Inferred Resource
180,000 oz Au
4 Mt @ 1.38 g/t Au (0.4 g/t cut-off) — avg. drill depth just 85m
Land Package
52,828+ hectares
50 km prospective shear zone — 31 mineral rights
Exploration Upside
7 targets >1 g/t Au
Only 2 targets diamond drilled — avg. drill depth just 85m
Best Drill Intercepts
20.5m @ 4.69 g/t Au (FCC002)
Also: 6.4m @ 19.18 g/t (trench) • 5.1m @ 9.35 g/t (DDH)
Depth Potential
Avg. 85m drill depth
Comparable orogenic deposits mined at 2–3 km depth
Phase III Program
5,000m drilling
2 rigs, fully funded — first news flow in 3+ years
Download the technical report here; PB-Technical-Report-2021.pdf
Exploration at Pedra Branca spans multiple campaigns from 1980s discovery through to the current Phase III program. The consolidated database includes 903 data points (90 diamond drill holes, 163 RC holes, and 650 trenches) totaling 15,517m of drilling and 56,892m of trenching across 17 named targets.
The Maiden Inferred Resource of 180,000 oz Au (4.0 Mt @ 1.38 g/t, 0.40 g/t cut-off) was defined from only 3 of the 17 targets, drilled to an average depth of just 85m. Metallurgical testing confirms 92–98% gold recovery via conventional CIL processing, with 63.8% gravity-recoverable gold.
| Target | Hole | Type | Width | Au g/t | G×W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queimadas | FCC002 | DDH | 20.5m | 4.69 | 96.1 |
| Queimadas | FCC016 | DDH | 3.0m | 14.61 | 43.8 |
| Igrejinha | TIG044 | TR | 6.4m | 19.18 | 122.8 |
| Igrejinha | TIG043 | TR | 7.0m | 10.29 | 72.0 |
| Mirador | FMC008 | DDH | 5.1m | 9.35 | 47.2 |
| Mirador | FMC005 | DDH | 3.9m | 11.90 | 45.8 |
| Mir Coelho | PBTR013 | TR | 3.1m | 18.85 | 57.5 |
| Barra Nova | PBTR047 | TR | 3.0m | 32.63 | 97.9 |
| Target | Category | Tonnes (Kt) | Grade (g/t Au) | Au (koz) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queimadas | Inferred | 3,189 | 1.24 | 128 |
| Mirador | Inferred | 638 | 1.97 | 40 |
| Igrejinha | Inferred | 215 | 1.73 | 12 |
| TOTAL | Inferred | 4,042 | 1.38 | 180 |
Cut-off grade: 0.40 g/t Au. QP: Rodrigo Mello, FAusIMM (RBM Consultoria). Effective date: March 16, 2021. Inferred resources have insufficient confidence for economic evaluation.
Marcelo Antonio Batelochi (P.Geo.), MAUSIMM (CP), the Company's Sr Exploration Manager is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 who supervised the work program and preparation of the technical data on this webpage.
The high resolution drone survey was successful in the identification of magnetic signatures that enable the geological team to locate areas of interest for future exploration.
Pedra Branca is classified as a hypozonal orogenic gold deposit hosted within the Troia Massif — Archaean crust reworked during the Brasiliano Orogeny (~600 Ma). Gold mineralization occurs in amphibolite-facies metamorphic rocks as shear-hosted and quartz-vein systems within amphibole schist, the signature host rock of hypozonal orogenic gold deposits worldwide.
The sulfide assemblage is pyrrhotite-dominant (po >> py > cpy), with gold associated with both disseminated sulfides (60–70% of intercepts) and high-grade quartz veins (bonanza grades up to 96 g/t Au). Mineralization is controlled by NE-trending shear zones subsidiary to the regional Senador Pompeu Shear Zone, with second-order dilational jogs hosting the highest grades.
Depth potential: Hypozonal deposits globally extend 800–2,000m+ vertically (Hemlo: 21 Moz mined to 2,000m; Big Bell: 3.5 Moz to 1,200m; Challenger: 1.2 Moz to 1,000m). At Pedra Branca, the average drill depth is just 85m and the maximum is 201m — less than 10–20% of the expected vertical extent has been tested. Grade increases with depth at Queimadas (FCC016: 14.61 g/t at 91m), supporting the hypozonal model.
Identified gold mineralization at the Pedra Branca Property is recognized by most of the geological community as mesothermal shear zone hosted gold deposit, associated to the Senador‐Pompeu shear zone. Mineralization generally occurs associated with quartz veinlets parallel to the foliation (Coelho and Queimadas targets) and sub‐metric to meter milky quartz veins at the Mirador and Igrejinha targets. Mineralization is often continuous to considerable depths in these systems.
Igrejinha is one of our main targets alongside Coelhos and Queimadas. The RC drilling at Igrejinha was designed to better understand the geology, structure and controls on the known mineralized zones and their extension along the trend zones in order to support further exploration programs, following the Orogenic Gold Mineralization Model that is often continuous in significant depths in these systems.
The gold mineralization at Igrejinha is characterized by subparallel intra-foliated millimetric/centimetric strings of sulfides in amphibolite shale with magnetite and fine quartz-feldspar rock, subordinately by hydrothermal silicification zones and pyrite >> pyrrhotite sulphides.
The Igrejinha target continues to be the main focus of the Phase 1 RC drilling program, with PB-RC-002 returning 1 m grading 5.9 g/t from 22 m depth, and PB-RC-003A intercepting 3 m at 1.13 g/t Au from 5m depth. Trenches at Igrejinha, PB-TR-009 and PB-TR-006 returned 6 m grading 7.19 g/t Au, and 29 m grading 0.73g/t Au (Including 3m at 3.22g/t Au), respectively.
Gold mineralization is Identified as mesothermal shear zone hosted gold deposit, associated to the Senador‐Pompeu shear zone. Mineralization generally occurs associated with quartz veinlets parallel to the foliation at the Coelho- Queimadas Target. Typical shear zone structural elements are not evident in the field and hydrothermal alteration occurs locally and in a few meters halo in the tremolite‐actinolite schists, chlorite schists and biotite‐gneiss that constitute the wall rocks. Strong silicification is present in all targets while eventual biotite, epidote, diopside and carbonate alteration occurs at the Coelho‐Queimadas targets.
The gold mineralization at the Coelhos-Queimadas Project is characterized by the subparallel intra-foliated millimetric/centimetric strings of sulfides in amphibole shale with magnetite and fine quartz-feldspar rock, subordinately by hydrothermal silicification zones and pyrite >> pyrrhotite sulphides.
