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 approximate coordinates of the mine are 226,000m E and 8,888,000m N UTM 21L zone (South American 1969 datum) and the mine is located at an average elevation of 250 meters above sea level. 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 was completed in June 2024. In 2025, the Aripuanã mine produced approximately 35.2 thousand tonnes of zinc contained in concentrates, 5.9 thousand tonnes of copper contained in concentrates, 13.0 thousand tonnes of lead contained in concentrates, 957.7 thousand ounces of silver contained in concentrates and 16.2 thousand ounces of gold contained in concentrates. The ore is treated at a concentrate plant that has a processing capacity of 2.2 million tonnes of ore per year.

The Aripuanã region contains polymetallic VMS deposits with zinc, lead and copper, as well as small amounts of silver and gold, present in the form of massive mantles and veins, located in volcano sedimentary sequences belonging to the Roosevelt Group of Proterozoic age.

Four main elongated mineralized zones have been defined in the central portion of the mine: (1) Arex, (2) Link, (3) Ambrex and (4) Babaçu. Limited exploration has identified possible additional mineralized bodies including Massaranduba, Boroca, and Mocotó to the south and Arpa to the north.

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.

Massive, stratabound sulphide mineralization as well as vein and stockwork-type discordant mineralization have been described on the property. The stratabound bodies, consisting of disseminated to massive pyrite and pyrrhotite, with well-developed sphalerite and galena mineralization, are commonly associated with the contact between the middle volcanic and the upper sedimentary units. Discordant stringer bodies of pyrrhotite-pyrite-chalcopyrite mineralization are generally located in the underlying volcanic units or intersect the massive sulphide lenses and have been interpreted as representing feeder zones.

The Mineral Exploration brownfield program in 2025 was focused on Massaranduba, aiming to identify new mineralized zones in Aripuanã geological district.