Tag Archives: Brazil

ERG’s BAMIN signs pact with Brazil Government to complete and operate FIOL railway

Bulk handling, Mineral project development, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , ,

Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) says its wholly-owned Brazilian subsidiary, BAMIN, has signed a concession agreement with the Brazilian Federal Government to complete and operate a section of the FIOL (East-West Integration) railway in the country.

BAMIN will advance the construction works, which until recently were carried out by the state-owned railway engineering and construction company Valec.

The sub-concession has been granted for a 35-year period, which includes an allowance of five years for the construction of the railway and 30 years for its operation. BAMIN’s investment into the railroad and the rolling stock will amount to around BRL3.3 billion ($683 million).

In April 2021, BAMIN won the auction on the B3 (São Paulo Stock Exchange) to complete and operate the first 537 km stretch of the FIOL. The concession agreement has now granted BAMIN 120 days to evaluate the progress of the construction and other related works. This preliminary phase precedes the preparation of a plan to resume the construction, which is scheduled for the second half of 2022.

Tarcio Gomes de Freitas, Minister of Infrastructure of Brazil, said: “The importance of this infrastructure project in the state of Bahia cannot be overstated. The project is very well structured and includes an iron ore plant, a railway and a seaport. The railway, which is undergoing construction, will serve the mining industry, as well as the agricultural sector, which is growing at an unprecedented pace, particularly in the west.”

BAMIN has already hired professionals in the rail industry to oversee the management of the FIOL railway. BAMIN will also leverage ERG’s international expertise as the largest transport operator in Central Asia with extensive experience in rail transportation, ERG says. Each year, ERG transports over 50 Mt of freight using 10,000 vehicles, while also maintaining and repairing 2,500 wagons and over 1,000 locomotives.

Benedikt Sobotka, CEO of Eurasian Resources Group, said: “All across the globe, railways play a crucial role in urban development, enabling people to gain access to new opportunities. In Brazil, we are confident that FIOL will act as an important connecting point between regions, cities and people, contributing to economic growth, and creating a strong link between the west and the east of the country. The logistics and exportation corridor that BAMIN will create will transport millions of tonnes of iron ore, agricultural products, as well as other goods.”

With the resumption of construction, the project is expected to boost the country’s economic growth at both the federal and the local level: FIOL will strengthen the rail network across 20 municipalities in Brazil, while also boosting foreign trade, ERG says.

BAMIN plans to install over 30 loading stations along the route, creating opportunities for regional producers, enhancing production chains, and helping establish new businesses.

Once completed, FIOL will be able to carry 60 Mt/y of freight, with BAMIN’s products accounting for a third of this capacity. More than 40 Mt of cargo will be made available for other businesses in both the mining and agricultural sector, as well as other industries in the Bahia region.

ERG said: “The importance of the FIOL railway cannot be overstated, as the railway will be part of an integrated logistics project that will connect the Pedra de Ferro mine in Caetité with the Porto Sul, currently under construction in Ilhéus, Bahia. Following the commencement of commercial operations in January 2021, the Pedra de Ferro Mine is expected to produce 1 Mt by the end of this year. Once the South Port and FIOL are completed (expected in 2026), the mine should produce 18 Mt of iron ore per year.”

Eduardo Ledsham, CEO of BAMIN, said: “The Pedra de Ferro mine, Porto Sul, and FIOL projects are an important milestone for the country’s economic development, and a source of pride for the Bahia State and all Brazilians. We are creating a new logistics corridor to integrate the west with the east of Brazil, creating a new, important exportation pathway.

“The state of Bahia will occupy a new and important place in the national economy, becoming the third largest iron ore producer in the country, generating wealth and prosperity, while also increasing the population’s income and improving the quality of life.”

GroundProbe offers Brazilian customers dedicated geotechnical monitoring option

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GroundProbe has opened a dedicated Geotechnical Support Service (GSS) monitoring centre in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, to, it says, better serve its growing customer base in the country.

The centre will provide 24/7 real-time remote radar and laser monitoring services for mine slopes and tailings dams.

The centre joins GroundProbe’s two existing high-tech monitoring centres in Santiago, Chile, and Balikpapan, Indonesia, to provide support in four languages – Portuguese, Spanish, English and Bahasa.

Monitoring live stability data and reacting to alarms to ensure the maximum safety of people and communities, the centre connects remote sites with geotechnical industry experts in real time, GroundProbe says. The centres are crewed by more than 100 highly experienced engineers and radar operators with extensive radar knowledge and experience.

GroundProbe, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Orica, is widely accepted as a global leader in real-time technologies used to detect instabilities and predict when mine and dam collapses will occur.

GroundProbe CEO, David Noon, said that the company had witnessed a huge increase in demand for remote geotechnical expertise in Brazil.

“We saw it as an absolute necessity to bolster our offering and extend our support services to the region,” he said.

“The state-of-the-art centre provides the most technologically advanced solution for remote monitoring in the region and shows our level of commitment to our customers there.

“It leans on our five-and-a-half years of remote monitoring experience, our recognised systems and processes and our established resourcing model, all of which ensures the highest level of data integrity and service availability.”

GroundProbe Head of Geotechnical, Peter Saunders, explained how the service’s positive results and statistics speak for themselves.

“Together, our GSS team have detected and provided early notification to site of 1,440 slope failures, validated 3,615 alarms and managed 44,608 unwanted alarms,” Saunders said.

“GroundProbe also has the world’s largest library of wall folders. Our experts have unprecedented access to this data, gaining a unique perspective on geotechnical monitoring borne from analysing thousands of slope failures and assisting with numerous incident investigations.”

This newest monitoring centre in Belo Horizonte will provide the same services to customers, including: GSS-Remote, GroundProbe’s 24-hour remote monitoring solution; GSS-Training, its specialised SSR and laser training service; and GSS-Reporting, the company’s customised analysis and reporting service.

Sandvik’s i-series truck set to start work at OZ Minerals’ Pedra Branca

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Sandvik has recently delivered its first i-series truck to Brazil, with the 45-t payload TH545i heading to OZ Minerals Brazil’s Pedra Branca copper mine in Pará in the northern part of the country.

The model has automation features that bring more productivity and safety to the operation, according to Sandvik. Compared to its predecessor, the Sandvik TH540, the truck offers a significant capacity increase by carrying 5 t more. The truck’s standard engine power, meanwhile, increased to 450 kW, from 405 kW, to maintain the same speed with the increased payload.

Other equipment will be delivered to the Pedra Branca mine over the next few months, with, in all, five different models of drilling, loading and transport equipment making up the “modern and complete fleet”, Sandvik said.

The new fleet additions are all part of OZ Minerals’ ramp-up efforts at the underground mine, which is targeting increased mining from ore stopes from the June quarter onwards.

Equinox Gold and U&M start mining at Santa Luz in Brazil

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Equinox Gold Corp says mining activities are underway at its new Santa Luz gold mine in Brazil, with commissioning on track for the December quarter ahead of first gold pour in the March quarter of 2022.

The company expects to produce 110,000 oz/y of gold for the first five years of operations.

The mining contractor, U&M Mineração e Construção S/A, mobilised to site in May and mining commenced in mid-June. Mining activities are currently focused on removing waste from two locations and developing access roads, ramps, dumps and ore storage areas in preparation for a pre-stripping campaign prior to mining ore in late 2021. To make room for mine expansion, U&M is also relocating an existing ore stockpile with an average grade of 0.9 g/t Au, which will be used for commissioning activities in the December quarter.

Construction is on schedule and on budget, with approximately $31 million of the $103 million construction budget spent and $70 million committed at the end of June 2021.

As a brownfield past-producing mine, the majority of site services and infrastructure is already in place at Santa Luz, Equinox said. Restart activities are focused on refurbishing existing infrastructure, retrofitting the plant to incorporate resin-in-leach processing, installation of additional grinding infrastructure and increasing the storage capacities of the existing tailings and water storage facilities. A significant construction milestone was achieved on June 25 with installation of the first segment of the ball mill.

Construction highlights include:

  • Overall project is 41% complete;
  • Engineering and procurement activities are 96% complete;
  • Plant construction and refurbishment is 46% complete;
  • Refurbishment of existing SAG mill is progressing well;
  • Primary grinding is 75% complete;
  • Secondary grinding is 52% complete: concrete foundations and pedestals for the new ball mill are 100% complete, ball mill installation is underway;
  • Pre-conditioning, leach and detoxification circuit is 46% complete: concrete bases are complete, steel structures are being pre-assembled and tank installation is underway, with four tanks out of 10 fully erected and four more partially erected;
  • Earthworks for primary crushing area are underway;
  • Electrical and substation upgrades are 90% complete;
  • Electrowinning cells have been installed in the gold room;
  • Completion of refurbishment of existing plant areas is scheduled for the September quarter; and
  • Tailings and water storage facility expansions are underway with completion targeted for the December quarter.

Sigma hires Promon for Grota do Cirilo lithium project design and construction

Energy minerals, Mineral project development, Mining services, , , , ,

Sigma Lithium Resources Corp has appointed Promon Engenharia Ltda of Sao Paulo, Brazil, for the design and construction of Phase 1 of its Grota do Cirilo hard-rock lithium project in the country.

Promon joins Primero Group of Australia as Sigma’s international engineering team for construction of the project.

The announcement came at the same time as Sigma confirmed it had initiated significant earthworks activities at the project, breaking ground with topsoil removal, clearing and grubbing in the site area (plant and mine). These activities followed completion of the geotechnical assessment for the civil engineering and evaluation of impact on the foundation design and earthwork quantities for construction of the foundation for the production plant for Phase 1 of the project. This phase is designed to allow for expansion design features incorporating a future second production line.

Sigma said it continued to advance detailed engineering activities with Promon, which now joins Primero to provide technical and engineering services to Sigma in the construction of the project.

Sigma said Promon was selected for its substantial experience in the advanced metallurgical and chemical industries and for its detailed and focused engineering process. Its portfolio of large-scale projects include: processing and mining plants, oil refineries, petrochemical plants, maritime terminals, hydroelectric, thermal and nuclear power plants, power transmission systems, steel mills, automotive and aeronautical manufacturing plants and commercial buildings.

Primero, meanwhile, is one of the few engineering firms with direct experience in lithium plant construction commissioning and operations as a result of its work in several successful producing projects in Australia, including the previous experience of its personnel at the Talison Greenbushes mine, Sigma said.

“Primero perfected the technology for automating and digitally controlling dense media separation in lithium processing facilities,” it added. “Together with the company, Primero has developed the ‘green’ circuits for the processing flowsheet for the commercial production plant for the project, including the water recycling and dry stacking.”

Initial production of 220,000 t/y of “high purity lithium concentrate” is on track for the September quarter of 2022, it said.

Earlier in the month, the company published results from a preliminary economic assessment for phase two production, which estimated Production could increase from 220,000 t/y (33,000 t of lithium carbonate equivalent) planned for 2022 in Phase 1, to 440,000 t/y (66,000 t of LCE), within approximately one year. This would involve the addition of a second dense media separation line within its plant.

MVV, Appian hit construction milestone at Serrote copper-gold mine

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Mineração Vale Verde Ltda and Appian Capital Advisory have finalised construction of the Serrote copper-gold mine and processing plant in Alagoas, Brazil, ahead of schedule and under budget.

Construction was concluded safely, while managing the challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the companies reported.

The focus is now on the transition to steady-state operations and the ramp-up over the second half of 2021, with operational readiness workstreams, employee training programs and risk management workshops well advanced, MVV said. MVV’s first shipment of concentrate is targeted for November 2021.

This follows the announcement in February that MVV had secured a $140 million project finance debt facility, the largest independent greenfield mining project finance transaction announced since the beginning of 2020 and the onset of COVID-19, according to the company.

MVV will produce a high grade bornite-chalcopyrite copper concentrate, with gold and silver by-product credits. The company expects the high-grade nature of the concentrate to yield a premium in the market, while lowering the downstream transport costs and carbon footprint compared with typical copper concentrates.

Serrote will produce an average of approximately 22,000 t/y of copper equivalent over an initial 14-year mine life from a low-strip, open-pit mine supplying a 4.1 Mt/y processing plant. This initial life of mine will exploit a mineral reserve of 52.7 Mt grading 0.6% Cu and 0.1 g/t Au.

MVV says it is working towards unlocking substantial value upside through definition of an expansion plan into the larger 108.9 Mt measured and indicated resource at Serrote, as well as developing plans to generate value through the known oxide resource and nearby satellite deposits which are currently being drilled and expanded.

Paulo Castellari, CEO MVV & Appian Brazil, said: “Concluding construction in line with schedule and below budget once again demonstrates the success of Appian’s business model, and I am particularly proud of our leading safety record and ability to exceed expectations despite the pandemic.

“In Serrote we have a high-quality asset with low production costs, a long mine-life and significant upside from potential further expansion. Copper remains an incredibly attractive commodity and MVV is ideally placed to benefit from the growing global focus on electrification and decarbonisation.”

Fortescue Future Industries plots path for 300 MW green hydrogen plant in Brazil

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Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Fortescue Metals Group, and Porto do Açu Operações SA (Port of Açu), a subsidiary of Prumo Logistica SA, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to assess the opportunity to develop hydrogen-based green industrial projects in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Signed in late February, the MoU will allow for FFI and Port of Açu to conduct development studies into the feasibility of installing a green hydrogen plant at Port of Açu, Latin America’s largest privately owned deep-water port-industrial complex, FFI said.

Subject to the outcome of the studies, the project envisages construction of a 300 MW capacity green hydrogen plant at Port of Açu, with potential to produce 250,000 t/y of green ammonia.

The availability of green hydrogen and renewable power is expected to drive further sustainable industrialisation of the port, including production of green steel, fertilisers, chemicals, fuels and other sustainably manufactured industrial products, according to FFI. Anglo American already uses the port for exporting its iron ore from Minas-Rio.

The MoU also lays the groundwork for on-site solar power development projects, as well as off-shore wind development projects in the states of Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo.

FFI Chief Executive Officer, Julie Shuttleworth, said: “FFI is assessing renewable energy and green hydrogen opportunities globally and will lead and drive the green energy and product industry as we transition away from fossil fuels.

“I am excited to announce this MoU with Port of Açu. The opportunity to establish totally new and future large-scale industries will drive growth in the Brazilian economy. We expect the potential for new green industries at Port of Açu to substantially diversify, broaden and deepen Brazil’s already skilled workforce.”

Jose Firmo, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Açu, said: “The Port of Açu is sailing steadfastly ahead toward the sustainable economy of the future. One of the pillars of our vision for the port’s industrialisation are today’s operational energy transition projects and the renewable energy-fuelled green industries of tomorrow.

“Açu is a gateway between the growing Brazilian economy and rapidly expanding low carbon businesses around the globe.”

Firmo added: “This will be the first green hydrogen plant in the country and will place FFI and Açu at the forefront of clean energy production and the green industrialisation of Brazil.”

Subject to the completion of feasibility studies and approvals, individual projects will be developed by FFI with ownership and project finance sources to be separately secured without recourse to Fortescue, the company said.

Amarillo Gold to receive first Metso Outotec modular FIT Crushing Station

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Amarillo Gold Corp is to become the first company to install Metso Outotec’s modular FIT™ Crushing Station at its Posse gold project in Goiás State, central Brazil.

The new crushing and screening solution was introduced by Metso to the markets in 2020, and Amarillo Gold will be the first site where it will be installed, the mining OEM said. The solution has been designed to bring significant savings of resources and time to mining operations.

“Amarillo Gold has a strong social licence to operate in the Mara Rosa property where the Posse gold project is located,” Arão Portugal, Country Manager at Amarillo Gold, said. “Our aim is to build a modern, sustainable mining operation, and Metso Outotec’s FIT Station fulfills our ambitious targets for the process.”

The FIT Station to be delivered to Posse has a design capacity of 540 t/h of run of mine with an average production of 102,000 oz/y of gold (years 1 to 4). The station consists of crushers, vibrating feeders and screens, as well as conveyors and related structures and other equipment.

Amarillo Gold is advancing two gold projects in Brazil. The Posse gold project, which has resources of around 1.2 Moz of contained gold, is in the company’s Mara Rosa property in Goiás state. The project will operate an open-pit mine and carbon-in-leach operation with dry stack tailings.

Guillaume Lambert, Vice President, Crushing at Metso Outotec, said: “We are very proud to have the honour to work with Amarillo Gold. They are a frontrunner aiming to select the best technology for their project. Metso Outotec’s sustainable FIT crushing stations are a good fit with this objective, as they are designed for capital expenditure reduction and shorter lead times, with ease of installation and maintenance.”

WEG slip ring motors to drive milling operations at Vale Verde copper mine

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WEG says it has supplied two M Mining slip ring motors to mining company Mineração Vale Verde to drive the main mill of a 4 Mt/y plant at its Serrote copper operation in Alagoas, Brazil.

The M Mining slip ring motors come with a power output of 5,400 kW and rated voltage of 13,800 V. They will be fitted to the FLSmidth-supplied plant

The WEG M Mining slip ring motor has a new automatic brush lifting system, which differentiates the WEG product from other motors on the market.

The motors were specially developed with electromechanical characteristics that provide durability, resistance and robustness, being able to operate in harsh environments like mine and cement sites.

In addition to the above advantages, M Mining line motors, with an automatic brush lifting system, incorporate operating logic, resources for fault investigation, monitoring of operation via HMI and prevention of improper manoeuvres, simplifying and reducing maintenance costs, motor installation, operation and maintenance, WEG says.

Vale Verde will be provided with technical assistance and WEG aftersales support, the company added.

Mineração Vale Verde said in early February that Serrote remained on track for first production in the second half of 2021. An August 2019 definitive feasibility study outlined a project able to produce around 20,000 t/y of copper-equivalent over an initial 14-year mine life from a low-strip, open pit mine supplying this 4.1 Mt/y processing plant.

Giga Metals taps Minerva’s AI prospect generator software for Brazil exploration

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Minerva Intelligence says its Cognitive artificial intelligence-powered prospect generation software, TARGET, has helped Giga Metals identify and evaluate new prospective exploration targets at the Parnaiba Basin project in Nordeste, Brazil.

Giga, after validating the results produced by Minerva’s TARGET software, made the decision to acquire exploration permits covering significant new regional sediment-hosted copper anomalies along the southern perimeter of the Parnaíba Sedimentary Basin in southern Piauí State, Northeast Region, Brazil, it said.

This amounted to the staking of 24 exploration permits totalling 40,722 ha in four properties along 80 km of strike length in an area with known “Kupferschiefer-style” sediment-hosted copper mineralisation.

Scott Tillman, CEO of Minerva Intelligence, said: “The commercial validation of our TARGET software is yet another indication of the power of Minerva’s Cognitive AI-powered software.

“The successful deployment of our TARGET software highlights the value we are able to provide to companies that are managing large datasets and seeking to incorporate an artificial intelligence element into the decision-making process. Our success with Giga in Brazil, in conjunction with our recent success in Mexico, points to even greater success in the future in delivering results for mining and exploration companies around the world.”

Using Minerva’s TARGET software, Giga was able to sift through, organise and evaluate large datasets that were subsequently used to analyse the validity of the prospective exploration region, Minerva explained. TARGET’s mapping technology was able to determine, based on existing comprehensive datasets, that the project in Brazil had a high likelihood of success and, as a result, Giga should pursue investment in the region.

The final result of the analysis was a list of AI-produced target areas throughout Brazil that are completely auditable and explainable, and, most importantly, actionable by Giga, Minerva said.

Giga Metals CEO, Mark Jarvis, said: “TARGET enabled us to work our way through an immense volume of regional geological data to focus on areas prospective for the deposit types of interest to us. This is a type of regional survey that was previously possible only for a major mining company with a large team of geologists. It is exciting to experience at first-hand how artificial intelligence is now making this type of survey accessible to smaller companies.”

Jake McGregor, Minerva’s COO, added: “In 2019, Minerva was contracted by Giga to build a set of prospectivity maps for the country of Brazil. In this capacity, the company compiled various datasets from across the country, both from public and private sources, and significant work was undertaken by Minerva to standardise and translate the data from Portuguese to English, and then into the standard terminologies that we use in our mineral deposit models. It is extremely rewarding to see our clients getting value out of that hard work.”