Aura Minerals Inc. Wednesday reported on the exploration work carried out over the past 12 months by Vale S.A. at Aura's Inaja Project in southern Para state, Brazil. On March 16, 2009, Aura Gold Mineracao Ltda. (AGM), a wholly owned Brazilian subsidiary of Aura Minerals, and Vale entered into an option agreement, whereby Vale can earn a 51 percent interest in the Inaja Project by spending US$6 million in exploration work over a four year period and an additional 19 percent by funding and delivering a bankable feasibility study within 36 months of electing to earn such additional interest (the Option Agreement).
The Inaja Project is located some 300 km to the south of Vale's Carajas mineral province in Para state. The Inaja Project area is underlain by a sequence of volcano-sedimentary rocks forming the Inaja greenstone belt, about 80 km long in an east-west direction. The area consists of open farm land used for cattle grazing and is easily accessible by road.
During 2008, the AGM exploration team discovered the presence of several large high grade iron boulders grading up to 69 percent iron over a strike extent of approximately 10 km and subsequently entered into the Option Agreement. Over the past 12 months, Vale has invested a total of approximately R$2 million (US$1.1 million) in exploration work across the entire area (about 112,000 hectares) of the Inaja Project and obtained very encouraging results. The work comprised a 4,000 km line airborne magnetic survey, a 280 km line detailed geological mapping of iron formations and ultramafic rocks, sampling of stream sediments over 651 sites and 86 km line of detailed ground magnetic-radiometric survey.
The geological mapping and interpretation of the magnetic data demonstrates the presence of banded iron formation horizons totaling up to 60 km in strike length along the belt, in segments from 200 meters to 3,000 meters in length, 30 meters to 50 meters thick, and in places are continuous at depth and repetitive across the strike. Surface sampling and magnetic gradients indicate the presence of both magnetite and hematite rich iron formations in places. The available geological and geophysical data suggest the presence of a potential large iron ore resource. Vale is now preparing a comprehensive drilling program to test the characteristics and volume of these iron formations.
Areas of known nickel geochemical anomalies associated with ultramafic rocks at the western end of the belt show intermediate magnetic responses. Five targets for nickel and copper sulphide deposits in this geological environment are also being investigated by Vale. Future follow-up work includes soil geochemistry, mapping and drilling.