This week, Potássio Brasil received six more licenses from the Amazonas Environmental Protection Institute (Ipaam), which allowed progress to the final phase of the construction of the Autazes (AM) mine.
When completed, the venture will have the capacity to produce the inputs necessary for manufacturing 20% of the fertilizers consumed in Brazilian agriculture, which today imports 95%.
The mining company has been operating in the Amazon region since 2009. The majority (85%) of the shareholders are foreign (United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada). The remaining shareholders are Brazilian.
The investment forecast is US$ 2.5 billion (R$ 13 billion), and more than R$ 1 billion has already been allocated to the initial phase of the largest project of its kind in the Amazon region.
However, there are legal risks that could delay the project, which began about a decade ago.
The venture is the target of a civil action brought by the Federal Public Ministry of Amazonas. One question is the competence of Ipaam to grant licenses instead of Ibama (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources).
The licenses allow the advancement of works in Autazes, a municipality located on the border with the Mura indigenous lands, another point of controversy, according to the MPF.