News

28/08/23

At the opening ceremony of EXPOSIBRAM 2023, the relevance of the supply of minerals for building a better world dominated the statements.

The CEO of the Brazilian Mining Institute (IBRAM), Raul Jungmann, considers that the Amazon region offers “unique opportunities to relate mining with sustainability, with environmental responsibility”. By 20027, mining will direct 1/3 of total investments to Pará (US$50 billion). According to Jungmann, “this investment will be in the name of sustainable mining, living forests, respect for indigenous and original peoples, aiming to reduce income inequality”. He opened the 2023 edition of EXPOSIBRAM, in Belém (PA), on Monday night (08/28).

The governor of Pará, Helder Barbalho, participated in the ceremony and said that his government is “certain that the partnership with IBRAM, the partnership with the mining activity in our state can be an important promoter of the economic transition, transition of all spheres that dialogue with the environment. And, from there, the state of Pará can effectively build sustainable development that takes care of the people, that takes care of the forest and that stimulates the economy linked to a new era for Pará and Brazil”.

Mining has a lot to contribute to the country’s development

Vale’s president, Eduardo Bartolomeo, said that “mining has a lot to contribute to Brazil’s development and help the country take a leadership position in the energy transition”. He said that Vale is advancing consistently on its journey to make the company increasingly safe, sustainable and innovative. “We want not only to be part of, but to be drivers of the transformation of society and genuine care in our relationship with people, the territory and environmental, social and cultural agendas”, he stated.

Vale, he said, is a company increasingly based on nature. Operating in Carajás in Pará for almost 40 years “is an example of how mining is sustainable”. According to him, of the approximately 1 million hectares of forest that Vale protects in the world, 800 thousand hectares are in the Amazon, in the Carajás mosaic, an area equivalent to 5 times the area of ​​the city of São Paulo. “In Carajás, Vale produces 60% of the iron ore using only around 2% of the area it impacts,” he said.

Bartolomeo also mentioned that Vale promotes the bioeconomy and protects the standing forest. It works with research and production of knowledge in biodiversity, genomics and climate change “and today it is a unique knowledge hub about the Amazon in the country”.

Future of humanity is related to mining performance

Raul Jungmann highlighted that the future of humanity is related to mining performance. As an example, he cited the relevance of the supply of minerals to provide the energy transition, which will result in a low-carbon economy. “It is an economy that will ensure the continuity of humanity; a better world for our children, for our grandchildren. There is nothing less ethical than bequeathing to future generations a nature worse than what we received”, he stated.

He also said that this transition requires the supply of strategic minerals, since due to their composition, their use allows the production of carbon dioxide to be reduced, “the great villain of global warming, and its harmful effects on the planet and people. Here in Pará we have great potential for these critical minerals and we see the ability to contribute to a healthy world”, he said.

At the opening ceremony, the vice-president of the Board of Directors, Ediney Drummond, welcomed EXPOSIBRAM 2023 and the ceremony also featured tributes from IBRAM to governor Helder Barbalho, the Parliamentary Front for Sustainable Mining and the company Geosol .

On stage, IBRAM welcomed: Ana Paula Bittencourt, Deputy Secretary of the National Geology, Mining and Mineral Transformation Secretariat, representative of the Ministry of Mines and Energy; Hanna Grassan Tuma, Vice-Governor of the State of Pará;

Chicão, State Deputy, president of the legislative assembly of the state of Pará; Judge Maria de Nazaré Gouveia dos Santos, President of the Court of Justice of the State of Pará; Senator of the Republic Zequinha Marinho; Zé Silva, Federal Deputy, representative of the Mining Parliamentary Front; Edmilson Rodrigues, Mayor of Belém; Lucas Araripe, Executive Director of Casa dos Ventos; John Thuestad, Vice President of Hydro; Fernando Aragão, CEO of Armac, Patrícia Procópio president of Women in Mining Brasil; Rohistesh Dhawan, CEO of ICMM (International Council on Mining and Metals); Anderson Baranov, President; from SIMINERAL; Sandro Mabel, president of the Federation of Industries of the State of Goiás; José Luis Gordon, director of production development at BNDES; Juan Camillo, president of the Colombian Mining Association; Federal Deputy, Kenyston Braga; between others.