Horizonte Minerals Agrees To Buy Araguaia From Teck Resources

LONDON, July 28 -- Gold, silver and base metals explorer Horizonte Minerals PLC (HZM.LN) Tuesday said it agreed to acquire a nickel project in Brazil fromCanada's Teck Resources Ltd. (TCK.A.T).

Horizonte said it agreed to acquire the Araguaia project from Teck in exchange for roughly 123 million new shares, giving Teck a 50% stake in the company.

Horizonte said it also agreed to acquire the 50% of the Lontra nickel project it doesn't already own.

The company, which also announced a GBP5.13 million share sale, said the combination of Teck's Araguaia project with Horizonte's Lontra project has the potential for a 100 million metric ton resource with grades comparable to other world-class projects in Brazil.

Horizonte said it placed 51.3 million new shares with investors at 10 pence a share--a 14% premium to Monday's closing price.

The proceeds of the share sale will be used to fund drilling at Araguaia and Lontra, where a formal nickel resource has yet to be defined, Horizonte said.