Niquelândia

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Niquelândia
State	Goiás
Area:	9,843.0 km²
Population:	37,208 (IBGE 2005)
Elevation:	583m above sea level
Postcode (CEP):	76420-000
IBGE statistical microregion:	004 Porangatu Microregion
Became a city:	1833
Distance to Goiânia:	370 km.
Website:	O Portal de Niquelandia

Niquelândia is a small city and municipality in northern Goiás state, Brazil. It is the largest municipality in the state and is an important producer of minerals.

1 Geography
2 Political information
3 Demographic information
4 Economy
5 Health and education
6 History
7 Tourism
8 Ranking on the MHDI
9 External links
10 Sources of data
11 See also

[edit] Geography

Niquelândia is 300 km from the state capital, Goiânia, and has an elevation of 650 meters above sea level. The average annual temperature is 32 °C, and the climate is tropical humid.

The municipality is crossed by highways BR-153 and GO-080, GO-237 e GO-327, besides the various municipal roads that total 12 thousand kilometers.

Distance from Goiânia: 370 kilometers

Highway connections with Goiânia are made by GO-080 / Nerópolis / São Francisco de Goiás / BR-153 / Jaraguá / GO-080 / Goianésia / Barro Alto / GO-342 / BR-080 / BR-153 / Uruaçu / GO-237. For the complete list see Seplan

Municipal boundaries are with Água Fria de Goiás, Alto Paraíso de Goiás, Barro Alto, Campinaçu, Colinas do Sul, Mimoso de Goiás, Santa Rita do Novo Destino, São João D’Aliança, Uruaçu and Vila Propício.

The size of the municipal area ranks it below Lebanon and above Cyprus.

[edit] Political information

In January 2006 the Mayor was Ronan Rosa Batista. The city council had 9 members and there were 28,689 eligible voters in 2004.

[edit] Demographic information

In 2003 the population density was 3.85 inhab/km². In 2003 the urban population was 25,892 and the rural population was 12,010. The population has grown by approximately 4,000 inhabitants since 1980. Between 1991 and 2000 the geometric rate of increase was -0.61.%. There was a drop of -2.41.% between 1991 and 1996 but then the population recovered. The population growth rate is highly influenced by the mining industry.

[edit] Economy

As the name of the city implies Niquelândia is the national capital of nickel. It has one of the largest nickel reserves in the world, which are exploited by two mining companies: Companhia Níquel Tocantins — CNT, belonging to the Votorantim group -, and Codemin - to Anglo American.

Gross Domestic Product

319.3 million Reais (approx. 160 million dollars) in 2002

Although mining is practically all done for nickel, there are also more than 120 types of mineral, such as gold, crystal, platinum, copper, mica, iron, manganese, diamonds, quartz, marble, cobalt, asbestos and even uranium.

The nickel mines bring needed jobs but also cause serious problem to the health of the inhabitants. The ovens to heat the raw material operate at one thousand degrees Celsius and highly toxic ammonia is used in the process. This mixture damages the skin, kidneys, the digestive and the respiratory tract.

Mining is not the only economic activity in the region with cattle raising, agriculture, small transformation industries, commerce, and public administration employing large segments of the population.

Sectors of employment (IBGE 2003)

agriculture and cattle raising: 30 units employing 340 workers
extractive industries (mining): 8 units employing 708 workers
transformtion industries: 47 units employing 727 workers
construction: 40 units employing 122 workers
commerce: 478 units employing 1,040 workers
hotels and restaurants: 49 units employing 105 workers
transport and storage; 100 units employing 514 workers
real estate, rents, and services rendered to other enterprises: 68 units employing 235 workers
education: 17 units employing 119 workers
health: 33 units employing 92 workers

Financial institutions

03 in 2004

Economic activity in cattle raising and agriculture (2003):

cattle: 220,000 head
rice: 27 km²
corn: 76.27 km²
soybeans: 100 km²
beans: 15 km²
manioc: 2 km²

Data are from IBGE

Motor vehicles

automobiles and pickup trucks: 2,880 (2004)
trucks: 348
motorcycles: 829

[edit] Health and education

In 2002 there were 19 total health establishments (10 public). There were 5 hospitals (01 public), with a total of 172 beds. There were 45 doctors, 11 nurses, and 9 dentists. The infant mortality rate was 26,40 in 2000.

In 2004 the school system had 23 pre-primary schools (17 public) with an enrollment of 1,485; 36 (31 public) primary schools with and enrollment of 8,832; 5 secondary schools (3 public) with an enrollment of 2,553. There was a campus of the State University of Goiás. The adult literacy rate was 84.4% in 2000.

[edit] History

Niquelândia is one of the oldest towns in the state of Goiás. It was settled shortly after the arrival of the Portuguese bandeirantes, with the news of the discovery of gold. Niquelândia é um dos município mais antigos do estado de Goiás. The town was founded in 1735 as São José do Tocantins. In 1938, the German miner Freimund Brockers was panhandling in the region for gold and discovered the second largest nickel deposit in the world. This discovery attracted miners from all over Brazil and the little town grew rapidly. In 1943 the city changed its name to Niquelândia.

[edit] Tourism

The most important touristic site near the town is the artificial lake of Serra da Mesa. It was created with the construction of the hydroelectric dam of Serra da Mesa, in Minaçu, at the end of the nineties. It is formed by the joining of the Maranhão, Tocantinzinho and Bagagem rivers.

Serra da Mesa has one of the largest concentrations of fresh water in the country, with a surface of 1,784 km². With 57% of its area in the municipality of Niquelândia, it has reached a width of 22 km. in the rainy season.