Vazante
Mine
Zinc, Lead and Silver
Type
Underground Mine
Plant Capacity
5.0 ktpd
Ownership
100%
Location
Brasil
The Vazante mine is an underground and open pit, polymetallic mine located about 8.5 km from the municipality of Vazante, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Access from Brasilia is via federal highway BR‑040 toward Paracatu. Internal roadways connect the various mine‑site components. Concentrates are trucked about 250 km to the Três Marias smelter. The closest commercial airport is located in Brasilia. The Vazante municipal airport for light aircraft is adjacent to the mine site.
Operations began in 1969 and, in 2023, the Vazante mine produced approximately 145.7 thousand tonnes of zinc contained in concentrates, 1.4 thousand tonnes of lead contained in concentrates and 575.6 thousand ounces of silver contained in concentrates. The ore is treated at a concentrate plant that has a processing capacity of 5.0 thousand tonnes of ore per day.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treated ore | kt | 1,633 | 1,525 | 1,631 |
| Grade | ||||
| Zinc | % | 10.19 | 9.97 | 9.98 |
| Lead | % | 0.33 | 0.33 | 0.35 |
| Silver | oz/t | 0.67 | 0.63 | 0.67 |
| Production | metal contained | ||||
| Zinc | Kt | 145.7 | 131.5 | 140.5 |
| Copper | Kt | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.6 |
| Silver | MMoz | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Cash Cost, net of by-product credits | US$/t | 1,343.5 | 1,277.5 | 900.2 |
| Cash Cost, net of by-product credits | US$/lb | 0.61 | 0.56 | 0.41 |
| CAPEX | US$ mm | 29.1 | 41.9 | 42.0 |
The Vazante and Extremo Norte zinc deposits are epigenetic zinc silicate deposits, and Vazante is one of the largest deposits of its type worldwide. Mineralization exists within a sequence of pelitic carbonate rocks belonging to the Serra do Poço Verde formation of the Vazante group. The major structural control is the Vazante fault.
Mineral exploration activities in 2023 were focused on expanding the mineralization of known ore bodies, such as Extremo Norte and Sucuri Norte, and identifying the continuity of mineralized bodies along the Vazante hydrothermal breccia. We are conducting ongoing tests to explore extensions of known mineralization, intensifying drilling in areas near mine where minimal data is currently available, and identifying other areas where mineralization may be present.
In 2023, we completed approximately 7.3 km of diamond drilling, divided between exploratory (1.3 km) and extension drilling (6.0 km). The focus of the near mine extension drilling was on the extension of the Vazante mine ore bodies, exploring the target Extremo Norte and Sucuri Norte, which confirmed the mineralized system and opened lateral and depth continuity. In addition, the mineral exploration team continues to seek to identify new prospective areas, such as Vazante Sul, which confirmed the presence of mineralized breccia more than 10 km from Vazante mine.
In 2024, Nexa intends to continue extending the near mine orebodies such as Sucuri and Sucuri Norte, and to convert inferred resources into indicated resources in the BDMG area, which was acquired in 2022.
