Leaving from Marabá, for about 140 km of dirt roads, the view is always the same – immense pastures – where the exuberant Amazon Forest could once be found – until arriving to the gates of Mineração Buritirama, right after the district of Vila Nova União, where it is possible to have a real notion of the good work of preservation of the fauna and the flora.

The visit to Mineração Buritirama’s facilities, producer of Manganese ore, shows that it is possible to harmonize, in other words, that man can compose with nature the need he has of taking from it the resources he needs and industrialize them, mainly in relation to the Amazon region.

The mineral processing used by Mineração Buritirama uses only water as an agent for the concentration of the manganese ores. The barrages are, therefore, the high point of the environmental preservation, since they stop the solid particles originated from the dejections from being carried away to the receiving hydric bodies, preventing the sanding-up and the contamination of the area.

The barrages constructed by Mineração Buritirama use state-of-the-art engineering techniques and the systematic physical chemical follow-up of the water liberated for

drainage, after decantation and sedimentation of the dejections (totally inert, in the chemical point of view) guarantee the total adaptation of the launchings to the country’s more restrictive environmental laws.

Another constant concern of Mineração Buritirama is the development of processes that increase the recovery of the processed material, thus reducing the dejections generated during the mineral processing.

The recovery of the processed areas and the perfect integration of the community of Vila União are also part of Mineração Buritirama’s Environmental Policy, proving that it is really possible to develop an industrial activity in harmony with Nature.

Mineração Buritirama’s Environmental Policy is based on the sustainable development philosophy, which includes the compliance to the environmental legislation in force, the continuous improvement of its environmental performance and the prevention of pollution. The company works to eliminate wastes and to optimize its own resources for the monitoring of the quality of the recirculation waters, of effluents and of process residues, with the constant interaction of shareholders, employees, members of the community and environmental organs.

Since 1992, the mine has a Environmental Impact Study (Estudo de Impacto Ambiental – EIA/RIMA), and is duly licensed for operation by the State Department of Science, Technology and Environment (Secretaria de Estado de Ciência, Tecnologia e Meio Ambiente – SECTAM) of the State of Pará, with the prospect of obtaining an Operation License.