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Developing the next major nickel project in Brazil

Our Communities

A strong relationship with our local communities is of the utmost importance to our development and growth. Our social licence to operate is largely dependent on the continued support of our communities. We are committed to making a positive contribution to these stakeholders and delivering shared value. All Horizonte's projects are covered by local community engagement practices, impact assessments and development programmes in accordance with each project phase.

Our contribution is organised under three pillars

Economic Development

  • Maximising local employment opportunities
  • Developing local suppliers who can provide services to the Company and others in the region
  • Developing small and medium enterprises, particularly in the rural area

Social Development

  • Providing capacity building programs to the local government and communities where the Company operates
  • Investing in education/cultural activities (once the project is in production phase)

Care and Respect

  • Public health program, including sexual health education
  • Environmental education programme
  • Resettlement program aligned with IFC guidelines
  • Mine closure plan and environmental management plans
  • Engagement and continuous communication


Case Studies


“CASA DE FARINHA”

— THE FLOUR HOUSE

CASA DE FARINHA

Casa de Farinha is a family inclusion project in the Joncon Lote 19 community, led by women and made for women. The Women's Association of PA Arraias (AMA) is composed of 20 women from farming families who dreamed of creating a "flour house" to manage the entire flour production cycle. The women involved in the project plant and harvest cassava and then produce the final product - cassava flour.

The project offers an opportunity for rural women's empowerment that goes beyond increasing income - it promotes the strengthening of community ties and helps rural women develop roles of autonomy and leadership, with the prospect of involving more women.

These are specific objectives of the project:

  • Encourage entrepreneurship;
  • Provide training to rural producers for the cultivation and processing of cassava, through partnerships with the National Service of Rural Learning (SENAR), (Public) Company for Technical Assistance and Rural Extension of the State of Pará (EMATER) and Conceição do Araguaia Secretary of Agriculture;
  • To provide improved selection of material for planting and growing cassava in the region, thus fomenting the insertion of local producers in the national market;
  • Contribute to increasing the income of the families involved;
  • Agricultural crop diversification in the Conceição do Araguaia-PA region.

Horizonte donated the construction materials and brought other partners in to help support the initiative. In December Horizonte allowed the Federal Institute of Pará (IFPA), to plant 52 varieties of cassava on a piece of land by the Company’s administrative centre used for field work to determine which variety provides the highest yield. The results will further support the flour house.



COPAG

The Araguaia Small Farmers Cooperative (Cooperativa Mista dos Pequenos Agricultores do Araguaia – ‘COPAG’), founded in 1996 in the municipality of Conceição do Araguaia, arose after the potential to commercialise family agriculture products was identified.

The cooperative primarily produces fruit pulp as it was identified as the most profitable commodity. In order to standardise the way the pulp is produced, an agro-industrial facility with frozen fruit pulp production equipment has been built, increasing installed capacity of 40 tonnes per month, up from the 3 tonnes per month produced by individual farmers.

COCOA CULTIVATION


COCOA CULTIVATION

In partnership with EMATER, Horizonte offered free technical training around 30 farmers in the region to grow cocoa. A plant nursery was built where more than 30 thousand cacao seedlings and native Brazilian trees have already been cultivated. In addition, Horizonte arranged visits to other, established cocoa farmers in the regions close to the state of Pará, and also helped with the identification of potential cultivation sites, authorisations for water supply and implementation of environmental control programmes.

These efforts have allowed for further economic diversification in the municipality of Conceição do Araguaia.

COCOA CULTIVATION


"YOUTH: OUR TURN" – “JUVENTUDE: A NOSSA VEZ!”

JUVENTUDE: A NOSSA VEZ!

Juventude: A Nossa Vez! is a sexual and reproductive health awareness programme for young people created in partnership with the Barong Cultural Institute, a Brazilian NGO. The programme is a digital platform and a direct communication channel helping young people to better understand sexual health issues. In addition to the digital platform, training is planned for around 240 participants, including university students and health, social assistance and education professionals to help support outreach.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the training will be reorganised in order to be conducted under social distancing guidelines. It is important to ensure that participants who go through the project are better prepared to guide adolescents in workshops, contributing to the strengthening of public health policies. The project has broad support from the municipal departments and health and education institutions of Conceição do Araguaia and Floresta do Araguaia.

JUVENTUDE: A NOSSA VEZ!