An introduction to Larco - International Nickel Study Group

FerroNickel CharacteristicsFerronickel share represents nearly one third of the total nickel usedfor stainless steel productionFerronickel is produced in ingots or granules containing more than95% of nickel and iron unitsFerronickel is used as an alloying element in the metallurgical meltingpots of the Electric Arc Furnace and AOD converter to produceaustenitic stainless steel (series 300)The Ferronickel is used as coolant in the AOD converter andbecomes a fixed part in the molecular structure of the steel afterits phase of solidification.LARCO General Mining & Metallurgical Company 2

Ferronickel ProductionPOBUZKHELARCOPAMCOSMMNIPPON YAKINFALCONDOLOMAANTAMCERRO MATOSOERAMETLARCO General Mining & Metallurgical Company 3

Main FerroNickel ProducersCompanyMine - PlantNi %Capacity(mt/y)ERAMETSLN Mine (Doniambo plant), NewCaledonia23-30%60,000Cerro Matoso SAMontelibano, N. Colombia45%50,000Aneka TambangPomalaa - Gebe Island,Indonesia20%11,500FalconBridgeFalcondo, Bonao - DominicanRepublic40%28,000LARCOLarymna - Greece18-23%22,000Minera Loma de Niquel, C.A.Venezuela25%16,000Pacific Metals Co LtdHachinohe, Aomori PrefecturePamco, Japan20%54,000Oeyama Nickel CompanyLtdOheyama, Japan20%13,000Hyuga Smelting Co. LtdHyuga, Miyazaki Prefecture20%24,000Source: INSGLARCO General Mining & Metallurgical Company 4

History1963 LARCO is founded by Bodosakis Athanassiadis1966 Agios Ioannis ore smelting begins1969 Evia mines begin operation1976 The first company to bring granulated ferronickel tothe market1977 Europe's largest continuous conveyor belt of 7.5 km is built1989 New LARCO is established1992 Award of ISO 9000 for the quality of the ferronickel product2000-1 New slag granulation unit2005 Major reconstruction and full modernisation of the CompanyLARCO General Mining & Metallurgical Company 5

Key FactsEntirely exporting company and the only producer of FerroNickel in Europe who mainly utilizes domestic oreThe amount of ore used annually is approximately 2.0 – 2.5million tons with a nickel content of about 1.05%It covers 6-7% 6of the European market needs in Nickel and isplaced among the most reliable producers in the internationalNickel marketTotal production, from 1966 until today, is over 400,000 tons ofNickelLARCO General Mining & Metallurgical Company 6

ProfileLocationHead Offices: located inAthensMetallurgical plant: located inLarymna (county of Fthiotida)Mines:EviaAg.IoannisKastoriaServiaLARCO General Mining & Metallurgical Company 7

MinesEvia MinesAnnual production: 1.2 to 1.5 million tonnes of oreAverage nickel content: 1%-1.03%1.03%Agios Ioannis MinesAnnual production: 700,000 tonnes of oreAverage nickel content: 1.2 to 1.3%Kastoria MinesAnnual production: 250,000- 300,000 tonnes of oreAverage nickel content: 1.3%Servia Lignite MinesAnnual production: approximately 350,000 tonnes of lignite, depending on the factory'sneedsLARCO General Mining & Metallurgical Company 8

Metallurgical Plant located in Larymna, , about 130 km N/NEof Athens. The plant processes the nickel ferrous ores(laterite)) to produce ferronickel with a 18%-23% nickelcontent. Total quantity of ore processed per year is 2,500,000tonnes, equating to an annual ferronickel production ofaround 20,000 tonnes.Basic production lines4 rotary kilns5 electric furnaces (200 MVA total nominal power)2 OBM-type converters (100 tons total capacity)Secondary installations2 units for the production of Oxygen and Nitrogengrinding unitsmagnetic separation unitsPort, 2 transport ships, installations and machinery service,fully equipped chemical analysis laboratories and a wellorganised residential areaLARCO General Mining & Metallurgical Company 9

Our FeNi SpecificationsGRANULES ANALYSISNiCoAsPSCuC,Mn,Si,Cr17-25%4,5% of the Ni content0,15% Max0,02% Max0,150% Max0,10% MaxTracesSize: 3 to 40 MM (95 PCT)Packing: In BulkThe competitive advantage of our ferronickel is its highly prized d virtually carbon-free content. The presence of cobalt in our nickel also makes the e end product,stainless steel, stronger and less prone to metal fatigue and fractures.LARCO General Mining & Metallurgical Company 10

Moving forward with…PASSIONEXPERTISEVISIONLARCO General Mining & Metallurgical Company 11