BRAZIL MINERALS, INC. ANNOUNCES SUCCESSFUL BEGINNING OF OPERATIONS WITH GOLD RETRIEVAL UNIT & OTHER NEWS
PASADENA, CA -- October 10, 2016 -- InvestorsHub NewsWire -- Brazil Minerals, Inc. (OTC: BMIX) (the "Company" or "BMIX") announced today that the initial gold retrieval unit (GRU) installed in one of its mining concessions for gold in the Jequitinhonha River valley in Brazil has begun operations as of late last week.
This initial GRU was built to specifications at a metalworking facility located in northern Minas Gerais state in Brazil. Following transport to its current location, it took over two weeks to configure, test and optimize several aspects of its operation, including the electric grid connection from a diesel-powered portable generator as well as the water pumping mechanism. Two photographs of the GRU are attached to the version of this press release posted in the Company's website (www.brazil-minerals.com). In essence, this GRU has a specially designed motorized trommel that feeds material into two centrifuges working in parallel.
While the Company has run the GRU only a very short time, it has already witnessed that the cost of its operation will be low. Together, diesel and direct labor, the two largest costs, averaged 150 dollars per day; this is a preliminary number, subject to change with a longer period of operations. Having a cost effective method of recovery is important because the concentration of alluvial gold on a volumetric basis varies significantly from area to area and low costs allow even lesser material to be processed profitably. The Company sees this initial GRU as an initial step in technology development; it already has certain ideas for improvements on a version 2. As BMIX has 10 mining concession areas for alluvial gold, among the 38 mineral rights encompassing 440 square miles that it controls, there is room for several GRUs to work simultaneously on BMIX's concessions.
In other news, BMIX announced that the portable diamond and gold plant of an unrelated third-party enterprise that signed a previously announced royalty deal with the Company also began operations. A photograph of such plant is attached to the version of this press release posted in the Company's website (www.brazil-minerals.com). There are numerous differences between this portable plant and the GRU, however both utilize motorized trommels as a separation step. Under the terms of the royalty agreement, BMIX will receive 25% of this third party's production of gold and diamond with virtually zero cost to BMIX.
In additional news, Ambassador Christopher Westdal has joined the Board of Directors of Jupiter Gold Corporation (Jupiter Gold), a subsidiary of the Company. Ambassador Westdal resides in Quebec, Canada and is currently the non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Silver Bear Resources, Inc. (SBR), a public company developing a large silver mine in Russia. He has been a director of SBR since 2007, and has served on other public company boards with mining interests in Canada, Russia, and Ukraine. BMIX believes that his directorship experience and involvement in international mining opportunities will be a strong positive for Jupiter Gold.
Ambassador Westdal is a former Canadian diplomat with 40 years of international experience. He was Ambassador to Russia, the United Nations in Geneva, Ukraine, South Africa, and Bangladesh and Burma. Prior assignments abroad included India, Nepal, and Tanzania. Ambassador Westdal holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Johns College and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Manitoba.
DON'T DUMP ON SOMEBODY WHEN YOU CAN GO TO THE RESTROOM - SP
