TSX Venture Exchange-listed Search Minerals has announced a deal which will see it acquire the Mocambo tin mine in Brazil while being subject to a reverse takeover by its current owners. As part of the deal, which is subject to shareholder approval, Search will also carry out a C$10 million share placement to fund a mine expansion and exploration programme.
Search will acquire Mineracao Sao Francisco de Assis Ltda (MSFA), which is the sole owner and operator of the Mocambo tin mine located about 30 km away from the city of Sao Felix do Xingu in the state of Para, in Northern Brazil. The mine was originally established by US lead producer St Joe in the 1980s and subsequently owned and operated by the French company Rhone Poulenc before being closed in 1994.
Cumulative production since the restart of operations by MSFA in July 2012 through to the end of October 2013 has been 441 tonnes of cassiterite, achieving peak production at a rate of approximately 40 tonnes per month, with approximately 70% tin in the concentrate. A second alluvial mining plant with similar capacity has recently been ordered, which should allow the doubling of current production rates. Search has also commissioned an independent report on the mine’s mineral reserves and resources in compliance with Canada’s NI 43-101 reporting standards ahead of the shareholder meeting to approve the transaction in March.
