Sierra Leone woos miners to clean energy with $11 billion plan
Most mining firms rely on their own diesel supplies to extract iron ore, diamonds, rutile and bauxite in the resource-rich country.
Brazil Minerals (OTC PINK: BMIX) announced that an independent technical report for the Iron Project in Minas Gerais estimates that the project area contains 7.4 million tonnes of iron ore for a deposit spanning up to a depth of 45 metres.
The 4,120-acre project is located in the “Quadrilátero Ferrífero” (Iron Quadrangle), in close proximity to one of Vale’s (NYSE: VALE) first iron ore mines.
The Iron Project is located in the “Quadrilátero Ferrífero,” in the central-southern part of the Brazilian state Minas Gerais
According to Brazil Minerals, the local geology shows possible secondary deposits, for example, occurrences of eluvial/colluvial iron mineralization with potential for lump ore production.
“This type of product is aimed at the domestic market and, in general, presents a combination of low production cost and relatively high margins, when compared with iron production for export,” the miner said in a media statement. “Currently available data indicates the potential for an operation with annual net profits of up to $1 million and a mine life between 10 and 20 years.”
At present, the company is optioning the project for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $1 million, payable in installments over two years.
“Additionally, Brazil Minerals has begun a collaborative effort with a university laboratory with expertise in iron concentration and separation processes. The company’s intent is to quickly identify the most cost-effective route for processing for the specific iron mineral found in this project, a key step for operational planning purposes,” the media brief states.
The California-based firm has said that by partnering with academics, it wants to find solutions for processing iron ore without water and enabling smaller-scale operations to increase profitability and product quality.
