Canadian company wants to double potash project in area close to indigenous land

A Canadian company has proposed doubling planned potash production from a deposit in the Brazilian Amazon to reduce the country’s dependence on fertilizer imports now affected by the war in Ukraine.

Brazil Potash said on Tuesday (15) that its executives met with the Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina, in Ottawa, and discussed raising planned capacity from 2.44 million tons to more than 5 million tons per year, in the project in Autazes (AM).

That could cover almost half of Brazil’s need for potassium, an essential fertilizer. However, the company said it would take at least three years to come online once licensing was obtained.

Brazil Potash’s owner, investment bank Forbes & Manhattan, whose chairman Stan Bharti met with the Brazilian minister on Sunday, has been trying to develop the Autazes deposit for more than five years, but the project has been halted over environmental concerns. .

Prosecutors recommended in 2016 suspending the license to develop Autazes because the Mura indigenous tribe had not been consulted, in violation of Brazil’s Constitution.

Brazil depends on imports for 95% of its potash and is a major buyer of major suppliers Canada, Russia and Belarus. Last year, Brazil imported around 10 million tons.

Around 30% of the global potash supply was withdrawn from the market due to the inability of Russian and Belarusian producers to export.

“Our view is that the sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus will not be short-lived,” Brazil Potash said in a statement sent to Reuters.

As potash prices tripled in the past year and the geopolitical risks threatening Eastern European supplies have deepened, interest in Brazil in the Autazes project has grown.

President Jair Bolsonaro has said Brazil needs to explore the deposit soon and has pushed for a law to allow mining on indigenous reserves.

The company says the mine would have a lower environmental impact. Salt separated from potash at a surface processing plant would be returned underground, according to plans.

The Mura fear that this will pollute the rivers and drive away the game and fish they depend on.