Name and Location
Candonga direct shipping ore (DSO) project, Brazil.

Client
Centaurus Metals.

Project Description
Candonga has a 2004 Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource of 11.9-million tonnes, grading 43% iron, including 900 000 t of high-grade itabirite mineralisation grading 58.6% iron with low impurities. The plan is to develop a small-scale DSO mining operation that can supply a high-grade lump and coarse sinter product to the Brazilian domestic market to meet the high levels of demand for and the current undersupply of these product types.

Value
Not stated.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Centaurus has lodged an application with the Department of Mines (DNPM) for a trial mining licence at Candonga, marking the next key step in the planned development of the mining operation. This application allows for the mining of 300 000 t/y of ore for each licence. The licensing process is a simple one that is dealt with by the State DNPM office and does not require approval from the Ministry of Mines and Energy. The licence is expected to be obtained within six months.

Concurrently, Centaurus has advanced the environmental licensing process for Candonga with the State Environment Authority by lodging the main environmental licence application, known as the RCA/PCA. The RCA/PCA process is relatively straightforward for the Candonga project, owing to the planned operating parameters and the project being located on pastoral land requiring no native vegetation clearing.

It is expected that the environmental approval process should also be completed within in the next six months.

The fast-track development plan for Candonga has also been enhanced with the start of a 600 m diamond drilling programme, focusing on the high-grade component of the mineralisation.

The decision to accelerate the development of Candonga follows the encouraging results recently received from classification testwork on Candonga ore. This work demonstrated that the high-grade in situ component of the resource delivers about 40% of the mineralisation as a DSO lump product (+6.3 mm), grading between 65% and 69% iron using a dry screening process, with the balance being a coarse sinter product.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Centaurus Metals, tel +61 8 9420 4000, fax +61 8 9420 4040 or email office@centaurus.com.au.