Day: October 18, 2023

Brazil Potash to Extract Potash From Brazil’s Autazes Deposit

Brazil potash — The Mura people are in a battle over whether a Canadian-based miner should extract potash — a key ingredient for fertilizer that replenishes depleted soil nutrients — beneath their villages. Toronto-based Potassio do Brasil is struggling to keep its $2.5 billion Autazes project on schedule amid a lengthy licensing process that hinges on court-supervised talks with the indigenous tribe as part of a right enshrined in Brazilian and international law.

The company has done extensive drilling, cost and environmental studies, and a lot of work to navigate the regulatory process, says CEO Matt Simpson. His goal is to become a significant domestic source of potash fertilizer to alleviate Brazil’s dependence on imported supplies and minimize farmer supply-chain risk, supporting economic prosperity and agricultural sustainability in the country and food security globally.

Unlocking the Potential: The Role of Potash in Brazil’s Agriculture

He says that although the plant will require a large amount of energy, most of it will come from renewable sources and will not create any greenhouse gases. And the mining footprint will be small, in a grassland region rather than in the rainforest. Moreover, the local community will benefit from jobs and taxes that will support schools, water and roads. And it will get its electricity from the grid instead of relying on diesel generators, like many other Amazonas communities that do not have access to the national power network.

Additionally, the location of the project is very strategic because it will allow them to take advantage of existing infrastructure. The Autazes deposit is adjacent to the Madeira River, which already carries soybean barges from Brazil’s biggest soy-producing state, Mato Grosso, to ports where they are loaded on transatlantic vessels for shipment to Europe and China. Brazil Potash will be able to load its own potash onto the same barges, saving on transportation costs and making the product more competitive with imports.

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