Brazil Minerals Inc. has announced that its subsidiary, Jupiter Gold Corp. (Jupiter Gold), expects to begin the initial drilling campaign of its Paracatu project in or before May 2018.
The Paracatu project encompasses 773 acres and is situated downstream of the largest gold mine in Brazil, Morro do Ouro, owned and operated by Kinross Gold, a large global gold miner. Morro do Ouro had an ore body with 16 million oz of gold; its annual gold production in 2016 was over 480 000 oz, according to published reports.
The senior geologist on the Paracatu project is Rodrigo B. Mello, with over 30 years of experience and technical oversight at some of the largest gold companies in the world such as AngloAmerican, AngloGold and Goldcorp. He has written 19 geological reports, mostly on gold formations in Brazil. Mello's experience includes being the president of the Brazilian mining company that developed the Tucano mine, the second largest gold mine in Brazil.
This initial drilling campaign at the Paracatu Project is set to collect samples at 0.5-metre intervals in six drill holes spaced 50 metres apart. Analytical examination of the samples will be conducted at a laboratory in Brazil, used by major gold companies operating locally. The fieldwork should last three weeks and the analytical reporting afterwards may take three months.
In Mello's opinion, the Paracatu project area has significant potential for gold. The exploration potential of the Paracatu project stems from the presence of alluvial terraces on both margins of the creek known locally as Corrego do Ouro (Gold Creek), which crosses the project's area. The creek starts at Morro do Ouro, the Kinross Gold mine, and drains through the project area and beyond. If confirmed, mineralisation in the permit area would likely lend itself to utilisation of a low-cost, high-efficiency modular plant for alluvial gold retrieval, a technology in use by Brazil Minerals in one of its Jequitinhonha Valley areas.