Latest News

Potash mine in Amazon gets state license questioned by federal authorities

The Brazilian state of Amazonas has granted a license for Canadian company Brazil Potash Corp to develop Latin America's largest fertilizer mine in the Amazon rainforest, however federal district attorneys stated on Tuesday it was not legally appropriate.

Governor Wilson Lima on Monday revealed that the installation license was issued by his state's ecological defense company IPAAM, which the company prepares to invest 13 billion reais ($ 2.6 billion) to construct the mine in Autazes, 75 miles (120 km) southeast of state capital Manaus.

The project, which could decrease Brazilian farming's 90%. reliance on imported potash, has been held up for several years due to. opposition from Indigenous Mura people who state they have not. been consulted about using their ancestral lands.

Federal authorities state the license needs to come from. Brazil's epa IBAMA and not from the. regional agency in the state, whose federal government backs the task. that it states will bring investment and develop thousands of jobs.

The federal prosecutors office in Manaus stated in a statement. that it considers the license granted by IPAAM to be irregular. and will adopt the appropriate measures.

The license violates civil liberties, global. requirements and also the rights of Native peoples, it stated.

In September, a federal judge in Manaus reiterated her 2016. choice to suspend the project until the Mura were correctly. sought advice from. She likewise ruled that a license should originate from the. federal ecological firm and not the state's company.

A federal appeals court later on overturned an injunction. suspending Potash Corp's state license, arguing that IPAAM could. concern the license since there is no officially recognized. Indigenous territory in the area planned for the mine.

Mura leaders state the mine overlaps their ancestral lands and. seek their recognition as secured booking land. But the. demarcation procedure is pending by Indigenous affairs agency. Funai, and divisions have emerged within the Mura community.

Potash Corp preserves that Mura leaders support the mine.

However five Mura communities and the Indigenous Association of. Amazonas sent out the prosecutors letters seen declining. the governor's statement.

Brazil Potash is owned by CD Capital with a 34% stake,. Sentient with 23% of shares, and Stan Bharti's Forbes &&. Manhattan Group, a Toronto-based merchant bank that began the. task, which now holds 14%, along with other investors.

(source: Reuters)