💰 Mine over matter: Brazil's potash gamble

Hello! Welcome back to Brazil Agro. Today, we examine the ambitious plans of Canadian company Brazil Potash, which, after years of legal disputes, wants to start building a potassium mine in the middle of the Amazon. If you have any questions about this newsletter or topics you’d like to see covered in future issues, you can reach me at [email protected] 

Brazil Potash plans massive Amazon potassium mine

Canadian firm Brazil Potash announced that it will begin construction this year on a potassium mine in Autazes, a small Amazonian city of 41,000 residents known primarily for dairy production. The project, designed to extract sylvinite and produce potassium chloride by 2030, comes as Brazil currently imports more than 96% of its potassium for fertilizer production.

The project has overcome years of regulatory hurdles and legal challenges, including opposition from the Federal Prosecution Office over concerns regarding the rights of the Mura indigenous people. In April, Brazil Potash secured a construction license from the Amazonas state environmental protection agency Ipaam, though federal prosecutors later sought to suspend it.

The stakes are high for both Brazil Potash and Brazil's agricultural sector. The Autazes reserve, discovered in 2011, is estimated to hold 800 million tons of potassium-bearing minerals — potentially Latin America’s largest potassium mine. Once operational, it could produce up to 2.4 million tons of potassium chloride annually — approximately 20% of Brazil's current consumption — and operate for 23 years.

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