PASADENA, CA–(Marketwired – Feb 1, 2016) – Brazil Minerals, Inc. (OTC: BMIX) (the “Company” or “BMIX”) announced today an update on several matters.
The Company announced that it had concluded building a dirt road connecting its large diamond and gold processing plant to an area that it intends to mine for diamonds and gold for the next several years. Two photographs of the road accompany this release. The Company is awaiting formal notification from the mining department to start the removal and transport of diamondiferous and auriferous gravel to its plant and thus commercial mining. The environmental license to start has been obtained and all of the other required applications and other documents have been filed with all applicable regulatory agencies since September 2015. Given an accident involving another company that happened at the Mariana dam in the state of Minas Gerais, the largest environmental accident in Brazil to date, the mining department has been occupied with requests concerning this situation and thus several other miners in the state have experienced similar delays.
BMIX is in discussions with three different Brazilian investors to expand its cash flow by receipt of royalties from exploration for diamonds, gold, and sand in some of the 31 mineral rights that the Company owns in the valley of the Jequitinhonha River in the state of Minas Gerais. Besides these areas, the Company also owns one mineral right for gold in the state of Amazonas. The three potential deals referred to in this press release have some common characteristics: i) there will be no cash or direct labor supplied by BMIX, i.e., no continued operating cost to the Company; ii) BMIX will receive monthly or quarterly royalties for diamond, gold, and sand commercialized from these areas; iii) each license will be limited to approximately 10 to 20 acres, therefore constituting a small fraction of the total surface area of each mineral right; and iv) the agreements will be of a limited duration in time and none of them will involve any option to purchase any mineral right owned by the Company.
Each of the above agreements requires studies, permits and applications with the mining and environmental departments before they can be approved. Many of these materials have been completed or in advanced stages of completion and thus the Company expects to file all of them with the appropriate regulatory agencies within the next 20 days. There is no assurance that all or any of the foregoing transactions will be completed. On completion of any of these agreements, there could be time delay until production begins and any cash flows until approvals to start by the environmental and mining agencies are received.
The Company sent off samples of its three types of Hercules mortar (“Argamassa Colante I” or AC-I, AC-II, and AC-III) to be analyzed at a premier testing laboratory — IPT, short for Instituto de Pesquisas Tecnológicas, or Institute for Technological Research, in São Paulo, Brazil. IPT has studied only the top mortars sold in the country. If Hercules, BMIX’s brand of mortar, achieves a good rating, it will be highly helpful for sales to construction and engineering companies, which can be substantially larger than sales to stores or local distributors.
The Company has finished its 2015 year-to-date accounting procedures for all of its Brazilian subsidiaries, and thus it expects its 2015 audit by its independent auditor to proceed efficiently.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that the zika virus epidemic has had no effect on the operations of the Company as of now, and no cases have been reported in our immediate region. The major issue to BMIX this year so far has been the weather, since the El Niño phenomenon caused it to rain heavily for most of the month of January.
About Brazil Minerals, Inc.
Brazil Minerals, Inc. (OTC: BMIX) is a U.S. holding company with Brazilian mining properties that produce rough diamonds, gold, and sand, and a business that manufactures and sells mortar. More information on BMIX can be found at www.brazil-minerals.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward looking statements are based upon the current plans, estimates and projections of Brazil Minerals, Inc.’s management and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from the forward looking statements. Such statements include, among others, those concerning market and industry segment growth and demand and acceptance of new and existing products; any projections of production, reserves, sales, earnings, revenue, margins or other financial items; any statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance; uncertainties related to conducting business in Brazil, as well as all assumptions, expectations, predictions, intentions or beliefs about future events. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements: business conditions in Brazil, general economic conditions, geopolitical events and regulatory changes, availability of capital, BMIX’s ability to maintain its competitive position and dependence on key management. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale of any securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.
Cautionary note regarding estimates of Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources of Diamonds and Gold as found in MDB’s NI 43-101 Technical Reports.
We advise U.S. investors that while these terms and amounts are recognized by Canadian regulations, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) does not recognize them. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into mineral reserves as defined by the U.S.’s Industry Guide 7.
Cautionary note regarding estimates of Mineral Reserves of Diamonds and Gold as found in MDB’s Bankable Feasibility Study.
We advise U.S. investors that while these terms and amounts are recognized by Brazilian regulations, the SEC does not recognize them. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in this category will ever be converted into mineral reserves as defined by the U.S.’s Industry Guide 7.
Cautionary note regarding estimates of Volume and Weight of Sand as found in MDB’s studies filed with the local Brazilian regulatory agencies.
We advise U.S. investors that while sand volume and weight terms and amounts as filed in Brazil are recognized by Brazilian regulations, the SEC does not recognize them. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part of such are not considered mineral reserves as defined by the U.S.’s Industry Guide 7.
