Brazil potash project in Amazonas receives license

Amazonas state's environmental agency Ipaam issued an environmental license to install Potassio do Brasil's Autazes project.

Valid for three years, the license authorizes the construction of the complex, including an 800-meter deep mine.

Ipaam granted a preliminary license to Potassio do Brasil in 2015, which is a subsidiary of Canadian firm Brazil Potash. But a state court suspended the license in September 2023, ruling that it should have been granted by the federal environment watchdog Ibama instead, following allegations submitted by a public civil suit. Amazonas state's federal regional court overruled the suspension in October 2023 under the argument that the mine is not in an indigenous territory.

The installation license comes with 26 restrictions/conditions, including the protection of the fauna, maintaining preserved areas, a report of activities every six months and suspension of activities any type of archeological, historical, or artistic vestiges are verified.

The company projects to invest around $2.5bn in the project, with the construction phase set to last around four and a half years. Potassio do Brasil also plans to build a port in Autazes city to ship the mineral.

The Autazes project is scheduled to initially produce 2.2mn metric tonnes (t)/yr of potash. That is Brazil's main potash project and is considered the most promising to reduce the country's dependency on imports under the national fertilizer plan.

The project is expected to provide around 20pc of Brazil's potash requirements. The national fertilizer plan aims to reduce the share of fertilizer coming from imports to around 40pc by 2050, down from nearly 85pc. Brazil currently imports more than 95pc of its potash needs.

By Gisele Augusto