Mirabela Nickel recently closed a deal with the government of Brazil’s Bahia state to release 40 million reais (approximately USD $11 million) in state VAT ICMS tax credits from the state’s coffers.
ICMS is a value-added tax on the transfer of goods and services between states in Brazil. Payment of the ICMS tax generates tax credits that may be used to offset ICMS tax obligations generated on domestic sales.
With the deal, Perth-based Mirabela will be able to resume operations at its Santa Rita open pit mine in the state.The miner decided to place its Santa Rita open pit mine in Brazil on care and maintenance on February 19, mostly as a result of further reductions in nickel prices, difficulties in obtaining additional funding and unsustainable levels of cash outflows from its Brazilian subsidiary Mirabela Mineração do Brasil (MMB).