Minaçu

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Minaçu
State	Goiás
Area:	2,860.7 km²
Population:	34,435 (IBGE 2005)
Elevation:	351m above sea level
Postcode (CEP):	76450-000
Became a city:	1976
Distance to Goiânia:	513 km.
IBGE statistical microregion:	Porangatu Microregion
Website:	n/a

Minaçu is a small city and municipality in the north of the state of Goiás, Brazil. There is a large asbestos mine in the municipality.

1 Location and climate
2 Political information
3 Demographic information
4 Economy
5 Asbestos mine
6 Health and education
7 Ranking on the MHDI
8 External links
9 Sources of Data

[edit] Location and climate

It is located north of the newly created artificial lake, Serra da Mesa, created after a dam was constructed on the Tocantins River. This important river, a tributary of the Amazon, lies to the east. The distance to the state capital, Goiânia, is 513 km. A paved road links Minaçu with the important Belém-Brasília highway (BR 153) and the cities of the more populated southern region of the state.

The climate is tropical humid with two well defined seasons (rainy and dry. The average annual temperature is 26.6 °C.

[edit] Political information

In January the mayor was Joaquim da Silva Pires and the vice-mayor was Antônio Rivaldo Gonçalves de Oliveira. The city council had 9 members and there were 25,953 eligible voters in 2004.

[edit] Demographic information

The population density was 11.89 inhabitants/km² in 2003. The population has increased gradually since 1980 when it was 28,371. The rural population has diminished from 9,762 in 1980 to 4,982 in 2003. From 1991 to 2000 the population increased 0.45.%. In recent years the population has been decreasing with the gradual phasing out of the mines and the completion of the hydroelectric power plant.

[edit] Economy

The economy is based on small industry, mining, and the hydroelectric plant of Cana Brava. This supplies the south of Goiás with energy and contributes needed taxes to the municipality. Agriculture is limited due to the irrigular terrain marked by the Serra Dourada mountains.

[edit] Asbestos mine

Minaçu is the seat of one of the world's largest chrysotile asbestos mines. The Cana Brava mine, located on the left bank of the Tocantins River, occupies a total area of 45 kmª. Asbestos has made Minaçu one of the richest municipalities in the state of Goiás. The industrial zone has capacity to produce ten percent of all the chrysotile asbestos fiber sold in the world. It is the largest mine in Brazil and the third in the world, after mines in Russia and Canada.

In 2005 there were 37 industrial units and 236 retail units. There were 3 bank branches: Banco do Brasil S.A., Banco Itaú S.A., and BRADESCO S.A. The main sectors employing the population were: industry--432 workers--and commerce--332 workers. There were 2,375 automobiles, 214 trucks, 172 pickups, and 2,405 motorcycles in 2004.

In 2005 there were 106,000 head of cattle, of which 9,900 were dairy cows. The main agricultural products in planted area were rice (18 km²), and corn (13 km²). There was modest production of banana, sugarcane, and manioc.

[edit] Health and education

In 2003 there were 2 hospitals in the city with 53 beds. There were also 12 walk-in health clinics. There were 45 doctors, 6 nurses and 8 dentists. The infant mortality rate was 20.88 for every 1,000 live births in 2000.

In 2005 the school system had 27 schools, 266 classrooms, 577 teachers, and 11,437 students. Higher education was represented by a campus of the State University of Goiás--Unidade Universitária da UEG. The adult literacy rate was 86.9% in 2000.