is pleased to have locked in very attractive power costs for the first 5 years of the Santa Rita project, to ensure continuity of supply and low costs of production," said Managing Director Mr Nick Poll. "The Santa Rita project benefits from close proximity to existing infrastructure - power, water, sealed roads, established towns and port. In addition, the general costs in Brazil of power, labour, maintenance and construction are highly favourable. This fixed price power contact is an example of these benefits that underpin the low cost structure of the Santa Rita project."
Coelba is a subsidiary of the energy group Neoenergia, which provides about 10% of Brazil's total electricity distribution requirements. Both Neoenergia and Coelba have a Standard and Poors AA+ credit rating. Santa Rita's power will be drawn from the national grid, of which 80% is hydroelectric.
Nick Poll Craig Burton
Managing Director Corporate Director
Background
Mirabela Nickel Ltd owns 100% of the world class Santa Rita nickel sulphide project located in Bahia, Brazil and is listed on the Australian and Toronto stock exchanges. With a JORC Indicated open-cut resource of 130mt grading 0.60% Ni for 780,000t of contained Ni, Santa Rita is the largest nickel sulphide discovery in the last 12 years.
Construction of a 6.4 mtpa nickel sulphide concentrator commenced in November 2007 and is currently 60% complete. The plant will produce 18,500 tpa of nickel in a sulphide concentrate from one open-cut mine starting from mid 2009 increasing to 27,000 tpa by mid 2010. At this rate of production the project will have a mine life of at least 20 years.
For further information
Australia contact: Nick Poll or Craig Burton, Telephone: +61 8 9324 1177, nickp@mirabela.com.au, craigb@mirabela.com.au
Australia contact (media): Caroline de Mori, Purple Communications, Telephone: +61 8 9485 1254, cdemori@purplecom.com.au, www.mirabela.com.au
Toronto contact (media): Eric Tang, Porter Novelli, Telephone: (416) 422-7200, eric.tang@porternovelli.com
Source: Mirabela Nickel Ltd. |
