MINERALS EXPLORATION IN BRAZIL:

Transcription

1 MINERALS EXPLORATION IN BRAZIL: THE PERSPECTIVE OF A MAJOR MINING COMPANY Luiz Bizzi South American Minerals Exploration Group ADIMB Exploration Manager s Meeting April 16th, 2007

2 BHP Billiton is a global explorer Countries & major offices : 2007 Vancouver Moscow Ulaan Baatar Lanzhou Beijing Conakry Luanda Lubumbashi Singapore Santiago Rio de Janeiro Johannesburg Perth Active exploration programs in countries shaded yellow (2007)

3 Evidence of the move to new countries Percentage breakdown of base metal exploration expenditures: Percentage split of western world expenditures on base metals by country 100% 80% 60% Australia USA Chile 38% Developed Traditional countries mining countries 40% 20% Canada Latin America excl Chile Africa SE Asia Pacific 62% Developing countries New mining countries Other Countries Other 0% Sources : Mackenzie, MEG and BHP Billiton estimates

4 Fundamentals: why the world needs to find more deposits.. World copper production: Mine Production (mtpa Cu metal) World consumption over the next 25 years will exceed all of copper metal ever mined to date Copper consumption over the last 25 years accounted for half of all copper metal ever mined in the world Brook-Hunt Q forecast 0 Average Average Average 3.4% pa growth rate % pa 3.2% pa Sources: US Geological Survey ( ), Brook Hunt (1984 onwards)

5 .. how does China ranks in terms of copper intensity of use? Copper Intensity per Capita /Capita Kg Copper/ USA ( ) Japan ( ) S. Korea ( ) Germany ( ) Taiwan ( ) China ( ) GDP/Capita (PPP, Jan US$'000) Source: World Bank, OECD (GDP at Purchasing Power Parity), CRU

6 Industry performance - how many deposits were found? Base metal (Cu, Ni, Zn, Pb) discoveries > 0.1mt Cu-equiv: western world: Number of discoveries Base metal exploration expenditures 50 $3, BASE METAL $2,500 Exploration expenditures $2,000 $1,500 $1,000 (2006 US$m) 10 $ $0 Caution: Incomplete data in recent years Source: BHP Billiton January 2007

7 but average discovery costs have been slowly increasing Base metal found divided by exploration expenditures: western world Unit discovery costs (2006 c/lb Cu-equiv) Year Rolling Average BASE METAL est Source: BHP Billiton January 2007

8 Exploration Performance of Major Companies Cost per Tier 1-equivalent discovery : $5084m $918m 3 rd Quartile 2 nd Quartile BHP WMC Billiton Rio Algom $514m BHPB composite = $294m 1 st Quartile $0 $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 $5,000 $6,000 $7,000 $8,000 Cost per Tier 1-eq Discovery (2005$m) Source: BHPB

9 Falcon TM & Heli-Falcon TM airborne gravity gradiometer systems Flying a survey in Mauritania Flying a survey at Ekati

10 Example of Falcon TM finding iron ore in Western Australia Conventional aeromag survey Vertical Derivative of the Total Magnetic Intensity Falcon TM survey (G DD ) Iron ore targets have clearly identifiable gravity highs but varying magnetic anomalies 5km

11 Example of Heli-FalconTM finding diamond pipes in Canada the higher resolution is great for mapping structures! Fixed wing data (2003) 1 km Pipe found at the intersection of dikes Kimberlite pipes Helicopter data (2006)

12 SolidEarth Technology ogy Falcon TM 3D Inversion SolidEarth TM proprietary software g D G DD DEM TMI 2 and 3D Integration of Geosciences data Proprietary 3D geophysical inversions integrated with 3D GIS Proprietary clustering to 3D pseudo-geology Vision : 3D geological interpretation EM

13 SolidEarth TM data inversion technique for generating detailed 3D models of geological structures 10 km Pseudo-geology map derived from inverting gravity and magnetic data

14 Case Study: Yarrie Mining Complex, North Pilbara Iron Ore belt, Western Australia Dugong target Cigar 1 target Green volumes = Dense bodies imaged in Falcon data

15 Cigar1 Target - Yarrie Mining Complex Ground surface Note: Imaging of blind dense body

16 Dugong Falcon Target, Yarrie Mining Complex SOUTH SH0210R SHP SH0141R SHP NORTH BIF with minor shale, dolerite, mudstone, hematite ore Middle BIF Member Upper BIF Member 100 m 200 m 300 m 27 63% Fe, 0.02% P, 9% SiO 2 from 201 m HEMATITE ORE Massive to platey; Siliceous in parts Gravity anomaly contour 200 m 69 61% Fe, 0.03% P, 11% SiO 2 from 171 m Incl % Fe, 0.03% P, 5% SiO 2 from 186 m & % Fe, 0.02% P, 8.02% SiO 2 from 228 m 15 57% Fe, 0.04% P, 16% SiO 2 from 249 m 12 66% Fe, 0.02% P, 4% SiO 2 from 327 m 14 62% Fe, 0.02% P, 8% SiO 2 from 357 m

17 Specific issues for discussion Liberation of restricted areas for exploration & mining Liberation of border zones for multinational l companies Liberation of Indian reserves for exploration & mining Infra-structure and long term supply of energy. Airborne geophysics survey data. Basic geological information. Transfer of ICMS credits. Open file systems.