Carajás Mine
The Carajás Mine is the largest iron ore mine in the world. It is located in the municipality of Parauapebas, state of Pará in the Carajás Mountains of Northern Brazil. The mine is operated as an open-pit mine, and is estimated to contain roughly 7.2 billion metric tonnes of iron ore, plus gold, manganese, bauxite, copper, and nickel. [1] The mine is run by Vale (formerly the Companhia Vale do Rio Doce) and was previously part-owned with US Steel until 1977.[1]
 Carajás mine open pit. | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
  Carajás mine Location in Brazil | |
| State | Pará |
| Country | Brazil |
| Coordinates | 06°03′31″S 50°10′37″W |
| Production | |
| Products | Iron ore |
| Production | 1 million metric tons of iron ore |
| Financial year | 2007 |
| History | |
| Opened | 1969 |
| Closed | NA |
| Owner | |
| Company | Vale S.A. |
| Year of acquisition | 1995 |
The mine is located in the mining concession area of the Carajás National Forest, which "contains known reserves of the order of 18 billion tons with an average grade of 65.4% Fe."[1]
The mine is largely powered by hydroelectric power from the Tucuruí Dam.[2]
There is lots of rain here because it is the rainforest.
References
- "Carajas Iron Ore Mine - Mining Technology". Retrieved 2012-04-09.
- "Mining Giant Joins Belo Monte Dam - International Rivers". Retrieved 2012-04-09.