Majors option Tucum target

Majors Teck (TEK-T) and Inco (N-T) will jointly explore the Tucum iron-oxide copper-gold project in north-central Brazil.

The pair can earn an initial combined 51% interest in the property from Brasilca Mining (BSL-V) by spending US$3.5 million on exploration and paying a total of US$500,000 over three years. The partners can boost their stake to 75% by completing a bankable feasibility study and paying a further US$6 million. Teck will be the operator.

In addition, Teck and Inco will buy 500,000 units of Brasilca at 30 a pop. Each unit consists of one share and one warrant entitling the holder to buy an additional share at 40 for 12 months.

Brasilca has drilled five holes and concludes that the area is prospective for Olympic Dam-style mineralization. One hole, drilled on the 512 target, returned a 16-metre intercept averaging 1.3% copper and 7.1 grams silver per tonne, starting at a down-hole depth of 186 metres. A 3-metre section within this interval assayed 4.28% copper and 24.5 grams silver. This hole was undercut by a second hole, but no results were reported.

Situated in the Carajas mineral province, the Tucum property is underlain by a typical greenstone assemblage of sedimentary and volcanic rocks of early Proterozoic age. Work on the property dates back to 1996, and through a series of mergers, Brasilca has come to own a 100% interest. More than US$3 million of exploration work, consisting of geological mapping, soil sampling, auger drilling, geophysics and diamond drilling, has been performed.

Teck and Inco have been jointly exploring for copper-zinc-gold mineralization in Brazil since late 1999, having built up a large land position.