Trans Hex tests second target

Denver — A make-or-break exploration program by Trans Hex International (THI-T) is under way at the Barra Grande alluvial diamond project in Brazil.

The junior is earning a 50% interest in the project, and is half way through a program that should determine the fate of its joint venture with partner Verena Minerals (YVM-V).

Trans Hex is trenching the second of three targets on the northern bank of the Rio Grande river, between Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais states.

Results from the first trench on the Villa Barroso target (the southernmost of the three) were not encouraging. All the recovered stones were gem-quality and reasonably large in size, but the commercial valuation produced results that were below expectations.

The gravels consist of three discernible units; a 2-metre basal unit of well-sorted and rounded clasts in a matrix of clay, followed by a middle unit of coarser pebble gravel measuring 2 metres where most of the diamonds were found. The uppermost unit of coarse gravel measures three metres in thickness.

In all, 28 diamonds were found in the middle unit, totaling 14.9 carats, in more than 2,400 cubic metres. However, the valuation came out at US$200-250 per carat, about half Trans Hex’s average sale price per carat on current production in South Africa. All eyes are now focused on the second trench on the Queixada target in the north.

“This trench will likely make or break the project,” says Trans Hex Chief Financial Officer Stephen Woodhead.

If the results are good, the company will put in a larger plant and take as many as three bulk samples in preparation for a feasibility study, Woodhead adds.

Covered by 4 metres of overburden, the gravels at Queixada are 15 metres thick, with the basal three metres being the most prospective. Trans Hex is extracting the gravels very carefully, taking 1-metre horizontal samples and processing them through a 15-tonne-per-hour plant.

The company expects to process 6,500 cubic metres of material from the trench, focusing much of the attention on the lowest three metres, which will represent nearly half of the material sampled.

At presstime, sampling was just getting to the basal zone, though diamonds have been found higher in the gravels, Woodhead says. The company expects to finish work at Queixada by the end of October, with results expected in November.