Australian Brazil focused Miner Avanco Resources stands to earn around 75 per cent interest in a nickel/platinum project in Brazil, reports revealed over the weekend. The Australian Stock Exchange Listed Avanco Resources has already finished undertaking due diligence studies and reiterated that its already committed to doing a 1 500-m drilling campaign.

Such a drilling campaign, according to the firm, will be undertaken in a year after it attains regulatory approval from Brazil’s competition and securities watchdogs.  In addition, the venture is to be undertaken after the Australian miner has generated a joint Ore Reserves Committee compliant resource in a period of three years of attaining regulatory approval for the investment. Avanco Resources is to prepare a final exploration report for the Brazilian securities watchdog and authorities and maintain the title, said the firm.

Tony Polglase, Avanco Resources managing director said the project had previously been subject to limited exploration and a number of interesting areas have been identified. No infill drilling for nickel/platinum has as yet been undertaken. He further added that recent due diligence by Avanco has confirmed the existence of mafic and ultramafic outcrops with disseminated nickel/copper sulphides, a motivation for the undertaking.

Polglase further said that this outcome strongly supports the potential for underlying nickel/copper/platinum-rich massive to semi-massive sulphide mineralization and the firm is keen on going full length into the investment. According to Polglase, to advance the project, a comprehensive soil geochemical and ground geophysics surveys were currently being planned, with a few of defining high priority drill targets for 2011.

The project comprises four exploration licenses and three applications covering an extensive area of around 47 000 ha. The project is located in the southern part of the Carajas minerals province, in northern Brazil. Avanco is already developing the Rio Verde copper project and exploring for nickel sulphides at the Touro project, both in the Carajas region.

To advance the project, comprehensive soil geochemical and ground geophysics surveys are currently being planned by the Company with a view to defining high priority drill targets for 2011. The project has previously been subjected to limited exploration and a number of interesting areas have been identified. No drilling for nickel platinum has been undertaken, said Avanco.  The project is located in the southern part of the Carajas Mineral Province in northern Brazil.

31 Oct 2010.