Horizonte Minerals Plc (AIM: HZM | TSX: HZM) has announced the signing of a community skills training agreement with Brazil’s leading national industrial training provider, Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Industrial (“SENAI”), for the Araguaia Nickel Project. Local community members will be trained to develop core skills required during Araguaia’s construction and operational phases.
According to the company, sustainable local community development is integral to Horizonte’s strategy, as evidenced by this partnership and the company’s decade-long collaboration and support to local communities since the Araguaia discovery.
“Local content – both local employment and local procurement – is a critical contribution that mines make to community economic development. In partnership with SENAI, it is our objective to up-skill local community members in industry-certified, market-ready, transferable industrial skills, such as welding and electro-mechanical construction,” said Jeremy Martin, CEO of Horizonte.
The agreement includes a two-year partnership, which Horizonte will fund approximately R$2M enabling technical training organizations to deliver more than 390 accredited traineeships in partnership with Universidade do Estado do Pará (“UEPA”), Brazil’s state university. SENAI will deliver industry-recognized, accredited training to the participants, leveraging strong partnerships with national and state industry organizations.
The first round of training has commenced with 20% female participation, 37% of participants in the age range between 18-25, and 58% of participants under the age of 33 years, delivering on the programme’s diversity and accessibility objectives to be further enhanced in future student cohorts. 62% of the participants in the first round of training reported that they are unemployed, highlighting the importance of the Local Content Initiative to broader socio-economic development.
The company forecasts Araguaia will employ a peak of more than 2,500 personnel in construction and up to 500 personnel directly in the operational phase, with many to be engaged by local and national contractors.
“With these enhanced skill sets, host community members will have greater opportunities to participate in the direct and indirect mine workforce; the potential to supply goods and services to mining and broader industry through locally operated companies; and, most importantly, to strengthen the creation of vibrant regional communities,” added Mr Martin.
Further details of the partnership
The partnership programme is being delivered as a key element of the Horizonte’s wider Araguaia Local Content Initiative. Under this initiative, the company is working with the Brazilian National Employment System to register and create a database of local community members interested in participation in the Araguaia workforce. Existing residents of Conceição do Araguaia and Floresta do Araguaia communities will be prioritised for training and development opportunities.
The partnership with SENAI will fully fund over 390 training courses, targeting specific industrial skills development such as welding, as well as broader multi-industry skill sets such as electrical construction, enhancing opportunities for local participation in Araguaia’s construction and operational phases as well as participation in other regional industry sector supply chains. UEPA will provide facilities for many of the SENAI training courses.
For further information please visit: https://horizonteminerals.com/uk/en/
