BMG releases Brazilian maiden

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Brazilian Metals Group has announced a maiden resource estimate for its Gema Verde iron ore project in northern Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The JORC Code compliant resource estimate includes a total of 458.5 million tonnes in the Measured, Indicated and Inferred categories.

The mineralised resource estimated at the Gema Verde iron ore project includes:

–    230.0 million tonnes at 19.0 per cent iron in the Measured Category;

–    166.5 million tonnes at 16.7 per cent iron in the Indicated Category; and

–    62.0 million tonnes at 17.5 per cent iron in the Inferred Category.

The estimate is based on a drilling program of 41 diamond drill holes for 6,828 metres and 22 reverse circulation drill holes for 2,487 metres.

“The Gema Verde resource marks the achievement of a key milestone for the company, and provides the foundation to progress our strategy of developing an iron ore export enterprise in the medium term,” Brazilian Metals Group chief executive officer Bruce McCraken said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“When combined with our resource target of two to three billion tonnes at our Rio Pardo (Josilene-Scorpion prospect) during 2012, we believe we have the basis for a long term export operation of scale.

“Our next priority is to continue to progress our infrastructure options for our projects – particularly given that the State Government is already progressing plans to provide open access rail spur links to the new Federal east west railway in order to expedite the development of the emerging iron ore projects in the Rio Pardo area.”

BMG said exploration in Brazil historically is not reported in accordance with the JORC Code yet the company undertook infill drilling, re-logging and re-sampling of the 2008 drill core and supplementary analysis to enable an estimate of the mineral resource on the Gema Verde deposit to be completed.

BMG’s goal is to develop a substantial mining enterprise in northern Minas Gerais by establishing a mining, processing and transport operation with the scale to export in excess of 25 million tonnes of premium iron product per annum.

In April 2011 BMG entered into an agreement to acquire 100 per cent of the Gema Verde iron deposit in the Salinas/Rio Pardo area of northern Minas Gerais State, Brazil.

BMG has undertaken confirmatory and in-fill drilling within and adjacent to the mineralised zone at Gema Verde and related studies leading to today’s confirmation of an initial mineralised resource at the project.