São Gonçalo do Rio Abaixo, Brazil - The red soil of the Minas Girais province glitters with the movement of the light. These lush rolling hills in the heart of southern Brazil are packed with one of the country’s most valuable resources – iron ore.

C.J. Schexnayder Everything about $1.1-billion iron ore mine project is on a large scale.

Last year, Brazilian construction firm Camargo Corrêa completed a massive industrial infrastructure project at the Brucutu mine facility located 100 km from the city of Belo Horizonte in the heart of this region.

Owned by Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (known by its Portuguese acronym, CVRD) the mine is the world’s largest in terms of initial production and is expected to reach maximum output next year. The company invested more than $1.1 billion in the open pit mine upgrade and the construction of the new facilities.

Camargo Corrêa built the system that moves the raw material through the varying stages of extraction including the complex conveyer system and the instillation of all electromechanical equipment. The 15-month project was the largest electromechanical erection operation ever undertaken by Camargo Corrêa said Celso Ferreira de Oliveira, CEO of the infrastructure business division involving 39,000 tons of milling and 1.4 million meters of installed cables.

“It is an example of the kind of opportunities that are emerging in Brazil every day,” he said.

The project is a good example of how Brazil’s growing economic strength is providing opportunities for construction firms. Brazil is the largest producer of iron ore in the world, generating 292 metric tones in 2005 – an increase of 10 percent over 2004. The country falls slightly behind Australia in terms of exports; the two countries each hold roughly a third of the world market

China remains the engine behind the growth, accounting for almost 40 percent of global imports. That demand is expected to continue driving the prices of the commodity up, a trend that is expected to make iron ore Brazil’s leading export in 2007.

Based on the 9.5 percent hike in the iron ore reference price in 2006 the Brazilian Exporters Association (AEB) predicts exports will top $10 billion this year and eclipse soybeans for the first time. Iron ore exports netted approximately $9 billion last year.

Brucutu, named for the surrounding mountain range, is the largest mine of the Minas Centrais Complex, which is made up of Gongo Soco, Água Limpa and Andrade mines.

The growing demand of iron ore on the world market led to the doubling of the project after the work had started. CVRD had originally intended the mine to produce 12 million tonnes annually with the output to be doubled after 2010. So, in late 2005, the company decided to include the second phase as well.

Camargo Corrêa accelerated the construction effort adding an additional 1,800 workers – doubling the number of their employees on-site. By the end of December 2006, more than six million man-hours were logged at the site. Worker costs alone reached $38 million over the course of the project.

As a result the mine is expected to be producing 23 million tons of iron ore this year and should reach its installed capacity of 30 million tons next year. The mine reserves of iron ore are estimated at 737 million tons and CVRD estimates the mine will operate for at least three decades.

Despite the obstacles, the facility was inaugurated in October of last year although continued upgrades will continue into next year.