Editor’s Note: The following article is from CRE Brazil.
It is not just large deposits of oil discovered at the bottom of the ocean that are gaining the interest of large companies in Brazil. In the search for potassium, phosphate, limestone, iron and many other minerals, the number of requests to explore the areas have increased. From the beginning of 2009 through September 2010, the National Department of Mineral Research (DNPM) received 637 requests, compared to 56 in the two previous years for searches.
The research occurs throughout the 4.5 million square kilometers of the Brazilian continental shelf, areas called Amazônia Azul (Blue Amazon), depending on the richness of its biodiversity. The main uses for these minerals are for manufacturing fertilizers and for construction.