The Pilar Mine is located in the southern part of the MCSA Mining Complex within the Curaçá Valley. The geology of the mine consists of a high-grade metamorphic terrain, composed of gneiss and migmatite of the Caraíba Complex that were intruded by mafic, ultramafic and late granitic rocks. The mafic and ultramafic intrusions are mainly composed of pyroxenite, norite, and gabbro. The melanorite is a term used for logging purpose to describe a host rock, either a gneiss, a gabbro or a norite, that is intruded by several mafic-ultramafic dykes that are too small individually to be logged separately. The gneissic country rocks have gone through 3 phases of deformation and show fold-interference patterns. The ultramafic units as well as the late granitic and pegmatite intrusions were emplaced after the 3 phases of deformation in the gneiss and generally dip steeply to the west and strike northerly. Recent underground mapping indicates that some of the pegmatite dykes were emplaced along faults (MCSA, 2020). The NWstriking diabase dykes and quartz veins crosscut the metamorphic and intrusive units. A series of shear zones, oriented NNE and NNW with moderate westerly dip, represent a late deformation event but their relative displacement is not well documented (D’El Rey Silva, 1984, Frugis, 2017). Finally, a series of late faults, oriented NE to ENE and NW, are also reported by D’El Rey Silva (1984) but with unclear sense and amount of displacement. The gneiss and migmatites, tog ........

For production within the Deepening Project, considering the geological and geotechnical characteristics of the orebody, the selected mining method is open blast hole stoping, with delayed paste-fill. This mining method is applied either transverse or longitudinal to the orebody, based on the width of the mining zone, and is currently in use at the mine. The mine design has incorporated geotechnical recommendations to define production stopes, access to the production stopes as well as associated infrastructure and support requirements.

Access to the Deepening Project will be conducted through the new vertical production shaft. This shaft is required for Ero Brasil to meet future underground production demands and ensure the mine remains fully ventilated and serviced as part of the Company’s Pilar 3.0 initiative. The personnel will be lowered to a single loading and unloading level which is -1158m below collar. The shaft will be sunk using mechanised drill and blast techniques and equipment. There will be four access points on the vertical shaft, which will be accessed from the existing internal ramp system for purposes of raise boring.

A vertical shaft has been designed a 6.3 m (final lined dimension size) diameter shaft and a 6.9 m (excavation size) diameter shaft that will extend from surface to the loading station at shaft bottom, which is at a depth of 1552.75 m below top of collar (-1075 level).

The underground ore and waste handling ar ........

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