Local Amapa news5 Oct 2024 18:13
Unexplained stoppage of mining in Pedra Branca do Amapari
Contrary to the huge expectation of unlocking the economy of Amapá in a vital industrial sector, the municipality does not resume the iron ore project. The municipality of Pedra Branca do Amapari, 180 kilometers from Macapá, is experiencing great expectations for the recovery of the mining sector, based on a project that was once responsible for the highest population growth rate in Amapá. But things are inexplicably not moving forward, and the local economy remains stagnant.After housing operations of one of the largest mining companies in the world, Anglo American, the city saw numerous attempts by successors to resume operations in the iron and even gold deposits there, the latest being Zamin Ferrous. It was up to her to take on the project after the collapse of the mineral shipping port in Santana in 2013, which resulted in the most serious crisis that the mineral industry has ever experienced in Amapá, with repercussions including on the price of minerals around the world, of course, based on other factors and variables.What we saw was the deepening of the crisis and the cooling of this segment that has always been the protagonist of the best economic indicators for cities like the small Pedra Branca do Amapari.
The failure of Zamin, which ended up opening a judicial recovery process, aroused the interest of new investors, from new markets, such as Singapore, where Indo Sino Ltd. came from, and the United Kingdom, where Cadence Minerals came from, which joined together in a Joint Venture consortium called Grupo Pedra Branca Alliance.
But despite getting what was missing there – the interest of capital – things didn’t take off. The new investors managed to get qualified with the Government of Amapá, through the granting of the Operating License issued by the competent state agency, but strangely they encountered barriers and a police state on the part of the City Hall of Pedra Branca do Amapari, which in addition to not recognizing the approval of the control agencies, went as far as blocking operations and seizing equipment.
The crisis has even had repercussions in this year's election campaign, with the opposition raising the tone of its criticism and promising to take the case to court, in a time bomb that promises to explode after Sunday's election.
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