Brazilian company Braz Diamond Mining Inc.announced the acquisition of mineral claim exploration licenses covering diamond deposits in the Redondão kimberlite, in the Rio Paranaíba basin in the state of PiauÀ, Brazil.
Kimberlite is a rare blue-colored rock that sometimes contains diamonds. They are usually found in South Africa and Siberia. The Redondão kimberlite pipe was the first kimberlite discovered in Brazil during the course of geological mapping in the 1960’s.
It is located in the upper flow of the Ribeirão do Mateiro, the right tributary of the Paranaíba River. The pipe is very large by world’s standards with a surface diameter in excess of 1 kilometer.
The mineralogy of kimberlite indicator minerals from the Redondão pipe has been preliminarily studied. Pyrope garnet, chrome-diopside, picroilmenite, and diamond are all present in the pipe.
“Securing the mineral rights on the Redondão kimberlite and surrounding diamond claim areas is a significant achievement for the Company. Braz now controls the country’s largest known diamondiferous kimberlite,” stated Chris Hemstock, P.Eng., Company President and CEO .
“While more work and bulk sampling of the pipe lies ahead to determine if the pipe can be economically mined, the geotechnical results to date are very, very promising.”
Historically, diamonds have been mined by local miners (“garimpeiros”) from this region for some time. Kimberlite and lamproite “pipes” are the primary source of diamonds with approximately ten percent of all known pipes worldwide containing diamonds.
The composition of the diamond indicator minerals found in the Redondão pipe are similar to those found in South African and North American kimberlites.
The Company’s field exploration and evaluation has revealed that there has not been a detailed geotechnical survey or major bulk sampling of the pipe.
Braz Diamond Mining, Inc. is primarily focused on the exploration and mining of diamonds, within the country of Brazil. Brazil is known to possess rich mineral deposits and is currently one of the world’s largest producers of base metals (iron ore, gold, bauxite, nickel, manganese, tin), in addition to being the world’s single largest producer of gemstones (aquamarines, topazes, amethysts, tourmalines, and emeralds).
Diamonds were first discovered in Brazil in the early 1700’s. Prior to the discovery of the diamond fields in South Africa in the late 1800’s, Brazil was the world’s leading source of diamonds.
Many of the world’s largest and most exquisite diamonds (including the world famous 727-carat stone, known as the Presidente Vargas) have been recovered from the alluvial (surface) diamond deposits in Brazil.
Brazil has produced over 50 million carats since diamonds were first discovered in Minas Gerias back in 1720. Although well known the world over for its heavy alluvial diamond deposits (considered secondary deposits), there has been little concentrated effort in Brazil in the past to locate the originating source of these diamonds (considered primary deposits) – known as “kimberlites” and “lamproites.”
Braz Diamond Mining Inc.
www.brazdiamond.com
Business Wire
