Brazil accepts environmental impact study of US$440mn uranium, phosphate project

Brazil’s environmental regulator Ibama accepted the environmental impact study and environmental impact report presented by the owners of the 2.3 billion-real (US$440 million) Santa Quitéria project in Ceará state.

Santa Quitéria is owned by a consortium formed by state-run nuclear firm INB and fertilizer firm Galvani and involves extracting uranium and phosphate from the Itataia deposit. 

“This is a fundamental step toward making Brazil an important player in the uranium energy matrix, in addition to enabling the country to meet the growing global demand for mineral inputs for the production of fertilizers such as phosphate, crucial for achieving food security,” mines and energy minister Alexandre Silveira said in a statement.

The project now enters the analysis phase for a preliminary license, the first of three in the environmental licensing process, according to the ministry.

According to BNamericas database, annual production capacity is planned to reach 240,000t of phosphate and 1,600t of uranium concentrate. 

The phosphate will go to Galvani for fertilizers and animal food production, while INB will produce uranium concentrate.