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Turmalina mine, Brazil

23rd June 2017

By: Sheila Barradas

Creamer Media Research Coordinator & Senior Deputy Editor

     

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Name: Turmalina mine.

Location: The Turmalina mine is located in the Conceição do Pará municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, in Brazil, about 120 km north-west of Belo Horizonte and 6 km south of Pitangui, the nearest large town.

Holding and Controlling Company: Jaguar Mining has 100% ownership subject to a net revenue interest to an unrelated third party and to the surface landowners. .

Brief Description:  The Turmalina mine comprises seven contiguous mineral concessions that cover an area of about 5 000 ha. The mine comprises several tabular bodies – Orebodies A, B, and C.

The main production of the mine has been from Orebody A. Orebody B includes three thinner, lower-grade lenses parallel to Orebody A. Orebody C is a series of 14 lenses that are located to the west in the structural footwall of Orebody A and are generally of lower grade.

The Turmalina mine property includes two satellite deposits – Faina and Pontal.

Brief History: Gold was first discovered in the area in the seventeenth century, and through the nineteenth century intermittent small-scale production took place from alluvial terraces and outcropping quartz veins. Gold production exploited alluvium or weathered material, including saprolite and saprolite-hosted quartz veins.

AngloGold controlled the Turmalina mineral rights from 1978 to 2004 through several Brazilian subsidiaries. It explored the area extensively between 1979 and 1988 using geochemistry, ground geophysics, and trenching, which led to the discovery of the Turmalina, Satinoco (later renamed as Orebody C), Faina, Pontal, and other mineralised zones.

Jaguar acquired the Turmalina properties from AngloGold Ashanti in 2004 and started mining operations in 2006.

Products: Gold.

Geology/Mineralisation: The Turmalina deposit located in the Pitangui area is underlain by rocks of Archaean and Proterozoic age. Archaean units include a granitic basement, overlain by the Pitangui Group, a greenstone belt sequence of ultramafic to intermediate volcanic flows and pyroclastics and associated sediments. The deposit is hosted by chlorite-amphibole schist and biotite schist units within the Pitangui Group. A sequence of sheared, banded, sulphide iron formation and chert lies within the stratigraphic sequence. The stratigraphy locally strikes to azimuth 135°.

The Turmalina deposits are believed to be typical examples of mesothermal, epigenetic deposits that are enclosed by host rocks that have undergone amphibolite-grade metamorphism. Gold mineralisation at Turmalina occurs in fine grains associated with sulphides in sheared schists and banded iron formation sequences. Gold particles are mostly associated with arsenopyrite, quartz, and mica (sericite and biotite).

Reserves: Total proven and probable reserves as at December 31, 2016, were estimated at 1.13-million tonnes grading 4.69 g/t gold, containing 171 000 oz of gold.

Resources: Total measured and indicated resources as at December 31, 2016, were estimated at 3.41-million tonnes grading 4.93 g/t gold, containing 62 000 oz of gold. Inferred mineral resources were estimated at 2.44-million tonnes grading 6.37 g/t gold, containing 499 000 oz of gold.

Mining Method: The mine uses long-hole stoping, with backfill.

Major Infrastructure and Equipment: The Turmalina mining complex includes a nominal 2 000 t/d processing plant and tailings disposal area.

The process flowsheet includes two-stage crushing and screening to minus 3/8”, grinding using ball mills, thickening, cyanide leaching, carbon-in-pulp, elution, electrowinning, and smelting. The tailings are conveyed to a detoxification unit for arsenic removal and cyanide destruction and then are pumped to the paste fill plant to be used either for mine backfill or deposited on a dry-stack storage area.

Electrical power is obtained from the national grid. There is no infrastructure related to the Faina and Pontal historic openpit operations.

Prospects: Jaguar continue to drill down-plunge extensions of Orebodies A, B and C at Turmalina to assess the growth potential for measured and indicated mineral resources.

Contact Person: VP investor relations Joanne C Jobin.

Contact Details:
Jaguar Mining
Tel +1 416 847 1854
Email ir@jaguarmining.com
Website https://www.jaguarmining.com

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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