Brazil Mining 2011 - GBR

BRAZIL MINING
tic firm Soldering in 2007 in order to
consolidate its position in the Brazilian
market place. “We significantly increased
our interest in Brazil with the 60% acquisition
of a company called Soldering in
2007,” said Jose Rogerio de Paula Silva,
ESCO. “The main attraction of the
Brazilian mining market was the iron ore
boom that has been taking place with
huge lines of supply into China.
Companies such as Vale and MMX have
been significantly increasing production
in recent years and this opportunity has
been regarded as too good to miss.”
As the Brazilian mining market continues
to evolve toward procurement
strategies increasingly focused upon the
requirements of maximum reliability
and productivity, a domestic manufacturing
base combined with a comprehensive
service proposition is ever
increasingly the choice for equipment
suppliers operating in Brazil.
Consultancy and Engineering
Despite suffering a recent retrenchment
in demand caused by the global financial
crisis, the Brazilian market for mining
and engineering services has followed
the trend of strong growth in the
broader mining market.
The growth of the Brazilian market,
coupled with widespread forecasts of its
future expansion, has galvanized a raft
of investments, partnerships and smaller
start up consultancies throughout the
industry. Whilst many of the world’s best
known international mining engineering
and consultancy practices such as SRK
and Worley Parsons have an established
presence in Brazil, the services market
also has a wealth of domestic firms, all
of whom are competing to develop the
most advanced technologies to overcome
the myriad of challenges present
for miners in the country.
“As the demand for qualified personnel
is very intensive at this time in the
country, investing heavily in training our
team is of vital importance to the long
term sustainability of our continuous
business expansion. We invest a lot in
our team of geologists and engineers,
sending them to various parts of the
world like England or Australia to further
develop their skills and capacity,”
said SRK Country Manager Gielson
Coutinho.
The vast majority of engineers and
consultants working the domestic market
are Brazilian. This serves to alleviate
the labor challenges that exist throughout
Brazil’s mining industry. Brazil’s
engineers have delivered some of the
mining world’s most complex operational
project developments such as the
Carajas Complex and supporting infrastructure
for Mineracao Rio Do Norte’s
operations in the depths of the Amazon.
“As far as international companies looking
to come to Brazil, I would say the
most important single aspect to guarantee
a successful project is to look to the
labor of qualified, local people. Above
all, do not underestimate the value and
quality of Brazilian engineers,” said Jose
Ricardo Barella, president of domestic
engineering firm Progen.
Brazilian engineering firm Brasfond
is an excellent example of the country’s
unique engineering expertise, having
developed global leading capacity in
underground engineering. A number of
other companies are now taking their
first steps toward expanding internationally,
with a particular focus on the
Portuguese speaking regions of Africa,
www.e-mj.com
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011 • E&MJ 89