Brazil prosecutors request suspension of US$2.5bn Autazes mine license

The public prosecutor's office (MPF) filed a lawsuit to request the suspension of the construction license for Potássio do Brasil's US$2.5bn potash project in Brazil’s Autazes municipality.

The license to build the sylvinite mine was issued earlier this year by Amazonas state environmental protection agency IPAAM. Potássio do Brasil is controlled by Brazil Potash, which announced the discovery in 2010 after obtaining authorization to explore the area.

"The works [for the project] focus on traditional areas occupied by the Mura indigenous people, whose lands are in the process of demarcation. In addition to overlapping the Mura territory, the project is adjacent to two other indigenous lands: Jauary and approximately 6km from the Paracuhuba indigenous land," the MPF said in a statement.

“The MPF also highlights that there is serious environmental risk for the region, since the project involves drilling the soil, with the opening of large deep tunnels, without all studies having been carried out properly,” it added.

However, “the environmental aspects and those that affect communities must be profoundly assessed. For years there have been discussions and evaluations of this project in Autazes and it seems to me that the prosecutors have been excessively rigorous in relation to the licensing process of this specific project,” Valdir Farias, CEO of mining consultancy Fioito, told BNamericas.

According to prosecutors, licenses for the project must be assessed and issued by federal environmental agency Ibama, rather than Amazonas state’s IPAAM.

"The size of the affected area, which touches on several indigenous lands, makes Ibama responsible for licensing, as well as making it mandatory to conduct prior, free and informed consultation of the affected peoples (remembering that, because it overlaps indigenous land, the way the project is going, mining is not even allowed, regardless of consultation with the affected peoples)," the statement read.

New mining operations require a preliminary environmental license, a construction license and an operating license.

Potássio do Brasil has invested US$238mn so far.

In an interview with BNamericas last month, Brazil Potash CEO Matt Simpson said that construction was expected to start later this year and take four years. The company seeks to produce 2.4Mt/y of granular potash for sale to Brazilian farmers.