Pasadena-Based Brazil Minerals In Talks with Chinese Mining Enterprise

Pasadena-based Brazil Minerals Inc. (BMIX) announced it is in talks with a Chinese mining enterprise that will be sending a delegation to Brazil to visit the company’s operations in July.

“BMIX believes that the recent conversations with the CEO of a mining group from China have progressed well,” a BMIX press release said. “Among next steps being planned is a visit of 2-3 members of such company to BMIXs mineral rights and operations in July 2016. Before this, in late May 2016, a representative of a separate U.S. investor group will make a visit.”

About two years ago, Brazil Minerals sought to establish a representative office in Beijing to take advantage of the large demand for minerals in China.

BMIX Chairman and CEO Marc Fogassa said then that China was an incredibly important market for the growing Brazilian company.

“China is a large market for diamonds and an aggressive buyer of commodities and strategic minerals, including some of the minerals we have in our pipeline,” Fogassa said. “As an outgrowth of some initial local conversations, BMIX has decided to focus more attention to this area of the world.”

BMIX operations in Brazil are mostly concentrated in the large inland state of Minas Gerais in the southeastern part of the country, known for colonial-era towns dating to the country’s 18th-century gold rush. Last year, BMIX said it has obtained a permit from the Brazilian government to start mining diamonds and gold in one of its mineral rights areas for an initial four years.

Much of the mining work in Brazil will be done by BMIX subsidiary RST Recursos Minerais Ltda., which continues to drill and research additional locations within what is considered a large mineral rights area. The company said excavation work at the new mining area has progressed well, and all machines are working properly, which is important since maintenance at a remote location can be problematic.

BMIX also hired additional local employees to expedite the work. A layer of blackish mud harder than anticipated was encountered during the final few meters of excavation, which slowed operations by about a week. The process of removing the gravel layer is ongoing, and BMIX believes its recovery plant should have its first processing run shortly.

The company also reported Monday that one of its variable-rate notes had been purchased. A variable-rate note is a bind with an interest that changes periodically.

Last week, BMIX assisted an interested investor purchase the last convertible note held by JSJ Investments, Inc. In the last 30 days, two short-term oriented variable noteholders, JSJ and LG Capital, LLC, have ceased to own any BMIX debt, and the company said it is now left with only two other such groups remaining. http://www.brazil-minerals.com/