O. P. Siqueira
Mineração Rio do Norte Tells Its Story From the Beginning
Mineração Rio do Norte
Tells Its Story From the Beginning
O. P. Siqueira
Mineração Rio do Norte Tells Its Story From the Beginning
O. P. Siqueira
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Text Preparation
Memória & Identidade Translated by
Lídia Pergher Costa Graph Project
Studio Ronaldo Barbosa Edison Arcanjo Andrius Machado Jarbas Barros Gomes Photolyte
Hans Matrizes Gráficas Printed by Laborprint Editora, Gráfica e Fotolito
Sponsored by
Porto Trombetas - Pará, 2002
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Mineração Rio do Norte Tells Its Story From the Beginning
O. P. Siqueira
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A Pioneer Undertaking Aluminium and bauxite
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Discovery of the Amazon bauxite
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A project in the middle of the jungle
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The undertaking commences
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The Project Implementation of the Trombetas Project
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Building up a company
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Building up a town
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The Project Development
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MRN’s growth
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New environmental paradigms
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MRN: Entrepreneurial Citizenship
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Appendixes
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Empire Drill portable driller used in the prospecting for bauxite on the Amazon region. 60’s. MRN’s collection.
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A Pioneer Undertaking
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12 | MRN Tells its story from the beginning
ALUMINIUM AND BAUXITE
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A Pioneer Undertaking | 13
The aluminium is the third more abundant chemical element available on the earth crust, coming after the oxygen and silica. In pure state, this metal is neither quite hard nor resistant, however, when combined with other metals, its hardness grows without adversely affecting its main advantages: low weight, malleability and stress and corrosion-resistance. This is why it is the second element more widely used by man in industrial scale, coming after the steel. It is the raw material for various modern industry products, from the prosaic domestic utensils, angle plates and various types of package foils to the civil construction frameworks, airplanes, ships and automobiles. Additionally, the aluminium alloys are also largely used in the chemical and other industries. The aluminium hydroxide, for instance, is used as anti-acid in digestive ailments, as used is the aluminium sulphate in the fresh water treatment. Aluminium compounds, mainly the sodium tri-calcium aluminate, are also very important for type-Portland cement production. Special alloys obtained from the aluminium are also used for manufacturing aluminium cables, dyes and many other products.
BAUXITE
Bauxite, that is the aluminium ore, is available in economical
and commercial scale in few countries. The designation “Bauxite” has its origin in “Les Baux”, a French Bouches-du-Rhône hamlet, where this ore was first identified in 1821. Among other worldwide bauxite deposit holding-countries, approximately three billion tons are on the Amazon region, in Brazil that, together with Jamaica, currently ranks the third largest worldwide bauxite deposit. They are preceded by Guinea, with eight billion tons, and Australia, five billion. On the other hand, Australia is the first world bauxite producer, accounting for 35.9% of the total production, followed by Guinea (13.2%), Brazil and Jamaica (10.1% each). 30% of the Brazilian bauxite deposits are located in the State of Pará, where MRN’s bauxite project was constructed, which accounts for over 80% of the domestic production.
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ALUMINA AND ALUMINIUM FABRICATION PROCESS The commercial-grade aluminium fabrication process necessarily goes through the alumina production stage pure aluminium oxide (Al203) - known as Bayer Process. Bauxite is the main ore used and it may contain gibbsite (Al203.3H20) or bohemite (Al203.H20). The bauxite components include sundry ores, iron oxide and hydroxide, quartzite, titanium oxide and other oxides that currently are not processed. In the Bayer Process, the bauxite is blended to the caustic soda in alumina precipitators heated to approximately 150ºC in the case of gibbsite – that is the Trombetas bauxite case. Should it be bohemite, a higher temperature would be required. The gibbsite mixed to the caustic soda reacts to form a sodium aluminate solution. The insoluble residues that are separated from the alumina by decantation and filtering, forms the red mud. The addition of fine alumina residues to the newly produced sodium aluminate makes the aluminium hydrate separation. The caustic soda is recycled and in large volume returns to the process. The aluminium is obtained by smelting calcined alumina in serial continuous current electric furnaces. The crude aluminium is used as ingots (gross aluminium), alloys and chemical components, besides and mainly as structural metal for multiple uses.
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marked presence not only in the Trombetas river region, but also in the whole north region. Alike the porpoise legends, other cultural features of the region have attracted the interest of many studious persons, mainly concerning the local population. Between the XVI th and XVII th centuries, various populations inhabited the lakes and river banks. The Trombetas River was then called Kahu and the Kaxuyana people – that means “Kahu people”, of the Karib language root - predominated there. There are indications from archeological investigations that between 205 A.C. to the post- Colombian period, the Konduri indigenous people lived on the region between the Low Trombetas and Faro Lake. They were ceramists and agriculture was not an alien activity to them; their hamlets were set on highlands or riverside meadows. Besides the ancient indigenous populations, the Quilombos remnant population is also a marked presence on the Trombetas River banks. Along the XVIII and XIX Centuries, negro slaves ran away from their “owners” who were farmers of the northwest and various other Amazon regions and penetrated deep into the woods, sailing upriver walking along the Trombetas river banks where they settled their communities and cultivated the collective land use habit. Such communities were known as Quilombos. It is calculated that the Oriximiná quilombola population alone amounts to some five to six thousand inhabitants scattered on approximately 20 communities along the Trombetas, Erepecuru and Cuminá rivers. Their ancestors lived in the Curuá, Campixo, Turuna and Puama quilombos, that were the sites chosen by the slaves because they were upstream the Trombetas River rapids, and the access by their pursuers that intended to bring them back to the farms in Óbidos and Santarém was more difficult. Up to this day, the Trombetas’ negros live from the rivers and extractives, like the indigenous population. They may sail many hours by boat to collect Pará nuts, fish in the lakes and hunt. They also cultivate small manioc plantations to produce flour.
AMAZON “QUILOMBOS”
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In various West Africa languages, the word “qui-
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lombo” means forest camp or settlement. A total of 724 “quilombos” were recently identified in Brazil, some of them formed in the XVII century. The largest “quilombos” concentration - 259 - is located in the State of Bahia. The highest percentage of negro population concentrates in Bahia, followed by Amazon, Pará and Maranhão. There is no accurate information on how many negro slaves reached the Amazon region - around 53 thousand is the estimated number. They arrived in Belém and thence scattered all over the region where they worked as male/maid servants or were alternatively hired to construct fortresses, raise cattle or to work in mining, agriculture, transportation, ship construction and other activities. Many slaves ran away from their owners’ plantation quarters – a reaction against the life conditions they imposed to them – and got themselves organized into “quilombos” in the vicinities of Amazon towns or in the hinterland. They settled in the State of Maranhão (Maracassumé and Turiaçu Rivers), on the boundaries of the State of Maranhão and Pará (Gurupi River), in Amapá (Oiapoque and Calçoene Rivers) and in the State of Pará (Curuá, Trombetas, Paru do Oeste or Cuminá and Tocantins Rivers). Besides the ancient indigenous populations, the Quilombos remnant Trombetas and was the first negro community to have its rights to the land where they settled down recognized as provided for under the 1988 Constitution: in 1995 they got their ownership writ over 790 hectares of land.
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Temporary camp on the bottom of Parintins Mountain, installed with pre-fabricated aluminium houses, 1964. Author collection.
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Pioneer Camp, still under construction, 1970. Author collection.
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Mr. Miller, general construction manager during the period the project was under Alcan’s coordination, on board of the “Perola do Nhamundá”, in the Trombetas River, 1970. Author collection.
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A take from the construction contract signing solemnity, Hélio Bento de Oliveira Mello (to the right), on behalf of MRN, and Construtora Andrade Gutierrez representative; Ernesto Geisel, Brazil’s President, and remaining authorities who participated in this solemnity that took place on 12.01.1976, in Belém, at the State of Pará Government Palace. Author collection.
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Bauxite mining activities on the Saracรก plateau, 1987. Author collection.
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Railcars loader constructed at the bottom of the Saracรก Mountain.
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Construction of the Trombetas River Water Intake Installations. 1977. MRN’s collection. (to the left above) Sewage Treatment Installations. 90’s. MRN’s collection. (above, to the right) Wooden Crossties are laid on the laterite-ballasted railway. 70’s. MRN’s collection.
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The Project Development | 131
TYPICAL GEOLOGICAL CROSS-SECTION
1 – Organic Soil – 0.5 m
2 – Yellowish Clay – 10.0 m
3 - Nodular Bauxite – 2.5 m
4 – Ferruginous Laterite – 1.0 m
5 – Massive Bauxite – 4.0 m
6 – Clay and Sand
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Mineração Esporte Clube Installations. On the background, the former “boite”, known as “Palhoça”, already demolished. 90’s. MRN’s collection.
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Prof. Jonathas Pontes Athias School, during construction in 1979 and twenty-years later. MRN’s collection. Students in the Library. 90’s - MRN’s collection.
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Shiploader construction - underwater piling stage and shiploader erection. 70’s. Author’s collection. (to the right, the Shiploader already in operation)
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Washing Plant Erection at the Port area. On the detail the installed rotary drums. 70’s. MRN’s collection. Drying Plant on the Port area during the erection stage. On the second photo to the left, detail of the 2 rotary drums and respective chimneys. Car Dumper under erection at the Port area. 1978. Author’s collection. General view of the laterite-ballasted road/railroad. Photo taken by Paulo Arumaá. 70’s. MRN’s collection.
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Pages 168 and 169 - above, the New Washing Plant on the Saracá Plateau. 90’s. MRN’s collection. Page 168 - below, from left to right, Quality Control Laboratory. 90’s. MRN’s collection. Technological Information Center Building, in Porto Trombetas. 90’s - MRN’s collection. Page 169 - below first bauxite shipment to Alunorte in May 1995; port of destination Barcarena (PA) - from left to right, Paulo Sérgio Tovar (MRN), Ronaldo Aroeira (MRN), José Abílio Chartomi (Alunorte), Galib Chaim (Alunorte), Ricardo E. Saad (MRN), Andrew N. Carruthers (Alcan Canada), José Carlos Soares (MRN) and Eugênio da Conceição (Docenave). MRN’s collection.
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Saracรก Plateau area mined in 1980 and reforested in 1981. The same area four years after reforestation: view of the flora rehabilitation. Aerocolor and Paulo Arumaรก photos. Author collection
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Operating flow sheet after modernization of the washing plant.
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Appendixes
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