Overview
| Location | Monesterio, Extremadura, Southern Spain |
| Metals | Nickel, Copper, Cobalt, Platinum, Palladium, Gold |
| Mine Type | Underground (Formerly Open-Pit) |
| Ownership | 50% owned through Alto Minerals S.L.U. |
| Technical Report | Technical Report and Preliminary Feasibility Study, March 24, 2024 |
The Aguablanca Project is one of the only nickel deposits in Spain and one of the few in Europe. On November 29, 2023, Denarius Metals acquired a 50% equity interest in Rio Narcea Recursos, S.L. (through its 100%-owned subsidiary, Alto Minerals S.L.U.), which has the rights to exploit the historic producing Aguablanca nickel-copper mine. Denarius Metals has been appointed as the operator of the Rio Narcea joint venture.
Location
The Aguablanca Project is located in Monesterio, Extramadura, Spain, bordering the provinces of Huelva and Seville. It is accessed via a paved, four lane national highway from Seville. The highway runs approximately 100 km north from Seville towards the town of Santa Olalla del Cala and from there, the mine is accessible by paved roads. Aguablanca is strategically important as it is only 88 km from Denarius Metals’ Lomero Project.
OPERATION Overview
Discovered in 1994, the Aguablanca Mine is one of the only deposits in Spain able to produce nickel (sole producer) and copper. Aguablanca was operated through an open-pit exploitation for 11 years (2005-2015) with a total volume of ore mined of 14 million tons. Lundin Mining acquired the Project in 2007, transitioning from open pit to underground operations in 2015. Lundin closed the mine in early 2016 amidst lower nickel and copper prices.
The Project includes a 5,000 tpd processing plant with sufficient excess capacity that will be used to accelerate our path to production from our Lomero Project.
The Underground Mining Plan for the Aguablanca mine has already been approved by the local mining authority. The Environmental Impact Study (EIS) approved in 2017 is still in force. All surface facilities at the mine, including the 5,000 tpd processing plant, are in good condition and maintenance activities to resume plant operation are expected to be minimal.
GeologIC and Exploration Overview
The region of Extremadura is characterized by the presence of two of the major tectonostratigraphic zones of the Variscan Iberian Massif: the Central Iberian Zone (CIZ), and the Ossa Morena Zone (OMZ). The Aguablanca deposit is located on the southern edge of the OMZ.
The OMZ extends in a NW-SE direction from Portugal to the Guadalquivir basin, where tertiary sediments overlie variscan materials. The Aguablanca site is located on the southern flank of the Olivenza-Monesterio anticlinorium, the core of which consists of a large outcrop of Precambrian materials from the Serie Negra surrounded by Palaeozoic materials.
The Project has potential for resource expansion through further exploration.
