Brazil Minerals, Inc. Announces Its First Iron Project and Technology Partnership Development

PASADENA, Calif., May 31, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — via OTC PR WIRE — Brazil Minerals, Inc. (BMIX) (the “Company” or “Brazil Minerals”) announced today that it has obtained the rights to an iron project area with 4,120 acres in the “Quadrilátero Ferrífero” (Iron Quadrangle), one of the premier iron regions in the world with multiple operating mines. Iron ore is in high demand with strong sales of Brazilian iron ore for export (mainly to China) or for use by local steelmakers. Recently, the price of iron delivered at a foreign port spiked to US$109 per ton, the highest since 2013.
By GlobeNewswire via Yahoo Finance
The Brazilian state of Minas Gerais – the site of two recent disastrous tailings dams disasters – has inked a Memorandum of Understanding with technology firm Inmarsat providing to provide smart monitoring for the dams.
Inmarsat and the Brazilian state will explore several options to “achieve improved awareness and transparency of the tailings dams in the region,” which may lead to Inmarsat providing Internet of Things technology to the local government for dam monitoring.
By Jax Jacobsen via Forbes
Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo said on Wednesday (29), in an audience in the House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, that the government’s objective is to increase Brazilian agricultural participation in world trade from 7% to 10% in two years, informs the “Chamber Agency”.
In the assessment of the chancellor, the trade war between China and the United States can bring opportunities for Brazilian agribusiness. In his presentation, the minister pointed out that there is an effort by Itamaraty to counter what he called “misinformation” published by the international press about the environmental sustainability of Brazilian agribusiness.
By DATAGRO
Brazil-based exchange broker Frente Corretora de Câmbio (The Front Exchange) has launched its fintech collaboration with San Francisco-based startup Ripple. The new blockchain platform, Simple, is designed to allow people in Brazil to send money abroad without the high fees and the slow transaction times that are common among traditional payment rails.
The team behind Simple aims to deliver a robust cross-border remittance solution for everyday Brazilians, such as families with students abroad who are studying and need to receive money to cover basic living expenses.
By The Daily Hodl
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – The builders of a new power transmission line to the northern Brazilian state of Roraima have pledged to deploy 200 inspectors to reduce the environmental impact on an indigenous reservation where they will erect 250 pylons, according to an environmental assessment document seen by Reuters.
It said they also had committed to keeping secret any geological information on the discovery of mineral resources to avoid drawing illegal mining interests that have long set their sights on the land of the Waimiri Atroari tribe.
By Luciano Costa via Reuters
Luiz Cláudio de França, director of the Department of Innovation Support for Agriculture of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MPLS), met last Friday (24), during the 8th Green Rio Conference in Rio de Janeiro, with representatives of the State Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Supply (Seappa-RJ), the Agricultural Research Company of Rio de Janeiro (Pesagro-Rio), and Embrapa Solos, to discuss the implantation of an agricultural innovation pole in Rio de Janeiro.
The idea is to join public agencies related to agriculture, science and technology, universities and private initiative in search of regional agribusiness development and also the dissemination of knowledge to benefit agriculture in other regions of the country.
By DATAGRO
Planet Smart City has announced its second smart city in the world, Smart City Natal.
Located 20km from São Gonçalo do Amarante municipality in the Northeast region of Brazil, the 170-hectare development will eventually home more than 15,000 people.
By Smart Cities World
OSLO (Reuters) – Oslo-listed BW Offshore said it will float BW Energy this year to help expand the oil and gas business, particularly in Brazil, as its first quarter earnings rose 72%.
Shares in BW Offshore, originally an owner of floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels operated on behalf of oil companies, were 17.6% higher at 60.6 Norwegian crowns by 0901 GMT on Thursday.
By Terje Solsvik and Victoria Klesty via Reuters
By Gabrielle Coppola, Vinicius Andrade and Leonardo Lara via Automotive News Europe
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s lower house of Congress voted on Tuesday to allow foreign-controlled airlines to operate domestic flights in Latin America’s largest economy, opening the door to more competition in an increasingly concentrated market.
The chamber approved the original text of a decree issued by former President Michel Temer in December that removed the 20% limit on foreign ownership of Brazilian airlines.
By Maria Carolina Marcello and Anthony Boadle
In the southeast region of the country of Brazil lies Guanabara Bay, off the coast of the major metropolis of Rio de Janeiro. It is the second largest bay in Brazil, but other than that there is nothing particularly special about it other than perhaps the large amount of pollution here. However, lying approximately 15 miles offshore, buried down in 100 feet of water across an area around the size of three tennis courts is a rather strange oddity. Here scattered along the bottom are various relics from ancient Rome, far from where they have any business being, and which have remained a baffling historical anomaly and conundrum that remains unsolved.
By Brent Swancer via Mysterious Universe
As South America’s largest country, Brazil has the potential to be an economic powerhouse. But over time, political turmoil, largely as a result of corruption, has marred the economic landscape.
Still, despite the political upheaval in recent years, the country’s startup scene has seen some serious acceleration, reflecting a general trend we’re seeing in Latin America as a whole.
By Mary Ann Azevedo via CrunchBase News
If it’s going to conquer the world one foreign market at a time, Uber has considerable work to do in Latin America. Populous cities with iffy public transit portend big business, but the competition there is fierce and well-funded, with local taxi operators plus Chinese giant DiDi and its subsidiary 99, and the Daimler-backed scrappy Greek upstart Beat. Now the newly public company could get a boost in its driver rosters in Brazil, thanks to a partnership between backseat mini-convenience store Cargo and the local ampm operator Ipiranga.
By Julia Walmsley via Forbes
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Spanish tourism and transportation company Grupo Globalia will launch a new air carrier in Brazil, Brazilian Infrastructure Minister Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas said in a message posted on Twitter on Saturday.
Globalia owns the Air Europa carrier and companies in the tourism sector, including hotel operators and travel services such as Travelplan and Groundforce.
By Marcelo Teixeira and Roberto Samora via Reuters
Minister Tereza Cristina (Agriculture, Livestock and Supply) launches this week the program Bioeconomia Brasil – Sociobiodiversidade. The objective of the program is to promote the structuring of productive systems based on the sustainable use of products of biodiversity and extractivism.
The launch will take place during the first day of programming at Green Rio 2019, a business fair for organic and sustainable entrepreneurs. The eighth edition of the event will be held from next Thursday (23) until Saturday (25) at Marina da Glória, Rio de Janeiro.
Via DATAGRO
Brazil’s move towards cryptocurrency regulation took a step closer this month as the government in Brasilia agreed and published ‘instruction 1888’.
The instruction passes new rules that come into force on August 1, meaning that individuals, legal entities and brokerage firms that carry out operations with crypto will have to inform the treasury of every detail of their transactions.
By Gabriel Quintanilha via Yahoo Finance
Brazilians have embraced mobile banking as their preferred means to handle their banking affairs as the channel accounted for nearly half of all transactions carried out last year, according to a new report.
The latest research on banking technology trends carried out by Deloitte on behalf of the Brazilian Banking Federation (FEBRABAN) also shows that the number of transactions overall, so any interaction involving a financial element or not, has seen an increase of 24 percent in 2018 in relation to the prior year.
By Angelica Mari via ZD Net
The state of Paraná will have the first energy plant in Brazil generated from “waste” – that is, a combination of organic waste and sewage sludge. The plant will use biodigestion technology: from this input, it will produce biogas which, in its turn, will be converted into electric power.
The project aims to reuse 1,000 cubic meters of sewage sludge and 300 tons of organic waste daily – a volume which would be disposed into the environment. It’s also planned to convert organic waste into biofertilizers and recycle waste plastic to produce bags.
Via Bluevision Braskem
In partnership with seven agricultural machinery manufacturers, the Brazilian Association of Machinery and Equipment Industry (Abimaq) presented the latest Agrishow the Farmer Collaborative Database (BDCA).
According to the partners, this is a digital platform that aims to store – in an independent environment – data collected from machines, implements, sensors, among other devices and equipment, used in the field, for later consultation.
Via DATAGRO
The veteran emerging-market investor Mark Mobius said he plans to add to his Brazil holdings, lauding the first few months of President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration even as other investors have shown skepticism.
Mobius, who left Franklin Templeton Investments in 2018 to set up Mobius Capital Partners, said the president’s performance has been “terrific” as he works to push through a pension overhaul that analysts see as key to revitalizing Brazil’s economy. He expects the bill to pass this year and predicted more money will flow into Brazil as the agenda takes hold.
By Vinicius Andrade via Bloomberg
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian healthcare provider Hapvida Participacoes e Investimentos SA will look for more acquisitions in the near future after agreeing to acquire rival group Sao Francisco Saude for 5 billion reais ($1.26 billion), Chief Executive Officer Jorge Pinheiro told reporters on Tuesday.
The deal will enable Hapvida to expand to Brazil’s southeastern, southern and center-west regions, from its current focus only on the north and northeastern regions.
By Carolina Mandl via Reuters
Brazilian fintech Nubank commenced its international expansion by announcing the start of its operations in Mexico today (7).
With a portfolio of 8,5 million customers, the unicorn claims to be the largest online bank outside Asia. The company is launching its Mexico office with 20 staff, with plans to nearly quadruple that by year end.
By Angelica Mari via Forbes
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Brazil expects to collect at least $47 billion in signing bonuses this year from three upcoming offshore oil auctions set for October and November, an official said on Monday.
An Oct. 27 sale of production rights in Brazil’s so-called transfer-of-rights area – one of the world’s most promising offshore oil areas off the coast of southeastern Brazil – could draw $27 billion (106 billion reais) in signing bonuses, said Marcio Felix, executive secretary for oil, gas and biofuel at Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy, at a Houston energy conference.
By Collin Eaton via Reuters
The president of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), Joaquim Levy, said on Monday (06) that Brazil has enormous opportunities for the application of technologies in mobility that allow for lower carbon emissions and increasing use of energy efficiency, reports Agência Brasil. For him, public policies that stimulate the development and application of these technologies, as well as the production of low-carbon fuels, are fundamental for growth and have a high benefit for society.
“The future of mobility goes through different paths such as the use of public or individual transport, zoning determining routes for greater or lesser distance, as well as the choice of different modalities for the transportation of cargo,” Levy said at the opening of the seminar Future of Mobility – More Energy Efficiency and Less Environmental Impact, promoted by the BNDES, at the institution’s headquarters, in downtown Rio.
Via DATAGRO
Online firm Grupo Zap is chasing a billion-dollar opportunity by introducing the instant home buyer (i-buyer) model in Brazil, with plans to nearly double its workforce and enhance data analytics capabilities to support the new business.
With Grupo Globo, one of Latin America’s largest media conglomerates as a majority shareholder and the likes of Monashees and Kaszek Ventures as backers, Zap owns the two largest real estate marketplaces in Brazil and provides a range of data-driven services to the industry.
By Angelica Mari via Forbes
Flying to South America from the U.S. often means an overnight flight and multiple stops. In other words — no sleep.
LATAM Airlines Group, Latin America’s biggest airline, is aiming to change that and, in the process, attract more U.S. visitors to Latin America. Along with more flights, the airline also is adding more comfortable seats.
By Barbara Redding via Travel Weekly
BRASILIA, May 2 (Reuters) – Brazil posted a trade surplus of $6.06 billion in April, the Economy Ministry said on Thursday, wider than the previous month but just shy of the median $6.7 billion surplus forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.
By Marcela Ayres and Mateus Maia via Reuters
May 2 (Renewables Now) – Spanish energy company Iberdrola (BME:IBE) informed on Tuesday that shareholders of its Brazilian unit Neoenergia SA had voted to approve the company’s initial public offering (IPO) of shares.
Iberdrola, which holds a 52.45% stake in Neoenergia, said ahead of the vote this Monday that the listing would take place in the first half of the year.
Via Renewables Now
Rio de Janeiro — Brazil’s Petrobras plans to sell eight refineries, accounting for nearly half the country’s refining capacity, amid an aggressive move by the company’s new management to ramp up asset sales and open the domestic refined product market.
“The new directives for asset sales, with a focus on the refining and distribution segments that includes the full sale of PUDSA, a service-station network in Uruguay; eight refineries totaling 1.1 million b/d of refining capacity; and the sale of an additional stake in Petrobras Distribuidora, or BR,” the company said in a filing made with stock regulators Friday.
By Jeff Fick via S&P Global Platts
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd on Tuesday launched two high-end smartphone handsets in Brazil, making its second attempt to penetrate the world’s fourth-largest smartphone market, broadening its footprint in Latin America.
“We are in a very different market share position than we were five years ago and we’re seeing tremendous brand momentum,” Ketrina Dunagan, Huawei’s vice president of marketing for the Americas, said in an interview on the sidelines of the launch event in Sao Paulo.
By Gabriela Mello via Reuters