Brazil Mato Grosso state government has registered a major mineral deposit discovery with an estimated 11.5 billion tonnes of iron ore of a 41% Fe grade. According to the report, if confirmed it would be bigger than the country’s massive Carajas iron ore mine in Para state which the national mining department estimates at 2 billion to 3 billion tonnes of ore. Vale which controls Carajas says it holds 7 billion tonnes of ore. Although Carajas is smaller than the Mato Grosso deposit it has relatively high ore grades of 67% iron content. The Mato Grosso state government named the concession holder of the deposit as GME4 of Global Mine Exploration. The logistics of developing the mine will be challenging. The center-west state of Mato Grosso is deep in the interior of Brazil and far from any ports. A railway or a river barge system would need to be developed to get any eventual production to the international market.
