Brazil Iron has already contracted technology solutions for its green pellet and HBI project in the municipality of Piatã, Bahia, to reduce and even eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. One of these technologies will, for example, make it possible to replace the use of trucks to transport material between the mine and the processing plant.

To achieve this, the company will use conveyor belts powered by two types of renewable energy: solar and wind.

The company’s Vice President of Institutional Relations, Emerson Souza, states that due to the scale of the project, it will be “the largest mining project in Brazil without the use of trucks.” A total of 16 kilometers of long-distance conveyor belts are planned.

Since the project includes two separate pits, with “several kilometers of distance between them,” he explains that all the material extracted from each one will go to the processing unit and then to the railway line via conveyor belts.

Souza says he is confident about the supply of renewable energy, which is abundant in the region.
“Bahia has a very strong production of both wind and solar energy. We have a measurement study showing that the area where the plant will be located has wind strength comparable to offshore levels—unique for an onshore site,” said the executive.

According to him, since the company began establishing itself in the region eight years ago, wind farms have multiplied nearby.

Another technological solution imported from abroad involves covering the conveyor belts to prevent the dispersion of particles into the atmosphere. In addition to being covered, the material will also receive a fine water mist to make particles heavier. “The combination of this humidification and the covering practically eliminates any dispersion toward nearby communities and crops.”

No tailings dams

The project will use dry processing, eliminating the need for tailings dams. To cover the piles of waste, a special biodegradable polymer will be applied to prevent particle dispersion, said the vice president.

He also announced a fourth technology, imported from Germany, which enables faster recovery of mined areas. “It’s state-of-the-art in land reclamation and tailings pile construction, done by a gigantic machine over 200 meters long.”

The equipment allows simultaneous excavation in one part of the mine and land restoration in an exhausted area. “That way, it’s not necessary to wait for the full 30-year lifespan of a pit before beginning recovery,” he added.

In addition to awaiting environmental licensing, the Bahia project faces a class action lawsuit in the United Kingdom for environmental damage and other issues affecting two quilombola communities. In August, the UK Court of Appeal denied the company’s attempt to overturn a March 14 ruling in which the British judiciary accepted the case for trial.

Source: Brazil Iron elimina uso de caminhões em mina na BA