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Tell us about your role at Horizonte.
I joined Horizonte in 2018 with the aim of providing more structure for the team in Brazil as the company makes its transition from explorer to developer and into production. At that time, we built a lean team to operate more intensively in the country and my extensive experience in the sector helped find the right people to join us. As Country Manager, I navigate between the strategic, technical, environmental and social aspects of our projects.
What excites you most about Horizonte’s projects?
Working for Horizonte gives me the opportunity to directly contribute to bringing online Brazil’s next major ferronickel mine, our Araguaia Project. What excites me most about Horizonte and our projects is that not only is nickel intrinsically associated with sustainability, but sustainable practices underpin every aspect of our operations. For example, we designed a shared infrastructure between Araguaia and Vermelho to reduce footprint and Vermelho’s by-product can be used as a fertiliser. Both projects have a huge potential to promote socioeconomic development in the region, through job generation, local procurement, improved infrastructure, taxes and social investments.
What made you want to work in the mining industry?
I was born in Conselheiro Lafaiete, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, where mining is prevalent. Mining has been an essential part of the history in my city, with a manganese mine in operation since early 1900s. Since I was a boy, the idea of extracting ore and transforming it into things for day-to-day use interested me. I was inspired by the stories I heard from my relatives and neighbours who worked at the mine. These early memories played an important role when I had to choose my undergraduate course. I decided to study Mining Engineering.
