Why Horizonte Minerals (HZM) Shares Barely Moved On Contract Awards

Key points:
The Horizonte Minerals (HZM) shares barely moved on contract awards.
Investors ignored the news despite its significance to the Araguaia project.
So, should you buy HZM shares? Read on to find out.

The Horizonte Minerals Plc (LON: HZM) share price barely moved after announcing that it had completed the award of the most crucial long-term and long-lead process plant equipment contracts to leading global suppliers.

The nickel mining company said that the contract awards were a crucial part of its development plans for the Araguaia mine, which is expected to be the biggest ferronickel mine in Brazil, serving the stainless steel industry.

Also read: The Best Nickel And Nickel Mining Stocks To Buy.

Investors familiar with the company will remember that it did a fantastic job securing financing for the project from a consortium of investors who will be pleased to see that actual contracts now back the timelines set in the project development plan for the delivery of crucial equipment.

Horizonte Minerals pointed out that the contract awards following the bidding process were evidence of its ability to implement the project once it is underway successfully. In addition, the company noted that the contracts were for the supply of equipment and support services.

The latest announcement comes after Horizonte announced the award of a contract to supply the smelting furnace to Hatch Ltd. in February this year. With the contract awards, the Araguaia mine is now firmly underway, with some of the ordered equipment expected to arrive on-site in Q4 2022.

Horizonte also announced the awards of share options to its CEO Jeremy Martin and its CFO, Simon Retter. The CEO was awarded 3,888,750 share options, while the CFO was awarded shares expected to vest on the award date's 12-month, 18-month and 28-month anniversaries.

The lack of a significant positive reaction from investors could have been driven by the share options awards, which could be contested as underserved high CEO pay. Yet, the Araguaia project is far from being completed.

HZM shares have been falling since the end of May, when the company completed its share consolidation program where it issued one share for every 20 existing shares boosting its share price to a high of 150p on 9 June 2022.

So, should you buy Horizonte Minerals shares? The short answer is that HZM shares look attractive following the recent pullback from its June highs. The question is, has the decline ended?

*This is not investment advice. Always do your due diligence before making investment decisions.

HZM share price.