The government of Piaui state in Brazil said it supports Brazil mining company SRN to explore iron ore in the cities of Sao Raimundo Nonato, Fartura do Piaui and Dirceu Arcoverde.
According to a government news agency, SRN expects to utilize dry iron ore processing in order to extract ore in one of Brazil’s driest regions. SRN said its mining rights have about 800 million mt of “potential mineral resources, having a 23 percent average Fe content.”
The project is expected to take advantage of the Transnordestina railway, which is owned by Brazil steelmaker Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN).
“We’re working to make projects such as SRN’s a priority in our management term,” said the state’s governor, Wellington Dias, adding the project should add value for the state of Piaui.
Another company, Australian mining company Riverbank Resources, also plans to invest in the Brazilian state of Piaui in order to explore iron ore. Earlier this year, the company’s owner, Terry Streeter, met with the state’s interim governor at the time, Margarete Coelho, to sign a protocol of intentions to invest in the state and explore iron ore, titanium and vanadium.
Riverbank Resources already operates in Brazil, with mining projects in the cities of Jacobina and Miguel Calmon, in the state of Bahia. Coelho said the Australian company expects to be fully operational in the Piaui state by 2018.