Australia-based miner BC Iron has announced that, together with its strategic partner Australia's Cleveland Mining Company Ltd, it has signed a memorandum of understanding to earn the right to acquire 80 percent of three iron ore exploration projects in the Brazilian states of Salvador da Bahia and Mina Gerais. The proposed acquisitions will form the initial projects for the strategic alliance between Cleveland Mining and BC Iron which was formed in August 2012.
The alliance has investigated more than 50 South American iron ore projects, ranging from exploration stage to producing mines. The three projects under the agreement were selected for further work based on outcropping iron mineralization, geology, geophysical signatures, community attitudes to mining and options for port and rail logistics.
As SteelOrbis previously announced, in August 2012 BC Iron and Cleveland Mining entered into an iron ore strategic alliance, according to which BC Iron would form a JV partnership with Cleveland aimed at acquiring and developing new iron ore projects in Brazil and would take a five percent equity stake in Cleveland for approximately A$6 million.