Australian firm prepares to build Brazil's first southern phosphate mine
17/08/2022 19:34
By Ana Mano
SAO PAULO, Aug 17 (Reuters) - The Brazilian arm of
Australia's Aguia Resources Limited AGR.AX hopes to complete
building the first phosphate mine in Southern Brazil by late
2023, Aguia Fertilizantes Chief Executive Fernando Tallarico
told Reuters on Wednesday.
The company expects to get the installation license required
to start work around October, he said. Construction will take
about one year, and an operating license is needed to begin
production, he added.
"This area is known for more than 200 years for production
of copper and gold," Tallarico said of the town of Lavras do
Sul, close to the border of Uruguay. "We were the first to
verify the possibility to produce phosphate in the region."
Momentum is building for this and similar fertilizer mining
projects in Brazil after the federal government announced a plan
to reduce the country's dependence on imports.
But a complex legal system poses challenges.
For example, in 2021 an injunction suspended Aguia's
preliminary license for the phosphate mine. A final decision is
pending.
While the company said that ruling does not affect its
installation license application, it represents a risk.
Brazil's government aims to slash overall fertilizer imports
to 45% of total domestic consumption from the current 85% by
2050. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2VE1D8
That is attracting companies like Aguia, and reviving
interest in old projects, including in the Amazon, where permits
may be harder to get. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2ZS11O
Aguia's goal is to explore the Lavras do Sul deposit, where
an estimated 105 million tonnes of phosphate lie, for an initial
18 years. It is also developing a nearby copper project.
The phosphate mine will produce 300,000 tonnes annually at
maturity. Conservatively, Aguia expects the project to start
repaying investors in 2.6 years, Tallarico said.
Brazil's phosphate consumption is 7-8 million tonnes per
year, but the country imports 72% of demand from countries like
Morocco and Jordan.
(Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Richard Chang)
((ana.mano@thomsonreuters.com; Tel: +55-11-5644-7704; Mob:
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