The mine complex would occupy a large part of Fazenda S\u00e3o Francisco and its surroundings, a region already marked by land conflicts and drought.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n Adair Pereira Almeida, 45, is a community leader in the north of Minas Gerais where Gr\u00e3o Mogol is located. He considers the project one of the biggest challenges traditional communities face.<\/p>\n \u201cThis project is a death threat to the population and to the rivers and streams that maintain our way of life,\u201d he states. \u201cIt will affect about 2,000 people in the region. Meanwhile, the state government accepts everything the mining companies propose.\u201d<\/p>\n An enormous amount of water would be needed to operate the mine and to pipe the iron ore 482 kilometres from Gr\u00e3o Mogol to Ilh\u00e9us, for export to China and other countries.<\/p>\n 482km<\/p>\n Sul Americana de Metais already has authorisation<\/a> from the Brazilian National Water Agency to withdraw 51 million cubic metres per year from one of the reservoirs supplying the region.<\/p>\n At the time of writing, that reservoir was less than 16%<\/a> full. After all, in semi-arid<\/a> northern Minas Gerais, drought is normal.<\/p>\n The mining company is trying to work around the problem of water scarcity by constructing other dams to supply industry and residents.<\/p>\n Alexandre Gon\u00e7alves, of the Pastoral Land Commission, fears that these promises are only being made to encourage licensing agencies and the public to accept the project.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no point in having a dam if distribution to the communities is not guaranteed. There are many cases in which people have never seen a drop of water,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Fearing serious damage to traditional peoples and the natural environments of northern Minas Gerais, entities such as the Pastoral Land Commission and the People Affected by Dams Movement have made formal protests about the mine to the federal prosecution services.<\/p>\n Sul Americana Metais has been defeated in previous attempts to license its mine complex. The process began in 2010, when the company was purchased for approximately US$430 million (today, almost R$ 1.8 billion) by Honbridge Holdings, which is headquartered in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n Sul Americana de Metais says it wants an initial licence for its mine by March next year, and has intensified meetings with politicians and the people who the mine would affect.<\/p>\n The \u2018geraizeiros<\/em>\u2019 do not want meetings with the company. They will only consult with the government<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In September, Minas Gerais governor Romeu Zema participated in the opening ceremony for an industrial fair in the city of Montes Claros and a business seminar promoted by Sul Americana de Metais, the municipal and state governments and the Chinese consulate.<\/p>\n On the same day, Zema signed a memorandum of understanding that confirmed official support for the Bloco 8 project in Gr\u00e3o Mogol.<\/p>\n Two months later, in early November, the company\u2019s president Jin Yongshi met with senator Carlos Viana in Brasilia to talk about mining.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, community leader Adair Almeida says that the company is trying to divide the inhabitants of the city by scheduling separate meetings with each community. He also regrets that state government representatives have not yet come to talk to any members of his community.<\/p>\n \u201cThe \u2018geraizeiros<\/em>\u2019 do not want meetings with the company. They will only consult with the government,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n Geraizeiros<\/em> are traditional residents of the Cerrado region in northern Minas Gerais, where the vegetation is what they call gerais<\/em>, a type of savannah. They live in the foothills of plateaus and along the rivers, surviving on foraging, \u00a0small-scale agriculture and livestock production.<\/p>\n The political negotiations are taking place alongside environmental licensing processes, which have been expedited since Jair Bolsonaro became president and began scrapping environmental agencies and regulations.<\/p>\n In 2016, Brazil\u2019s environmental protection agency, IBAMA, denied a licence for the Bloco 8 mining project due to excessive impacts<\/a> on water and the environment. The project could worsen droughts and pollute the air, inspectors said.<\/p>\n IBAMA also warned about the large quantities of tailings that the mine would generate, and classified the proposed dam that would contain them as out of line \u201cwith more modern mining techniques\u201d.<\/p>\n 845million<\/p>\n The mega dam planned by Sul Americana de Metais could store up to 845 million cubic metres of tailings. That is eight times more than that authorised for the dam in Mariana (also in Minas Gerais) which held waste for the Samarco mining company and ruptured in November 2015, killing 19 people and destroying the Doce River.<\/p>\n The method chosen for the dam in Gr\u00e3o Mogol, known as \u201cupstream tailings dam\u201d, which incorporate tailings materials into the dam for support, is the same used in Brumadinho that collapsed earlier this year<\/a>. State law and the rules of the National Mining Agency prohibit dams<\/a> of this type. The company says that the technology for its dam will be different and safer.<\/p>\n After the rejection by IBAMA, Jin Yongshi, president of Sul Americana de Metais, and a Chinese national called Kuo Hsin Yi created Lotus Brasil Com\u00e9rcio e Log\u00edstica in November 2017 to run the pipeline project. The companies then adopted a new strategy, asking for separate licences for the pipeline and the mine.<\/p>\n In June 2018, IBAMA again denied licensing for the project. But a year later, with Bolsonaro in office, the agency made a U-turn.<\/p>\n In July 2019, IBAMA president Eduardo Bim allowed the licence for the pipeline to be evaluated by IBAMA and the permits for the iron mine to be evaluated by the Minas Gerais state government. This de-linked the impact of each project on the other\u2019s environmental licensing process, making both seem less harmful.<\/p>\n Even so, the mine still needs approval from Minas Gerais State\u2019s Environment Department, which told Di\u00e1logo Chino that the licence is suspended until the project is adjusted to comply with dam safety legislation and public hearings are held.<\/p>\n![\"gerazeiros](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/gerazeiros-resist-iron-ore-mine-in-Brazil.png\")
Water shortage<\/h2>\n
\nof pipeline will stretch from the mine to the port of Ilh\u00e9us
\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\nPolitical negotiations over iron ore mine<\/h2>\n
Anything for a licence<\/h2>\n
\ncubic metres of waste will be held by the tailings dam
\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
![semi-arid<\/a> northern Minas Gerais, drought is normal.<\/p>\nThe mining company is trying to work around the problem of water scarcity by constructing other dams to supply industry and residents.<\/p>\nAlexandre Gon\u00e7alves, of the Pastoral Land Commission, fears that these promises are only being made to encourage licensing agencies and the public to accept the project.<\/p>\n\u201cThere is no point in having a dam if distribution to the communities is not guaranteed. There are many cases in which people have never seen a drop of water,\u201d he says.<\/p>\nFearing serious damage to traditional peoples and the natural environments of northern Minas Gerais, entities such as the Pastoral Land Commission and the People Affected by Dams Movement have made formal protests about the mine to the federal prosecution services.<\/p>\nPolitical negotiations over iron ore mine<\/h2>\nSul Americana Metais has been defeated in previous attempts to license its mine complex. The process began in 2010, when the company was purchased for approximately US$430 million (today, almost R$ 1.8 billion) by Honbridge Holdings, which is headquartered in Hong Kong.<\/p>\nSul Americana de Metais says it wants an initial licence for its mine by March next year, and has intensified meetings with politicians and the people who the mine would affect.<\/p>\nThe \u2018geraizeiros<\/em>\u2019 do not want meetings with the company. They will only consult with the government<\/p><\/blockquote>\nIn September, Minas Gerais governor Romeu Zema participated in the opening ceremony for an industrial fair in the city of Montes Claros and a business seminar promoted by Sul Americana de Metais, the municipal and state governments and the Chinese consulate.<\/p>\nOn the same day, Zema signed a memorandum of understanding that confirmed official support for the Bloco 8 project in Gr\u00e3o Mogol.<\/p>\nTwo months later, in early November, the company\u2019s president Jin Yongshi met with senator Carlos Viana in Brasilia to talk about mining.<\/p>\nMeanwhile, community leader Adair Almeida says that the company is trying to divide the inhabitants of the city by scheduling separate meetings with each community. He also regrets that state government representatives have not yet come to talk to any members of his community.<\/p>\n\u201cThe \u2018geraizeiros<\/em>\u2019 do not want meetings with the company. They will only consult with the government,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\nGeraizeiros<\/em> are traditional residents of the Cerrado region in northern Minas Gerais, where the vegetation is what they call gerais<\/em>, a type of savannah. They live in the foothills of plateaus and along the rivers, surviving on foraging, \u00a0small-scale agriculture and livestock production.<\/p>\nAnything for a licence<\/h2>\nThe political negotiations are taking place alongside environmental licensing processes, which have been expedited since Jair Bolsonaro became president and began scrapping environmental agencies and regulations.<\/p>\nIn 2016, Brazil\u2019s environmental protection agency, IBAMA, denied a licence for the Bloco 8 mining project due to excessive impacts<\/a> on water and the environment. The project could worsen droughts and pollute the air, inspectors said.<\/p>\nIBAMA also warned about the large quantities of tailings that the mine would generate, and classified the proposed dam that would contain them as out of line \u201cwith more modern mining techniques\u201d.<\/p>\n\n 845million<\/p>\n \n \ncubic metres of waste will be held by the tailings dam\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\nThe mega dam planned by Sul Americana de Metais could store up to 845 million cubic metres of tailings. That is eight times more than that authorised for the dam in Mariana (also in Minas Gerais) which held waste for the Samarco mining company and ruptured in November 2015, killing 19 people and destroying the Doce River.<\/p>\nThe method chosen for the dam in Gr\u00e3o Mogol, known as \u201cupstream tailings dam\u201d, which incorporate tailings materials into the dam for support, is the same used in Brumadinho that collapsed earlier this year<\/a>. State law and the rules of the National Mining Agency prohibit dams<\/a> of this type. The company says that the technology for its dam will be different and safer.<\/p>\nAfter the rejection by IBAMA, Jin Yongshi, president of Sul Americana de Metais, and a Chinese national called Kuo Hsin Yi created Lotus Brasil Com\u00e9rcio e Log\u00edstica in November 2017 to run the pipeline project. The companies then adopted a new strategy, asking for separate licences for the pipeline and the mine.<\/p>\nIn June 2018, IBAMA again denied licensing for the project. But a year later, with Bolsonaro in office, the agency made a U-turn.<\/p>\nIn July 2019, IBAMA president Eduardo Bim allowed the licence for the pipeline to be evaluated by IBAMA and the permits for the iron mine to be evaluated by the Minas Gerais state government. This de-linked the impact of each project on the other\u2019s environmental licensing process, making both seem less harmful.<\/p>\nEven so, the mine still needs approval from Minas Gerais State\u2019s Environment Department, which told Di\u00e1logo Chino that the licence is suspended until the project is adjusted to comply with dam safety legislation and public hearings are held.<\/p>\nState and federal prosecutors reacted in early November, filing a public civil suit<\/a> to prevent the divided licensing between IBAMA and the Minas Gerais government.<\/p>\nIn a press release, prosecutors called the creation of Lotus Brasil Com\u00e9rcio de Log\u00edstica by the Chinese to restart the licensing process \u201ca manoeuvre to evade the requirements of the federal agency [IBAMA]\u201d.<\/p>\nThe case is ongoing.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nHistory of battles<\/h2>\nThe clock read 7:30 am when Almeida, the community leader in the Vale das Cancelas, was surprised by three supposed military police at the gate of his house. The men showed their badges and warned that if anyone from the village came near Fazenda S\u00e3o Francisco, they would be met with bullets. This threat came in August 2015.<\/p>\n\n](\"http:\/\/sudene.gov.br\/images\/arquivos\/semiarido\/arquivos\/infografico-semiarido-delimitacao.png\"){kind=link}