MINING
Nickel ’ s Technical Director . “ As a company we can empower the local people and build their capacities .”
Luciano Ramos , Chief Operating Officer at Brazilian Nickel , is a native Brazilian with a wealth of experience in mining organisations worldwide . Locals in the state of Piauí are not wealthy and job opportunities are slim , but Ramos believes that through training opportunities , Brazilian Nickel can prepare locals “ not just for Brazil , but for the world .”
Through the Piauí Nickel Project the company aims to create a competitive advantage in the heap leaching of Nickel laterite . Heap leaching is a process of extracting valuable metals from ores through dissolving the metals in solvent . It is a low cost process which naturally brings huge capital cost savings and a competitive edge over other nickel laterite operators .
Local business , local suppliers One way in which the company aims to grow and achieve success as a business while maintaining that local Brazilian foundation is through working with local suppliers . Brazilian Nickel works to establish a mutual benefit for both the company and the local partner .
“ As a company we realised that local suppliers deliver to high standards but may lack in experience . This is where BRN comes in ; we embed sustainability into what we plan to do in the area by creating and training a group of local companies who can then work to world class standards ,” says Mike Oxley .
For any mining operation , choosing the location in which to create and develop a project takes time and consideration in order to fully realise the potential in the business . This process saw him look at over 118 different locations in which the technology could be applicable , including Russia , Indonesia , Turkey and North America before settling on Brazil .
“ Brazil has a strong mining culture . The people here understand mining and the benefits that it can bring to the economy as well as what it can bring for the ordinary person in terms of the metals we
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