Brazil Mining 2011 - GBR

BRAZIL MINING
information, that would open huge
opportunities for the mining industry.
The Brazilian government has made
consistent investments in magneticradiometric
surveys, but it should also
invest in new technologies like the airborne
gravity and electromagnetic surveys.
This could offer better opportunities
for the development of the industry,
and also provide for a rapid full geological
mapping of Brazil's territory,” said
Hildenbrand.
Mining in the Amazon
The Amazon region has a potential for
major undiscovered mineral resources in
addition to the large reserves of, in order
of volume, iron ore, manganese, bauxite,
gold and tin. There are, however,
concerns over biodiversity in the
Amazon rainforest, which comprises
20% of world’s remaining tropical
forests, and which provides shelter to
10% of earth’s plant and animal species
and removes excess carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere. Therefore, according to
the DNPM, much of future mineral production
will also depend on finding new
approaches and technologies to allow
mining in a responsible and sustainable
way. “The country has the potential to
double or triple the current mining production,”
said Marcelo Tunes, director
of mining affairs, Brazilian Mining
Institute.
Exports from the region account for
almost 30% of Brazil’s extractive mining
industry according to the Brazilian
Mining Institute. The Amazonian state
of Pará, for example, is the second
largest mining exporting state in Brazil,
after Minas Gerais. Iron ore exports from
the Amazon totalled around $2.6 billion
in 2008, followed by copper ($515 million)
and manganese ($402 million).
However, exploration was hit by the
financial crisis, with a number of smaller
prospectors going bust in 2009.
Luis Melges, CEO of Golder
Associates—who work in planning mining
development in the Amazon region,
elaborates on the complexity of mining
in the Amazon. “Mining in remote areas
in the Amazon forest has a very high
social impact, as thousands of people
migrate to developing projects searching
for work. Golder Associates takes into
account all the environmental and
social aspects, which are related to the
development of a new project. The
Carajas mining region, explored by Vale,
is a good example, because the mines
have been developed in the Carajas
National Forest, a conservation area, in
a sustainable way. Environmental sustainability
is of primary importance for
Golder Associates activity.”
In some cases, responsible mining
can have a positive impact on the surrounding
Amazon rainforest. According
to Ricardo Dequech, director of
Mineracao Buritirama, an aerial photo of
the Buritirama mine clearly depicts an
island of forest encircled by recently
established farmland. “With regard to
mining in the Amazon rainforest, the
impact of the mine is limited compared
to the impact of intensive agriculture,”
he said. “In addition, the mining companies
reinvest in social and environmental
sustainability in the area
because environmental sustainability
has become an essential aspect of the
industry.” Much of future minerals production
will depend on new approaches
and new technologies being applied for
economic and social developments that
94 E&MJ • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011 www.e-mj.com