Mining in Pará: how this production is sold
In addition to being the second largest state in Brazil in extension, with 1,245,870.798km², Pará is also fundamental to the country's economy, especially due to mining in Pará.
Currently, the state is the largest exporter of ore in the country. According to the Pará Mineral Economic Bulletin, released by the Pará Mineral Industries Union (Simineral), in 2020, the state will account for about 34% of the export of minerals in Brazil that year.
This number represents well how much mining in Pará is fundamental to the economy of the State and, consequently, of the country.
The main ore exported by the state is iron ore, but, in addition to these, bauxite, manganese, limestone, copper, aluminum, gold, among others, are also part of the mining of Pará.
Content Index
Mining in Pará
Brazilian mining has a long history. For a long time, Minas Gerais dominated the extraction of minerals in the country, for more than 3 centuries. However, due to the large investments made, essentially in the Carajás region, Pará assumed the position of largest mining state.
This change occurred just after the discovery of large mines in the Carajás region, located in the northern state, in the 1960s. At the time, the company VALE aimed to expand mining in Brazil, and ended up finding a vast space for this activity.
In the 60's, the company produced around 11 million tons of ores in the country, being the main producer nationally. However, mining in Pará was decisive for the numbers to increase exponentially. Currently, it is estimated that the Carajás complex alone produces 150 million tons of iron ore per year. Only 2% of the exploration in the region is currently owned by Vale.
The main hubs in the region are Canaã dos Carajás and Parauapebas. The Canaã dos Carajás hub, for example, has gained prominence in recent years, rising to second place in the ranking of Financial Compensation for the Exploration of Mineral Resources (CFEM), according to the National Mining Agency (ANM). Parauapebas is the main mining hub in Pará and Brazil, ranking first.
The figures for mining in Pará are significant, and show the prominence that this activity has for the region: Of the 6.7 billion dollars exported by Pará in the first half of 2020, 88.6% comes from mining. Iron ore continues to be the most exported product (US$ 9.196 billion), followed by copper (US$ 2.064 billion) and manganese (US$ 276 million).
With such prominence, the idea of the state is to maintain production with the same strength. According to data from the union of the Mineral Industries of the State of Pará (SIMINERAL), the mineral industry intends to invest R$ 22.013 billion in mining in Pará.
Railroads in the mining region of Pará currently
The production of ores is fundamental for the economic movement of Pará. However, none of this would be possible without an adequate flow of the produced loads. For this, sectors such as rail and road are essential.
However, only one railway, which is in operation, passes through the state of Pará. It is precisely the Carajás Railroad, the main railroad in the northern region, which operates in this region.
This railroad, managed by Vale S.A, is 892 km long, being the largest passenger railroad in the country, in addition to acting directly in the transport of cargo, especially minerals.
The purpose of the railroad is precisely to connect the main mining regions of the state, such as Marabá and Parauapebas, to the port of Ponta da Madeira, in the municipality of São Luís (MA).
Possessing the largest freight trains in the world, which can reach up to 330 wagons, the Carajás Railroad is responsible for transporting 120 million tons of cargo and 350,000 passengers per year.
In addition to this railroad, there is also a project to build another railroad network in the state, which would be fundamental to help with the flow of mining in Pará.
The Pará Railroad project has been advancing, and is already in phase 3 of the EVTEA studies – Technical, Economic and Environmental Feasibility Study. The idea is to build a railroad 515 km long, passing through several municipalities in Pará, such as Abaetetuba, Acará, Barcarena, Mojú, Thailand, Abel Figueiredo, Dom Eliseu, Ipixuna do Pará, Paragominas, Rondon do Pará, Tomé-Açu and Bom Jesus do Tocantins
The railroad will make a connection with the Carajás Railroad, allowing mining in Pará to flow more widely and efficiently, even within the state itself.
Importance of logistics in mining regions
Mining is responsible for about 5% of the national GDP, that is, it is an activity of paramount importance for the national economy. In addition to the state of Pará, Minas Gerais, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo, among others, are states that also have a large participation in mining.
However, all these states suffer from a common problem: the logistics infrastructure, essentially in relation to the transport of cargo. Organizing and being able to take the products produced is essential, but this is not always done properly.
Trains are the most suitable vehicles for transporting ores. However, the lack of railways and the disparity of investments received compared to the road sector, make efficient logistics difficult.
Currently, as we have seen, only the Carajás Railroad is able to transport the ores produced from mining in Pará, the main exporting state for this product. In Minas Gerais, a state that is also important for mining, only two railroads operate in the transportation of cargo.
In this way, there is great difficulty in increasing production, since there is not enough transport capacity for this. It is necessary to have roads to transport this commodity, and road transport, which is sovereign in the country, is not very viable in this case.
MASSA's cases and solutions in mining
MASSA works directly to help in the growth of infrastructure and logistics in the transport of ores by railroads. On our website you will find successful cases and solutions for this segment.
In Carajás, for example, MASSA installed 8 dynamic scales, enabling the weighing weighing of ores to be carried out properly, reducing errors in counting, improving the transport flow and, consequently, the quality of the railroads. Read our success story now.
Conclusion
As we have seen, mining in Pará has a major economic impact on Brazil. The state is the largest exporter of ore in the country, surpassing Minas Gerais, which held the post for centuries. However, there is still room for improvement. For this, investments in transport infrastructure and logistics are essential.
Searchs:
https://agenciapara.com.br/noticia/20707/
https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/brasil/a-mineracao-na-regiao-norte.htm
http://www.vale.com/brasil/pt/initiatives/innovation/carajas-railway/paginas/default.aspx
https://agenciapara.com.br/noticia/31160/
https://simineral.org.br/mineracao/historia
