Brazilian manganese miner Buritirama's expansion plans

Brazilian manganese miner Mineração Buritirama plans to expand beyond its main mine in Pará state and develop projects in Rondônia, Bahia and Minas Gerais to take advantage of the growing demand for the metal.

BNamericas talks to company president João Araújo about the miner's plans. 

BNamericas: What is the manganese scenario and what are the main demand drivers?

Araújo: The metallurgy sector, a major manganese consumer, is going to face a great [demand] challenge, which is to accompany stability of [economic conditions] in China without exponential growth and the entry of new consumers, given developments in emergent countries, mainly India and Middle East countries.

The [manganese] price likely follows the balance of supply and demand in the coming years, and there may be some surprises if any relevant operation is interrupted due to product shortages or weather factors. Current manganese prices are within the pre-COVID average of between US$4 per dry metric ton unit and US$5/DMTU.

Taking into account that 90% of manganese is used in metallurgy, the impact on prices should not be significant in the short term.

Demands in technology areas, such as batteries, are expected to experience an upward trend over the next five years.

With the increase in productivity of arable areas in Brazil, the demand for manganese will remain strong, being an important product in soil adaptation, with Brazil being among the largest agricultural producers in the world.

BNamericas: How is Brazil positioned in the global manganese market and who are the main buyers? How much does the country produce?

Araújo: Brazil is among the four largest manganese producers in the world, with an exportable volume close to 3Mt/y. Domestic production is close to 5Mt/y of various grades.

The main consumers in the domestic market are iron alloy, micronutrient and fertilizer companies.

BNamericas: And how much potential do you see? Where are the biggest resources?

Araújo: The main manganese area in Brazil is Buritirama, Pará state. Other areas, in states such as Rondônia, Amazonas, Minas Gerais and Bahia, are made up of medium-sized deposits, but with the potential to develop highly relevant projects.

BNamericas: Does Buritirama plan production increases? What’s the current output?

Araújo: Buritirama's production capacity is currently 2.5Mt/y. We are increasing this volume with a sinter plant, which could contribute an additional capacity of 300,000t/y.

This plant definitely inserts us into the ESG concept, transforming low-grade ores into high-quality products.

BNamericas: What are the company's main plans?

Araújo: Expand the capacity of the main mine in Pará state and begin the development of projects in Rondônia, Bahia and Minas Gerais.

Buritirama has a plan for the next five years to invest in technology, with the aim of improving the metallic recovery of the ore produced, always based on ESG principles, which has been an agenda for improving its reserves.

BNamericas: Will you finance the plans with own cash or seek funds in the market?

Araújo: Buritirama is always analyzing new financing opportunities for acquisitions and the development of new projects, using, in a moderate way, the cash flow for short, medium and long-term projects.

BNamericas: What else is important for the company?

Araújo: Buritirama has two pillars that have been gaining a lot of space. ESG – respect for the environment, attention to social aspects and corporate governance – and its vertical integration projects to increase synergy and reliability of the operating system.

The company estimates that the implementation of its projects will require investments in the order of billions of reais that will be allocated in the pipeline under development in the coming years.