Mining in Brazil
Mining in Brazil is centered on the extraction of
.History
- Discovery of first gold rush in 1980s, gold discoveries made in streams not far from present day city of Belo Horizonte.
- In 1729 diamonds were discovered in the same area. This started a diamond rush.
- By 1760 nearly half of the world's gold was from Brazil.
- In the early 18th century nearly 400,000 Portuguese immigrants came to mine in southern Brazil.
- Over half a million African slaves were shipped to work in the gold mines.
- The Gongo Soco gold mine, operated by the Imperial Brazilian Mining Association of Cornwall using skilled Cornish miners and unskilled slaves, produced over 12,000 kilograms (26,000 lb) of gold between 1826 and 1856.[1]
Present
In 2019, Brazil's figures were as follows: it was the world's largest producer of niobium (88.9 thousand tons);[2] the 2nd largest world producer of tantalum (430 tons);[3] the 2nd largest world producer of iron ore (405 million tons);[4] the 4th largest world producer of manganese (1.74 million tons);[5] the 4th largest world producer of bauxite (34 million tons);[6] the 4th largest world producer of vanadium (5.94 thousand tons);[7] the 5th largest world producer of lithium (2.4 thousand tons);[8] the 6th largest world producer of tin (14 thousand tons);[9] the 8th largest world producer of nickel (60.6 thousand tons);[10] the 8th largest world producer of phosphate (4.7 million tons);[11] the 12th largest world producer of gold (90 tons);[12] the 14th largest world producer of copper (360 thousand tons);[13][14] the 14th largest world producer of titanium (25 thousand tons);[15] the 13th largest world producer of gypsum (3 million tons);[16] the 3rd largest world producer of graphite (96 thousand tons);[17] the 21st largest world producer of sulfur (500 thousand tons);[18] the 9th largest world producer of salt (7.4 million tons);[19] besides having had a chromium production of 200 thousand tons.[14]
Metallic ores
In 2016, metallic ores totaled close to 77% of the total value of Brazilian mineral production that was sold. Eight elements totaled 98.6% of the value:
In 2017, in the Southeast Region, the numbers were as follows: Minas Gerais was the country's largest producer of
In 2017, in terms of production traded throughout the Northern Region, in the
In the Midwest Region,
Still in 2017, in the Midwest, Mato Grosso had 1.15% of the national mineral participation (5th place in the country) and Mato Grosso do Sul had 0.71% of the national mineral participation (6th place in the country). Mato Grosso had production of gold (8.3 tons at a value of R$1 billion) and tin (536 tons at a value of R$16 million). Mato Grosso do Sul had production of iron (3.1 million tons at a value of R$324 million) and manganese (648 thousand tons at a value of R$299 million).[20]
In Northeast Region, Bahia stands out, with 1.68% of the national mineral participation (4th place in the country). In 2017, at gold, it produced 6.2 tons, at a value of R$730 million. At copper, it produced 56 thousand tons, at a value of R$404 million. At chrome, it produced 520 thousand tons, at a value of R$254 million. In vanadium, it produced 358 thousand tons, at a value of R$91 million.[20]
Coal
Gemstones
Brazil is the world's largest producer of
Brazil was the largest producer of diamond in the world from 1730 to 1870. Mining first occurred in the Serra da Canastra, Diamantina region, and then, in 1850, in Bahia, even dropping the price of stone worldwide due excess production. Today, Brazil produces close to 1 million carats a year, mainly in the State of Minas Gerais, but also in Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Bahia, Paraná and Roraima. Virtually all states in the country have diamonds.[33][34]
Regarding emerald, the largest producers in the world are: Colombia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Madagascar and Brazil. It is produced in the states of Goiás, Bahia and Minas Gerais. In garnet, Brazil is not one of the largest producers, but there is extraction in Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, Bahia, Paraíba, Ceará, Rondônia and Rio Grande do Norte . In Brazil there are also some jasper in Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul. Another rare stone to be found in Brazil is opal, but there are deposits in Piauí, Bahia, Ceará and in Rio Grande do Sul. Ruby is also rare in Brazil, being found in Bahia and Santa Catarina. Sapphire is also scarce in Brazil, but can be found in Mato Grosso, Goiás, Santa Catarina and Minas Gerais. In the topaz, Brazil has the most valuable variety in the world, the imperial topaz, only produced in Ouro Preto-MG. In addition, the country is the world's top producer of topaz. It is also among the world's largest producers of tourmaline, in the states of Minas Gerais, Ceará, Goiás and Bahia. Brazil produces the rarest and most expensive variety of tourmaline in the world, Paraíba tourmaline, which, in addition to Paraíba, is only found in three other places in the world: in Brazil (at the state of Rio Grande do Norte) and Africa (at Nigeria and Mozambique). But none of them offers a higher quality stone than São José da Batalha. In turquoise, there is only a small production in Bahia.[27][35][36][37][38][39]
See also
- Brazil Gold Rush
- Coal mining in Brazil
- Gold mining in Brazil
- Mining in Paraná
- List of countries by iron ore production
- List of countries by copper production
- List of countries by gold production
- List of countries by bauxite production
- List of countries by manganese production
- List of countries by tin production
- List of countries by nickel production
- List of countries by coal production
References
- ^ Conjunto de ruínas do Gongo Soco (in Portuguese), IEPHA: Instituto Estadual do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico de Minas Gerais, archived from the original on 2016-09-16, retrieved 2016-08-12
- ^ USGS Niobium Production Statistics
- ^ USGS Tantalum Production Statistics
- ^ USGS Iron Ore Production Statistics
- ^ USGS Manganese Production Statistics
- ^ USGS Bauxite Production Statistics
- ^ USGS Vanadium Production Statistics
- ^ USGS Lithium Production Statistics
- ^ USGS Tin Production Statistics
- ^ USGS Nickel Production Statistics
- ^ USGS Phosphate Production Statistics
- ^ USGS Gold Production Statistics
- ^ USGS Copper Production Statistics
- ^ a b Anuario Mineral Brasileiro
- ^ USGS Titanium Production Statistics
- ^ USGS Gypsum Production Statistics
- ^ USGS Graphite Production Statistics
- ^ USGS Sulfur Production Statistics
- ^ USGS Salt Production Statistics
- ^ a b c d e Anuário Mineral Brasileiro 2018
- ^ Brasil extrai cerca de 2 gramas de ouro por habitante em 5 anos
- ^ Votorantim Metais adquire reservas de zinco da Masa
- ^ Nióbio: G1 visita em MG complexo industrial do maior produtor do mundo
- ^ Goiás lidera produção de níquel
- ^ Carvão Mineral
- ^ Carvão mineral no Brasil e no mundo
- ^ a b Algumas Gemas Clássicas
- ^ Rio Grande do Sul: o maior exportador de pedras preciosas do Brasil
- ^ Os alemães e as pedras preciosas gaúchas
- ^ Maior pedra de água-marinha é brasileira e ficará exposta nos EUA
- ^ Cristal Colors: saiba mais sobre essa tendência
- ^ "Pedras de ametista são atrativos para turistas em cidade no Norte do RS". 4 July 2013.
- ^ MINERAÇÃO DE METAIS E PEDRAS PRECIOSAS
- ^ Mato Grosso produz 87,2% do diamante brasileiro e quer implantar escola de design de joias
- ^ Joias: um luxo além do valor financeiro
- ^ Mina de turmalina na Paraíba está no centro de fraude internacional
- ^ Brasil é responsável por produzir um terço das gemas do mundo
- ^ Rio e Bahia se unem para produzir joias e bijuterias com esmeraldas
- ^ Região colombiana vive 'febre das esmeraldas'