Australia’s iron ore miner Crusader announced on Monday it will expand access at its Posse iron ore mine, in the state of Minas Gerais, after signing an agreement with a surrounding tenement holder.
According to Crusader, the agreement, which had no cost for the company, will allow it to mine into the neighboring area, a pre-requisite to access all of the hematite and itabirite ore within Crusader’s Posse lease.
The Posse iron ore mine contains an indicated and inferred resource of 36 million mt at 43.5 percent Fe when mining began in March 2013, according to the company; the mine is currently selling direct-shipping iron ore (DSO) to Brazil’s domestic market.
Crusader’s managing director, Rob Smakman, said the agreement will allow the company to “extend the mining at Posse to depth in areas where we know there is rich and high quality ore.”
“Most importantly for the project, we are seeing a steady recovery in the demand for quality product from the domestic pig iron producers, opening the possibility of expanding Posse operations to meet the increased demand,” the executive said.