Adriana Grads Land for Iron Port in Brazil

Vancouver — Seizing a development opportunity afforded by surging demand for iron, Adriana Resources (ADI-V, ANARF-O) is optioning shoreline property in Brazil to develop an iron ore port facility to provide a needed transportation portal for small and medium-sized iron producers in the state of Minas Gerais.

Adriana shares moved up 37.5% on the news, closing up 30 at $1.10.

The option agreement is for three contiguous land parcels covering almost 1 sq. km of shoreline, arranged through a newly formed company called Brazore Holdings. Adriana owns 75% of Brazore Holdings; Athena Resources, a private U.S.-based investment firm, owns the remainder.

Through Brazore, Adriana plans to build a shallow water trans-shipment facility capable of handling 18 million tonnes of iron ore annually. “Lighters,” shallow draft self-loading vessels, would transport iron ore from the facility to a larger vessel anchored permanently offshore, where ore would be moved onto ocean-going ships. Ore would be delivered to the port via railway.

In preparation, Adriana agreed in January to a strategic relationship with B.C.-based Seabulk Systems to work together in developing large-scale mineral systems. Seabulk is working on a scoping study on the Brazil port site that will provide the basis for a bankable feasibility study. Seabulk’s president and CEO Sid Sridhar said in a news release that demand for metals from countries like China and India has created “some of the best infrastructure opportunities in recent years.”

Adriana is to fund Brazore’s business plan in three tranches. By Oct. 20, Adriana must provide US$5 million, of which $500,000 has already been funded. By November, Adriana has to hand over a further US$18 million, and by August 2009, another US$33 million. These funds are intended to cover the purchase of the port site, advanced engineering and feasibility studies, procurement and port development.