Company obtains approval for potash project in Amazonas

After almost 10 years of legal battles and environmental obstacles, the company Potássio do Brasil obtained authorization to install the underground mine that will enable the exploration of potash in Autazes, in Amazonas. The announcement, made at a ceremony at the state government headquarters last Monday (8/4), however, was followed by notes of repudiation from indigenous NGOs and must face legal uncertainty in the progress of the process.

The release of the so-called installation license was granted by the Amazonas Environmental Protection Institute (Ipaam). However, this license does not guarantee the company’s exploration of potash. This step only paves the way for the company Potássio do Brasil to implement the underground mine to extract the ore at a depth of around 800 meters.

Subsequently, ten other activities that make up the Potássio Autazes Project will need to be licensed. These activities include the processing plant, the road, the port and other project infrastructures. At each stage, the company will have to face new inspection and licensing processes, which can be questioned and brought to justice.

The region’s potential for potassium exploration was discovered between 2009 and 2010, and could reduce Brazil’s dependence on imports of the mineral, which is essential for Brazilian agriculture.

After that, the company Potássio do Brasil carried out studies that led to the request for a preliminary license in 2014. In July 2015, the license to carry out environmental feasibility studies was granted, with a series of restrictions and conditions.

Four years later, however, the Federal Court requested the first suspension of the prior license. Between comings and goings, the project was only unlocked again in February 2024.

In this context, several obstacles imposed themselves on the progress of the project. The competence over licensing the enterprise was one of the main points questioned, oscillating between the state environmental agency, the Amazonas Environmental Protection Institute (Ipaam) and the federal one, the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Resources (Ibama).

Furthermore, the indigenous issue also weighed on the process, as indigenous people of the Mura ethnic group, who live in the region, started to request the demarcation of an area within the limits of the project.

MPF considers the release of the Potássio do Brasil project to be irregular

After the authorization granted by the government of Amazonas, through the Amazonas Environmental Protection Institute (Ipaam), the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) stated that it considers “the license to be irregular” and that “it will adopt the appropriate measures”. “For the MPF, the license violates constitutional rights, international standards and also the rights of indigenous peoples”, says the note sent to People’s Gazette.

For at least 10 years, the MPF in Amazonas has been following the case involving the possibility of potassium exploration in Autazes. The MPF’s demonstrations throughout the process point to irregularities from violations, false promises, to alleged threats and co-optations against indigenous people by the company Potássio do Brasil. All of these issues gave rise to a public civil action in 2016. The action is still ongoing.

According to information published on the MPF website, before filing an action, the body issued a recommendation to the Amazonas Environmental Protection Institute (Ipaam), to cancel the license already issued, and to the company Potássio do Brasil, to suspend the research activities in the region until consultations are carried out in accordance with the legislation. The MPF claims that none of the requests were met, leading the body to take legal action to try to guarantee respect for the rights of indigenous peoples.

Indigenous Council representative says majority is in favor of potassium exploration

The Mura people, who live in Autazes, are made up of 37 villages. They have an organization and a representative who coordinates the so-called Mura Indigenous Council (CIM), but each village speaks for itself. Therefore, a general meeting was called, in September 2023, to discuss the approval of the Potássio Autazes Project. According to the company, the project was approved by more than 90% of the Mura people. A People’s Gazette spoke with the lawyer for the Mura Indigenous Council (CIM), Ivan Queiroz, who highlighted that of the 37 villages in the region, only six are against the exploration of potash.

Despite allegations from the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) about co-optation and irregularities related to the indigenous issue, the company Potássio do Brasil claims that the Mura people complied with the consultation and consent protocol on the project. According to the company, the protocol complied with the terms of the International Labor Organization Convention (ILO-169), which provides for free, prior, informed and good faith consultation with indigenous populations in the case of projects the size of the Potássio Autazes Project.

Therefore, the obstacle related to the indigenous issue may extend. In August 2023, during a period of suspension of the process, the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai) formed a technical group to carry out studies to identify and delimit the Lago do Soares and Urucurituba Indigenous Land, claimed by indigenous people belonging to the Mura ethnic group. , in Autazes.

In contact made by People’s Gazette, Funai informed that the technical group’s next step will be to prepare a study plan. “The instrument that aims to gather information about the history of the procedure, indicating the actions that will be carried out, as well as methodologies and deadlines”, explained the body in a note. Only after the consolidation of the Study Plan can the demarcation procedure actually begin. Funai, however, did not inform the date and that these steps will be completed.

Indigenous NGOs reject the release of the license

The release of the installation license for the Potássio do Brasil project in Autazes also motivated indigenous NGOs to demonstrate. The Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (Coiab) and the Articulation of Organizations and Indigenous Peoples of Amazonas (Apiam) issued a note of repudiation.

According to the note, “the communities of the Mura people were not consulted, nor was the Study of the Indigenous Component carried out in the environmental licensing process”.

The allegation is contested by the Amazonas environmental agency. According to Ipaam, the Indigenous Component Study, which identifies and analyzes the impacts of the project on indigenous lands and peoples, was filed by the company and is included in the process. However, the analysis and approval of the document is the responsibility of Funai.

The NGOs also signaled that they should seek support to prevent the decision from progressing “through dialogue with the competent authorities, so that measures can be taken regarding this situation”. “We appeal to the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples and the Federal Public Ministry to, in the exercise of their functions, act in defense of the territorial, socio-environmental and cultural rights of the Mura people”, say the NGOs in the repudiation note.

The Mura do Careiro da Várzea Indigenous Leadership Organization also published a letter of repudiation in which it questions the legitimacy of the board of directors of the Mura Indigenous Council and repudiates the release of the Potássio do Brasil project by the government of Amazonas.

“We emphasize that there was no consultation with the Mura indigenous people, and the Environmental Licensing Study contains several errors that go against the environmental laws of our country and go against the rights of indigenous peoples, since it does not have the ECI [Estudo do Componente Indígena], and thus putting the existence of the indigenous Mura people in that region at risk. We do not have a serious study of the real environmental impacts that may occur, since Ipaam is positioning itself as a political body and not as a licensing body”, states the organization.