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o c t o b e r / n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 5 www.resourceworld.com 29 Cancana Resources Corp. [CNY-TSXV] and joint venture partner, Ferrometals, a special purpose investment vehicle for The Sentient Group, collectively known as Brazil Manganese Corp., (BMC) produced 2,045 tons in the month of July, taking the Rio Madeira plant in Rondonia State, western Brazil, to record production levels. The operation mines at-surface col- luviums – loose, heterogeneous, and incoherent masses of soil material and/or rock fragments deposited by rain- wash, sheetwash, or slow, continuous downslope creep or slumping. Mining is accomplished by removing the soil with a bucket loader-excavator into a haul truck and carrying it back to the plant for processing. The colluvium can be from a half-metre to more than a metre thick. The plant washes and scrubs the material, leaving the manganese oxide- rich cobbles as the final product to be used in fertilizer. Due to expanding plant capacity and increasing operating efficiencies, BMC has received an order for 1,200 tons from a key Brazilian fertilizer manufacturer. Anthony Julien, President and CEO, said, "Achieving record monthly produc- tion levels demonstrates that Rio Madeira is scalable, and that there is robust demand for our premium product. Expanding production and securing orders are two critical advancements in our strategy of becoming the primary supplier of high- grade, high-purity manganese to domestic fertilizer manufacturers." Over the second quarter of 2015, Cancana increased production by 55% compared to the first quarter. Second quarter production totalled 2,143 tonnes of manganese oxide bringing the current stockpile to 7,056 tonnes (net of sales). Assays for the second quarter produc- tion are still pending. Assays for the first quarter production material reported an average grade of 51.0% manganese. The average grade of the overall stockpile after sales based on available assay data for Q1 2015 was 52.4% manganese oxide. Under recently appointed Mine Manager, Paulo Gontijo, the Rio Madeira plant is approaching full production capacity of approximately 1,000 tonnes per month. In addition to adding a second shift at the plant, a dry sieving process was installed that has resulted in increased production. Dry sieving removes material less than 5 mm in size, which is the soil and fine manganese, and thereby aids in the washing ability of the plant by gener- ating less clay. Second quarter sales totalled 338 tonnes and sales prices continued to average more than a 30% premium on current CIF prices (cost, insurance, freight). CIF Tianjin pric- ing for 44% manganese was $2.98 per dmtu as of June 26, 2015. Fertilizer sales in Brazil slowed in the first half of 2015 as farmers were con- cerned about weaker crop prices, the lower purchasing power of the Real and delayed credit availability from the gov- ernment. As a consequence, manufactures reduced their purchases of BMC manga- nese. It is expected the fertilizer stocks should be reduced to normal levels in the second half of 2015 and BMC sales vol- umes are expected to increase. Cancana is working towards having up to 70% of manganese production committed under offtake agreements. The company has also completed a 64,000-hectare aerial geophysical survey to define prospective targets, an area that rep- resents 61% of total land package. n Cancana Resources achieves record manganese production miNiNG