Morro Agudo
Zinc and Lead
Type
Open Pit and Underground Mine
Plant Capacity
3.4 ktpd
Ownership
100%
Location
Brazil
The Morro Agudo Complex consists of an underground and open pit polymetallic mine, wholly owned by Nexa Brazil, located in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, as well as three deposits along what is known as the Ambrosia Trend (Ambrosia Sul, Ambrosia Norte, and Bonsucesso). The Ambrosia Trend deposits are situated about 15 to 20km northeast of Paracatu.
Operations began in 1988 and, in 2021, the Morro Agudo mine produced approximately 17.3 thousand tonnes of zinc contained in concentrates and 4.7 thousand tonnes of lead contained in concentrates. The ore mill feed material is treated at a concentrate plant that has a processing capacity of 3.4 thousand tonnes per day.
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treated ore | kt | 982 | 1,181 | 1,168 |
| Grade | ||||
| Zinc | % | 2.05 | 2.41 | 2.33 |
| Lead | % | 0.73 | 0.49 | 0.52 |
| Production | metal contained | ||||
| Zinc | kt | 17.3 | 25.2 | 24.4 |
| Lead | kt | 4.7 | 4.0 | 4.7 |
| Silver | MMoz | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Cash Cost, net of by-product credits | US$/t | 1,844.1 | 1,726.9 | 2,076.7 |
| Cash Cost, net of by-product credits | US$/lb | 0.85 | 0.78 | 0.94 |
| CAPEX | US$ mm | 7.6 | 9.0 | 15.9 |
Exploration activities conducted to date have included geological mapping; rock chip, pan concentrate, stream sediment, and soil sampling; airborne and ground geophysical surveys and drilling. In 2021, the brownfield exploration program was directed towards intensifying the diamond drilling work at the Bonsucesso target, confirming zinc and lead mineralization along the strike of the mineralized zone and opening the potential to extend de mineralized bodies, totaling 8.3 km of exploratory drilling. In additional, Nexa performed additional 74 diamond drill holes in Morro Agudo mine with the purpose of Mineral Resources definition, totaling 10.8 km of infill drilling.
In 2021, we drilled 32 exploration drill holes, totaling 10.5 km, which includes 8.3 km of exploration drilling in Bonsucesso and regional targets, primarily related to exploratory drilling and geological activities, in addition to 2.2 km of infill drilling. In 2022, we plan to drill 8.8 km.