Ero Copper (TSX: ERO, NYSE: ERO) closed a deal with Salobo Metais, part Vale’s (NYSE: Vale) subsidiary Vale Base Metals (VBM), to advance the Furnas project in the Carajás mineral province, in Brazil’s Pará state.

Furnas is an iron oxide-copper-gold project about 50km southeast of VBM’s Salobo operations and 190km northeast of Ero’s Tucumã project.

Source: Ero Copper

The agreement contemplates Ero Copper earning a 60% interest in the project upon completion of exploration, engineering and development milestones over a period of five years from the execution of a definitive earn-in agreement.

Ero will solely fund a phased exploration and engineering work program during the earn-in period and grant VBM up to an 11% free carry on future project construction capital expenditures.

Ero copper will do exploration and engineering work to ultimately produce a definitive feasibility study at the end of a 5-year earn-in period.

Covering an area of about 2,400 hectares, the project sits within 15 kilometres of extensive regional infrastructure, including paved roads, an industrial-scale cement plant, a power substation and Vale’s railroad loadout facility.

Shares of Ero Copper fell 1.15% by 11:55 a.m. EDT on Monday. The miner has a market capitalization of C$2.72 billion ($1.98 bn).

Source: MINING.COM – Read More