Aripuanã

The Aripuanã mine is located in the northwest corner of the Mato Grosso State in western Brazil, approximately 2,529 km by railroad and road to the Três Marias smelter, 2,831 km to the Juiz de Fora smelter or 2,660 km to the port of Santos. The mine is accessible from the town of Aripuanã via a 25 km unpaved road, which is well maintained in the dry season. Aripuanã can be accessed from the state capital, Cuiabá, via a 16-hour drive (935 km) on paved and unpaved roads. The final 250 km between Cuiabá and Aripuanã are on unpaved roads.

Aripuanã mine is an underground mine located in Brazil wholly-owned by Nexa Brazil, which is 100% owned by Nexa Resources. Ramp-up activities at the Aripuanã mine began in July 2022, and the mine is currently in the ramp-up phase as of the date of this annual report. In 2023, the Aripuanã mine produced approximately 22.1 thousand tonnes of zinc contained in concentrates, 4 thousand tonnes of copper contained in concentrates, 6.3 thousand tonnes of lead contained in concentrates, 513.9 thousand ounces of silver contained in concentrates and 8.0 thousand ounces of gold contained in concentrates. The ore is treated at a concentrate plant that has a processing capacity of 6.3 thousand tonnes of ore per day.

The Aripuanã polymetallic deposits are typical VMS deposits associated with felsic bimodal volcanism. The individual mineralized bodies have complex shapes due to intense tectonic activity. Stratabound mineralized bodies tend to follow the local folds, however, local-scale, tight isoclinal folds are frequently observed, usually with axes parallel to major reverse faults, causing rapid variations in the dips.

In 2023, Aripuanã’s strategy aimed to increase throughput rate and asset reliability, reduce plant downtime, improve metal recoveries, concentrate grades and quality while consuming our ore stockpile inventory, which was supported by mineral exploration efforts to upgrade the Mineral Resources at the Babaçu target and expand our Mineral Reserves.