The impact of the mining industry on Brazil's economic and technological development

The mining sector currently represents 5% of the Brazilian GDP. This means that, despite the negative economic scenario that the world faces with the pandemic, the Brazilian mining industry grew in 2020

Mining has been present in Brazilian lands since the time of colonization. To be more precise, the search for valuable metals and precious stones began in the XNUMXth century, marking the first socioeconomic activities of the mining sector in the country. With mineral exploration, Brazil underwent significant economic transformations, a new economic center grew, mainly in the Southeast.

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Currently, mineral extraction companies contribute a lot to the generation of direct and indirect jobs, in addition to having a significant participation in the collection of taxes. According to data from the Ministry of Labor and Employment, the mineral extraction sector started the second half of 2019 with 173.642 workers and ended with 175.942, generating 2.300 new jobs. In 2020, in the city of Parauapebas, in Pará alone, almost 7.600 new hires were registered and this number has been increasing in all regions where there are extraction companies.

According to IBRAM – Brazilian Institute of Mining –, the mining sector currently represents 5% of the Brazilian GDP. In the sector's balance sheet for 2020, recently released by the institute, R$ 66,2 billion in taxes, charges and fees were collected for the public sector, in addition to R$ 6,08 billion from the Financial Compensation for the Exploration of Mineral Resources (CFEM), which resulted in total taxes paid in the order of R$ 72,2 billion. In addition, the sector earned BRL 208,9 billion (excluding oil and gas) in 2020, 36,2% more than in 2019.

Development of Brazil X Development of the Mining Industry

With the advancement of mining in Brazil, technology also developed and important inventions such as the steam engine, condensation chamber, locomotive, safety lamp and even dynamite were created to assist in the work carried out in the mining industries, optimizing extractive and logistical processes. And even today these technological evolutions occur around mining companies.

In fact, the development of the mining industry brought and still brings countless benefits to the development of Brazil: job creation, influence on the national GDP, economic balance, new industrial technologies, among other advantages. However, all these benefits and growth come at a cost, which in most cases is paid by the environment.

Daniel Petta is the Mining and Steel Account Manager at Fluke do Brasil, a world leader in test and measurement tools, present in several industry segments.

Mining, despite being essential for the socioeconomic development of the country, has great potential for negative environmental impacts when carried out incorrectly, either due to lack of planning or lack of inspection.. Since colonial times, there have been histories of landscape degradation, deforestation, pollution and contamination of water resources, environmental pollution, soil contamination and compaction, reduction of biodiversity, among other factors that directly affect the environment.

However, Brazil currently has several bodies responsible for overseeing mining activity, as well as compliance with legislation on the exploitation of mineral resources, such as the Ministry of the Environment (MMA), the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), the Geological Survey of Brazil, and the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA).

The future of the Mining market for Fluke 

The mining market is one of the main foci for the Brazilian economy. Due to the fact that they are promising consumers, mining companies are considered one of the sectors with the greatest mix of products sold to the market. The different areas within a mining plant and the exchange of experience with each one of them makes it possible to identify new application opportunities for products and contributes to the development of new tools for the segment, thus moving the Brazilian industrial market.

Despite the negative economic scenario that the world is facing with the pandemic, the Brazilian mining industry grew in 2020 and the expectation this year is that Brazilian companies will continue to invest in extractive growth and imports, since the government itself is making an effort to grant new exploration permits. In this way, the tendency is for the mining industry to have a more positive impact on the Brazilian market each year, contributing to the country's technological and socioeconomic development.

Source: EPR Communication