BBX Minerals inks deal for second round of pilot plant testing at Três Estados

Perth-based BBX Minerals (ASX: BBX) is taking another step forward at its Tres Estados gold and platinum group elements project in Brazil by commissioning a second round of pilot plant testing.

Material from four drill holes will be tested for gold, platinum, palladium, iridium and rhodium.

This follows on the heels of last week’s announcement that the company had commissioned environment impact studies for its flagship project.

BBX’s key assets are the Três Estados and the Ema gold project in the Apuí region of Brazil, 60km south of the town of Apui (pop. 22,000).

Tres Estados is located 60km south of Apui, a town of 22,000 people. The company’s project areas covers 720 sq km.

New round follows previous positive results

BBX has signed a product supply and IP licence agreement with Texas-based microbiology specialist EcoBiome Metals whereby 200kg of material from four drill holes will be delivered to EcoBiome’s facility in the US.

This second of testing is a continuation of the initial pilot plant test that was completed and which, in spite of operational issues and the parameters not being optimised, yielded positive results, the company said.

Chief executive officer Andre J. Douchane said that while the initial plant testing was problematic, static tests showed excellent results.

“We do expect these next pilot plant tests to show considerable improvement as the group works through them,” he added.

Plans to build own plant in Brazil

BBX says that, subsequent to the new round of tests, the company intends to construct its own pilot plant near its existing laboratory located in Catalao, Brazil.

The Apui region achieved brief fame in 2006 when a Brazilian maths teacher reported seeing miners scooping up handfuls of gold there, which triggered a rush by thousands of people to the Amazon town.

BBX has previously stated that the Apui region has good infrastructure — it has direct access to the Trans-Amazonian Highway and a port on the Amazon River along with an airport — but remains “vastly under-explored”.

The area has been the subject of shallow artisanal mining.