The uranium and phosphate plant in Santa Quitéria, in the interior of Ceará, is one step closer to becoming a reality after the acceptance granted by Ibama. The unit will receive investments of R$ 2,3 billion

The project for the uranium and phosphate plant in Santa Quitéria, in the interior of Ceará, is taking another step after Ibama granted acceptance for the undertaking this Friday (18). Acceptance ensures that the process progresses until the next licenses are obtained. An acceptance is an exchange act by which the drawee agrees to accept the order incorporated by the credit instrument.

After acceptance by Ibama, the project will undergo public hearings  

According to Raphael Turri, health, safety and environment manager at Galvani, a company that makes up the Santa Quitéria consortium with INB, Ibama's acceptance of the undertaking is formal and will be used to initiate the analysis of the environmental impact study of the uranium plant and phosphate.

Now, the entity will verify that the report and the environmental impact study are meeting all the requirements that were demanded in the term of reference. The acceptance of the enterprise in Ceará does not mean approval of the license for the project, but it represents an important step for the prior environmental license to be analyzed.  

After acceptance, there will be a period of about 2 months for public hearings to be held in relation to the uranium and phosphate plant project, so that society can collect suggestions, criticisms and questions. The expectation is that these hearings will be held in May. According to the manager, the company expects to start work on the enterprise in Ceará at the end of this year or at the beginning of the next.  

The project will have an investment of R$2,3 billion  

The projection is that the construction works of the enterprise in Ceará will last about two years, if they follow the schedule without any unforeseen events, and its operations should start at the end of 2024 or beginning of 2025.

The project estimates receiving R$ 2,3 billion in investments, generating jobs for more than 5 people. According to Alessandra Barreto, INB's licensing and projects coordinator, Ibama's environmental licensing process has three stages: the first, where the prior license is obtained, the second, which is the installation license, and the third, which comes after construction, where there is a process for the license to operate. These steps must be in line with the nuclear licensing, as the enterprise in Ceará is a uranium and phosphate plant.  

Plant will produce one million tons per year of phosphate fertilizers

It is estimated that one million tons of phosphate fertilizers will be produced per year, which can guarantee around 25% of what is consumed in the North and Northeast. 200 tons of dicalcium asphalt per year will also be produced, in addition to 2,3 tons of uranium concentrates, ensuring the country's self-sufficiency.  

The uranium and phosphate plant is very important in the Federal Government plans to alleviate Brazil's dependence on fertilizer imports, as impasses in obtaining products of this type have impacted agribusiness in a crisis that has been plaguing the country since even before the war between Russia and Ukraine. The unit will need 855 m³ of water per hour, a volume that will come out of a pipeline that will still be installed in the region, by the state government. The pipeline is still in the process of obtaining the licensing and the works should last up to a year and a half.

Materials produced at the unit will be transported along two routes. The uranium will be taken to the port of Pecem, where it will be exported for enrichment and will return to the country to be used in the plants of Angra, in Rio de Janeiro. The other route will be the port of Mucuripe, where phosphates will be taken for the production of fertilizers.  

This content was written based on the information originally released by Victor Ximenes from Portal Diário do Nordeste.