Dec 5 2014
Brazil Minerals, Inc., a U.S. company with revenues from sales of both polished and rough diamonds as well as gold, announced today that it had received a written contract for sale of sand from its Duas Barras mine in Brazil. Sand is a byproduct of the processing for diamonds and gold.
The sand is sought after by the construction industry for cement preparation and other uses as cities near the mine are growing.
BMIX sees this initial sales contract as an indication of the potential to capitalize on a scarce resource that it has in abundance. BMIX has recently tested its unprocessed sand, in natura, at the SGS-Geosol analytical laboratory. The results demonstrated silica levels of 97%, indicating high quality and meeting criteria for use in a wide range of applications.
BMIX is now studying volumetric analysis of the total amount of sand it has. The Company believes that the contract received and announced today would cover only a very small fraction of the amount of sand currently available. Furthermore, sand gets replenished as the diamond and gold recovery plant operates and produces it as a byproduct.
Marc Fogassa, CEO and Chairman of BMIX, commented, "Our goal is to increase cash flows to fund operations. Sand has virtually no additional cost to us. It provides revenue diversification from diamonds and gold and predictability as it is sitting in piles or in bays and ready for transport. We are excited about exploring the potential of this mineral to add value to us."