El Mutún
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El Cerro Mutún (Spanish for "the Mountain Mutún") is the world's largest iron ore deposit[1]. Located in the Germán Busch Province in the Santa Cruz Department of Bolivia, near Puerto Suárez, it extends across the border into Brazil, where it is called the Serrania de Jacadigo. Also known as the "Serrania Mutún", it has an area of about 75 square kilometers. Its estimated reserves are about 40.205 billion (40.205 × 109) tons of iron, mainly in hematite and magnetite form, and in lesser quantities in siderite and manganese minerals. This can be compared with an estimate of the total world reserves of iron ore: 800 billion tons of crude ore containing more than 230 billion tons of iron[2].
Although it is not yet significantly worked because of its remoteness from industrial centers, EBX Brazilian company had a project to create a foundry there. However, the project was blocked by president Evo Morales because of environmental concerns; instead of using natural gas available from a pipeline 20 km away, vegetable carbon was to be used for the foundry, demanding 45 hectares a day of Amazonian wood [3]. Despite this, EBX started working anyway before obtaining its licence, under the name of MXX. The Bolivian Ministry of Defence declared that "various irregularities and constitutional violations" had been observed.
On April 19, 2006, the Bolivian army freed three government ministers who had been taken hostage by villagers demanding the immediate opening of all EBX's installations [4].
[edit] References
- ^ Serrania Mutun, Chiquitos Province, Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia. mindat.org. Retrieved on October 20, 2006.
- ^ IRON ORE. U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Resources Program. Retrieved on October 20, 2006.
- ^ (Spanish) Bolivia: El bocado de "El Mutún" - Bolpress
- ^ (French) "Libération de trois ministres boliviens pris en otage par des villageois", Le Monde, April 19, 2006. Retrieved on April 19, 2006.
