Acquisition

Horizonte Minerals PLC
03 April 2007



        Horizonte Minerals plc / Index: AIM / Epic: HMZ / Sector: Mining


3 April 2007

             Horizonte Minerals plc ('Horizonte' or 'the Company')
              Acquisition of New Highly Prospective Nickel Project


Horizonte Minerals plc, the AIM listed exploration and development company
focused on Brazil and Peru, is pleased to announce the acquisition of new ground
highly prospective for nickel. The Lontra Ni Project is situated in the Araguaia
mobile belt which flanks the eastern margin of the Carajas Mineral Province of
northern Brazil.


Highlights



  • 25,556 hectare land package located 80 km south of a major nickel deposit
    owned by Xstrata
  • Stream sediment sampling identified seven large Ni targets with coincident
    cobalt and copper in land package
  • Rock sample returns 1.6% Ni  emphasizes nickel potential



The 256 sq km Lontra Project consists of five exploration claims, situated 65 km
southeast of Horizonte's Tangara gold project.  The claims are flanked by
Xstrata to the north and Teck Cominco claims to the south and southeast. This
region is a major new lateritic Ni province with a number of large deposits
scheduled to enter into production.  These include a major grassroots laterite
nickel discovery by Xstrata, which lies 80 km to the north of the Lontra Project
and has reported a resource of 73.3Mt at 1.5% Ni and 0.06% Co. Other laterite
nickel deposits in the area include:


Deposit                        Company         Est.   Ni (%)       Est.                  Source
                                          Resource*            Start-up
Niquel Vermelho                   CVRD        290Mt      0.8       2008              www.cvrd.com.br
Onca Puma                         CVRD        110Mt     1.72       2008              www.cvrd.com.br
Jacare                  Anglo American        430Mt     1.33          -      www.angloamerican.co.uk
* Resources are only indicative and may have been prepared under different reporting standards.


The claims cover the Araguaia mobile belt, which is a north-south trending
province of Proterozoic clastic sediments hosting a series of ophiolite zones.
Over such zones, intense tropical weathering often results in economic
concentrations of nickel such as the case of the deposits listed above.


Horizonte initially identified a number of priority nickel targets at the Lontra
Project following a regional stream sediment sampling programme in the last
quarter of 2006.    Based upon these results Horizonte applied for and was
awarded three exploration licences, which are 100% owned by the company.  The
company subsequently negotiated two contiguous licence areas from a private
Brazilian company where by Horizonte controls 50% of the licences for a payment
of US$320,000 to be paid over three years.  Horizonte has the first right of
refusal to acquire the remaining 50% interest from its Brazilian partners.
Under the terms of the agreement exploration costs on the partnered area will be
funded 50/50 pro rata with the Brazilian partner. Horizonte will manage the
project.


A follow-up soil sampling programme covering the priority nickel targets is now
underway and, subject to satisfactory results, auger drilling will be used to
test for nickel laterite resource potential.



Horizonte CEO Jeremy Martin said, 'The Lontra Project is located in a very
exciting new nickel belt that has not been extensively explored.  The new
discovery of Serra da Tapa by Xstrata in the north of the belt demonstrates its
potential to host world class Ni deposits.  Naturally, the Lontra Project is
early stage but the initial results from our stream sediment sampling programme
at the end of 2006 demonstrate that we have a series of highly anomalous nickel
target areas supported by high Ni values in rock samples'



Sampling, assaying, and QA/QC

Procedures adopted by Horizonte in the collection, preparation and storage of
samples from the auger drilling programme, conform to industry-wide best
practice and with chain of custody being observed for all samples. Analysis is
undertaken by ACME Labs at its laboratories in Vancouver, Canada, and the
Company maintains QA/QC on all analytical work via the inclusion of certified
reference materials and field duplicates and blanks, in addition to monitoring
of the laboratory's own internal check-analyses.



The above information has been reviewed and verified by Mr. Jeremy Martin, a
Director and Chief Executive of Horizonte, for the purposes of the Guidance Note
for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies issued by the London Stock Exchange in March
2006.  Mr. Martin, with six years of mining and management experience, graduated
with a degree in geology from the Camborne School of Mines, and an MSc in
mineral exploration from the University of Leicester and is a member in good
standing with the Society of Economic Geologists and the Institute of Mining
Analysts.



                                  * * ENDS * *



For further information visit www.horizonteminerals.com or contact:



Jeremy Martin/David Hall    Horizonte Minerals plc         Tel: [phone]
David Paxton                Hichens Harrison               Tel: [phone]
Hugo de Salis               St Brides Media & Finance Ltd  Tel: [phone]
John Frain/Fergal Meegan    Davy                            Tel: [phone]



Notes to Editors:

Horizonte Minerals Plc is an AIM listed mineral resources exploration group
focused on the discovery, appraisal and development of gold and base metal
deposits in Brazil and Peru.  The Company has two gold exploration projects in
Brazil, and one silver-zinc-lead project in Peru. The two Brazilian gold
projects, Tangara and Falcao, are located to the south of the highly prospective
Carajas Mineral Province. Both projects cover an area of approximately 300 sq km
and are centred over greenstone belts, with known gold mineralisation. The scale
of these project areas, the overall aerial extent of the mineralised system and
the high density and magnitude of related gold anomalies (identified in river
sediments, surface soils and rocks), indicate the potential for multiple deposit
discoveries.



The silver-zinc-lead project is located in the historic mining district of Cerro
de Pasco in Central Peru. Sampling and limited historic drilling on this project
has demonstrated the high grade potential of this project. The Company has a
joint venture with Australian gold producer Troy Resources NL's 70% owned local
subsidiary Sertao Mineracao Ltda to advance its Goias Velho gold exploration
project in Brazil.




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange