Aerial view of the garimpeiros surface workings at Camarão target.
Under an option agreement signed in December 2009 Brazauro has the option to acquire the Água Branca Project from Talon Metals Corp. and has paid Talon US$60,000 with an additional US$60,000 due upon renewal of the exploration licenses by the Brazilian National Department of Mineral Production (DNPM) which is expected on or before February 26, 2010. Two subsequent option payments of US$130,000 and US$1,870,000 are due on December 31, 2010 and September 30, 2011, respectively. Brazauro has also committed to perform a minimum of US$500,000 per year for each of the first two years following renewal of the exploration licenses by DNPM. The development expenditure obligations are cumulative and aggregate against the overall US$1 million obligation. Talon retains a 2% net smelter royalty which Brazauro can purchase for US$2,000,000.
Água Branca property lies approximately 35 km south of Tocantinzinho. The access can be made year round through a dirt road starting at the Transgarimpeira road.
At Água Branca, the scale of the surface workings done by the garimpeiros and the amount of shafts sunk in the target called Camarão is quite impressive. This target was investigated by Talon with the execution of 13 diamond holes. Mineralization at Camarão is related to narrow veins where gold usually is high grade. The host rocks are granite of the Parauari Intrusive Suite. The most significant drilling intercepts at Camarão are as follow.
ABD-09: 1.00 m @ 120.36 g/t gold
ABD-05: 1.17 m @ 31.32 g/t gold
ABD-04: 5.75 m @ 6.21 g/t gold and 12.95 m @ 1.35 g/t gold
ABD-03: 0.45 m @ 29.40 g/t gold
ABD-02: 1.06 m @ 23.37 g/t gold
ABD-13: 0.90 m @ 35.62 g/t and 0.60 m @ 34.67 g/t gold
At the Água Branca Project, Talon explored ten targets. Nine of these targets were explored by grid soil sampling resulting in four targets that were core drilled, including Camarão. Of these targets, the Serra da Abelha is one of the most interesting as soil sampling over grid of 1,100 meters (EW) by 900 meters (NS) defined a soil anomaly with results ranging from 100 to 500 ppb gold. Eight core holes were drilled by Talon and some narrow mineralized intercepts were identified.
The most significant feature of Serra da Abelha target is the similarity between the Serra da Abelha drill cores and Tocantinzinho drill cores. The hydrothermal alteration system seems to be exactly the same as that of Tocantinzinho. The same hematite dusting appears on K-feldspars (like TZ’s “salami type”) as does the same silica-chlorite alteration (like TZ’s “smoky type”). Even the sheeted veins are present, as they are at Tocantinzinho. The pictures of these core samples can be seen at
Serra da Abelha Core Pictures.
Brazauro considers it extremely important that for the first time an alteration system very similar to that of Tocantinzinho has been found in the Tapajós Mineral Province. All other known granite-related gold mineralization, such as São Jorge, Cuiu-Cuiu, Serrinha and Novo Mundo (northern Mato Grosso state) are different. As a result, Brazauro believes that a possible mineralization system can be found close to, or in the surroundings of the Serra da Abelha target. This fact by itself makes Serra da Abelha and its vicinity a natural target of a search for a TZ-like ore deposit.
After Talon ceased exploration, the local garimpeiros discovered a possible extension of the soil anomaly, West of Serra da Abelha grid, where a zone of gold mineralization is more than 600 meters long by at least 100 meters wide. Along this east-west zone, twelve shafts have been sunk by the garimpeiros and most of the shafts are being produced. The rocks from these shafts are moderate to intensely hydrothermally altered granites with gold assays in the range of 0.37 g/t gold to 2.31 g/t gold. Related to this alteration zone a strong silicified rock occurs with plenty of boxworks and visible gold which is the rock being mined by the garimpeiros. Two of these samples assayed 53.84 g/t gold and 437.89 g/t gold (the last one with many visible gold particles). View Serra da Abelha Grid with New Extension Zone
In early January 2010 Brazauro plans to commence a comprehensive exploration program over the Serra da Abelha target with geological mapping to cover the target area and its surroundings. In addition the existent grid will be extended to the west to soil sample, the new zone of mineralization found by the garimpeiros. A diamond drilling program is being scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2010. |
