Related Information

Development

Goldminers

Projeto Grande Carajßs

Projeto Grande Carajßs is one of several huge projects which has been built in Amaz⌠nia. This project covers a gigantic area in the Brazilian state of Parß – 400,000 square km (about the same size as California). The idea behind these projects is to exploit Amaz⌠nia's huge mineral reserves and catapult Brazil to world power status. Cynics say that this might just be another in the long line of big failures which have plagued development in Amaz⌠nia. The project's development budget was $US60 billion.

Serra dos Carajßs is an area with a huge amount of iron ore. It is the largest single iron ore deposit in the world – an estimated 18 billion tonnes. In 1994, the company had a record year – 100 million tonnes of iron ore was sold. It also has deposits of manganese, copper, nickel, gold, bauxite (aluminium), and tin.

The facility is so big (and the iron extraction uses so much power) that new hydro-electric dams are being built specially to generate the electricity required. Eight million kilowatts are currently being generated by the Tucururφ dam (on Rio Tocantins), and seven more hydro-electric dams are planned.

Construction for the project was massive – requiring development of the factories and mines, hydro-electric power, and a 900 km railway to connect the facility to the nearest port at Sπo Luis, Maranhπo. When the project was being built it was estimated that it would earn $US15 billion per year in foreign exchange, and employ about a million people in mining and support industries.

There is disagreement among ecologists about the impact of the project. Some say that the project has been carried out with due concern for the environment that makes it an example for others to follow – whereas others say that a project on such a huge scale has dramatic consequences for the environment, with clearing of land and the planned flooding of thousands of square kilometres of rainforest for building dams.