Summit Minerals Limited (ASX: SUM) (“Summit” or the “Company”) is excited to announce that it has signed binding agreements (“Agreements”) to acquire tenement packages highly prospective for rare earth elements (REE) Term sheets were signed with vendors RTB Geologia & Mineracao Ltda (RTB) and Mineracao Paranal Ltda (MPL) to acquire legal ownership and title over certain Exploration Permits and Applications for Exploration covering an area of 29,267 hectares in Minas Gerais and Paraiba States “We are extremely pleased to acquire these highly prospective projects REE and lithium projects will enhance our company’s status as a critical mineral explorer and developer we have assessed many options for project acquisition and have chosen these highly prospective and large-scale projects within the established mining-friendly jurisdiction of Brazil being a relatively geopolitically neutral jurisdiction should provide us with unrestricted access to global off-take and funding options giving our projects the best chance of success within the macro environment In addition to some of the strong historical grades we received great observational reports from our recently completed on-site DD from which we await rock chip and soil assay results Expansive exploration programs are already being planned as we look to rapidly develop our projects giving ourselves the highest chance of success I would like to personally thank all our loyal shareholders for their ongoing support We look forward to regularly informing the market of our progress.” Click here for the full ASX Release This article includes content from Summit Minerals Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. 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Please refer to the cookie policy for collected data The disease detectives pulled up to a small rural clinic here in their gray Fiat and hurried inside The four women had been on the road for hours In a place where the bite of a common mosquito has brought crippling birth defects and early death they are the detectives sent to gather clues about the crime The four women have been plying the back roads of northeastern Brazil for days Their quarry: new mothers who may have been infected with the Zika virus during their pregnancies a 34-year-old woman who'd given birth the month before a serious condition that afflicts some babies whose mothers have been exposed to the virus leaving them with an abnormally small skull Alcantara had been reluctant to speak to the investigators -- an American pediatrician and two nurses and a phlebotomist from Brazil She didn't want her tiny daughter turned into a public curiosity As a physiotherapist herself who'd worked with microcephalic babies she already knew the condition's devastating potential impact: seizures Were these researchers going to accomplish anything A local health worker agreed to bring the team to Alcantara's house to see if she might be persuaded The health worker guided the group's small Fiat down narrow cobblestone streets to a cream-colored house behind a forbidding metal gate banged on the gate while the others stayed in the car and De Andrade motioned for the rest of the team to come inside There is now strong scientific consensus that Zika which for decades was thought to be relatively harmless and often has no symptoms can cause microcephaly and other serious neurological damage But there is much that scientists still don’t know Why are only some babies whose mothers were infected during pregnancy affected Is exposure more dangerous in certain trimesters Are there other factors that increase the chances that Zika will cause birth defects Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in February dispatched researchers to Brazil which has seen an increase in microcephaly cases unparalleled elsewhere in the world the team in the Fiat and seven others like it fanned out across the northeastern state of Paraiba logging thousands of miles down undulating country roads and narrow alleyways Zika has now reached 60 countries and territories including large swaths of the Americas where there is an abundance of the Aedes aegypti mosquito that spread the virus -- and almost no one has the immunity that has developed in parts of Africa and Asia 279 pregnant women have tested positive for likely exposure federal health officials recently announced Brazilian health authorities had confirmed 1,434 births since October with malformations that may be Zika-related and were investigating thousands of others Zika is believed to have arrived in Brazil in 2014 most likely brought in by a traveler from the Pacific Islands The increase in microcephaly cases began in August in the state of Pernambuco certain viruses and other known causes of microcephaly did not seem to be an issue in these cases and Alcantara's pregnancy became a key piece of the puzzle Her obstetrician had noticed during an ultrasound that the fetus' head was not developing normally and then heard of the cases of microcephaly in nearby Pernambuco Many of the women had experienced a rash typical of the virus early in their pregnancies -- did Alcantara remember having a rash Her doctor found a lab that could test for Zika in her amniotic fluid The finding was a breakthrough -- some of the first biological evidence connecting the virus to microcephaly “Never before in history has there been a situation where a bite from a mosquito could result in a devastating malformation,” said Dr the evidence favoring a Zika connection mounted Other countries with outbreaks started reporting cases of microcephaly Brain tissue collected from still births tested positive for the virus as did spinal fluid from babies with microcephaly the detectives started with a list of more than 800 reported cases of microcephaly in the region based on the head’s circumference at birth — 32 centimeters for boys and 31.5 centimeters for girls — as well as its size relative to body length three others whose babies were born at around the same time and in the same place but who did not have microcephaly the San Francisco pediatrician who was on the team with De Andrade worried how families would respond to strangers showing up at their homes asking intimate questions and taking blood samples The researchers had a bigger challenge first: finding them The mothers were spread across nearly 22,000 square miles from the densely populated coast to the hinterlands of the interior often with little more than a name and a neighborhood They went from clinic to clinic searching for more information the Fiat pulled out  from a hotel in Campina Grande Motorcycle taxis buzzed past in the morning traffic The team had set up a base in the inland city from which to target small rural towns they were networking with community health workers who knew the families and could arrange meetings at local health facilities They had five appointments ahead of them for the day Grimy high-rises gave way to rolling green hills dotted with one-street towns where residents set out chairs to watch the trucks Chickens scratched in yards behind walls of cacti an elderly shopkeeper pointed the researchers toward the municipal health secretariat on a cobblestone street of houses painted pastel yellow The town recently had its first case of microcephaly and expectant mothers were desperate to know if their babies might also be at risk “It is so good to have you,” said Constanca Goncalves The researchers sorted through reams of paperwork and used a pink pillow to turn a cabinet into an examination table All had healthy babies and were there to serve as control cases A shy mother in shorts and a tank top entered the room cradling a sleeping baby girl They needed a parent’s consent to enroll the pair in the study Goncalves pulled up a number on her cellphone and dialed the girl’s mother She was busy making lunch for her employer “Can you just come sign the paperwork?” Goncalves pleaded “We will come in a car to get you and bring you right back.” "You have a chance to help a lot of other mothers,” De Andrade said the town where they would meet Alcantara the next day Itoh took photographs to document its shape and proportions De Andrade assured the 17-year-old mother that they would not be shared on social media networks — a worry in a country where curiosity about the condition has meant that its victims are sometimes treated like characters in a national freak show The baby screamed as another team member drew a sample of his blood An antibody test would indicate whether they had been exposed to the virus Did she experience any rashes during her pregnancy De Andrade wrote down each answer on a standardized form the detectives sped back to the hotel in Campina Grande There were still hours of work ahead of them entering the day’s interviews into a computer database and confirming appointments for the next day Many Brazilians remain doubtful that the surge in microcephaly can be traced to Zika Various other theories have gained popular currency Some want to blame the epidemic on expired vaccines; others on a British biotech firm that has been releasing genetically modified mosquitoes to combat dengue fever or a larvicide used by the government to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in standing water Government officials hope the study will provide a definitive answer 600 mothers agreed to participate in the research A preliminary analysis was not surprising: Mothers whose babies have microcephaly were more likely than other women to have experienced symptoms during pregnancy that could be caused by Zika There were no other obvious explanations for the epidemic But  researchers still need to analyze the blood samples to begin to figure out how many of the women were infected with Zika why many of the babies were born healthy while others have lives that are forever changed Itoh understands that the puzzle she's solving is laying new jigsaw pieces around the world But that only means the disease detectives need to hurry "It's mind-boggling to me that a virus could do this," she said This story was reported with a grant from the United Nations Foundation Contact the reporter and photographer Produced by Lily Mihalik Summit Minerals (ASX:SUM) has struck a binding deal to acquire a portfolio of niobium rare earth elements (REE) and lithium projects in Brazil which has the world’s largest reserves of niobium.  Summit is now adding the Juazeirinho niobium-REE T1/T2 REE and Hercules North and South lithium projects in Brazil’s mineral-rich Minas Gerais and Paraiba regions to its stable Brazil accounts for around 98% of global niobium reserves.  Managing Director Gower He believes the company’s expansion into Brazil will enhance Summit’s status as a critical mineral explorer and developer.  we have assessed many options for project acquisition and have chosen these highly prospective and large-scale projects within the established mining-friendly jurisdiction of Brazil,” he says giving our projects the best chance of success within the macro environment.” Niobium is a cheaper additive to make steel stronger Very small amounts of niobium can make the steel used in construction twice as strong and more resistant to cracking.  The metal is traditionally used in high-quality steel manufacturing for construction and machinery and super alloys used in the aerospace and oil and gas industries But it is also increasingly favoured as an alternative to cobalt in electric vehicle batteries to boost range and stability.  Summit has signed binding term sheets with vendors RTB Geologia & Mineracao Ltda Sandro Arruda Silva Ltda and Mineracao Paranal Ltda for full ownership of the projects.  He says expansive exploration plans are already being planned with the company looking to rapidly develop the projects.  “In addition to some of the strong historical grades from which we await rock chip and soil assay results.” Summit reports grades of up to 35.54% niobium and 1.408% partial rare earth oxide (PREO) from Juazeirinho and 30.34% niobium and 1.513% PREO from Equador resulting from produced concentrates from pegmatite and sediment samples at the projects.  Several lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatite bodies have also been identified at Juazeirinho and Equador which Summit says show good potential for columbite/tantalite and lithium as well as significant concentrations of niobium The Hercules North and South projects are located near numerous artisanal mines where large LCT pegmatites have been identified that produced beryl Summit says the prominent artisanal surface mining across all projects provides priority drill targets for deeper-level pegmatite-related mineralisation 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