The Minas Gerais State government will hire a technical study for the construction of a rail spur that can ensure a flow of iron ore from a super deposit discovery in the North of the state, with reserves estimated at 12 billion tons.
Among the possibilities of funding, is not ruled out the participation of the state itself, according to the perspective of the project for the region’s economic development, said yesterday the state undersecretary of Mining/Metals Development and Energy Policy, Paulo Sérgio Machado Ribeiro. The survey data of the work will begin in January, lasting approximately eight months in support of Novo Horizonte corporate consortium, formed by companies with planned investments of US$ 2 billion in the exploitation of mineral resources.
“We will format the best way to enable the extension, which may be through partnerships with the private sector. Another advantage of the railroad is that it can transport bulk and passengers, bringing progress to the north of Minas”, said Paulo Sérgio Machado. The iron ore reserves, discovered two years ago, stretches over 20 cities, including Rio Pardo de Minas, Salinas, Porteirinha and Grão Mogol.
According to the chief executive of Mineração Minas Bahia (Miba), one of the companies participating in the consortium, Alexandre Sadi Couri, about US$ 17 million has been invested in probing studies for knowledge of the subsoil of the region.
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To transport the ore, according to Alexandre Sadi, there is need for a rail extension of about 200 kilometers, linking the north of Minas Gerais to the coast of Bahia. “The investments in the region also provide for a treatment plant with ore capacity to generate 1.5 thousand jobs,” he said. The rail branch would leave the vicinity of Grão Mogol and Salinas toward Caitité (BA), which would be connected to the so called Leste-Oeste Railway, also in Bahia, which is in the design phase, covered in the Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento (PAC).
In the state government’s evaluation, according to the undersecretary, the railroad option has great advantages over the construction of a pipeline for the ore draining. One is the preservation of water resources in the north of Minas Gerais, a region that suffers from water shortages. To begin the studies, the Economic Development Department was awaiting a report from the Novo Horizonte consortium with more precise information on the reserve and the amount of iron ore to be transported.
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