"Canadian firm aims to double potash output in project near Brazil indigenous lands", 15 March 2022

...A Canadian-owned company has proposed doubling planned output of potash from a deposit in Brazil's Amazon to reduce the agricultural powerhouse's dependence on fertilizer imports disrupted by the Ukraine war.

Brazil Potash Corp said on Tuesday that its executives met with Brazilian Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias in Ottawa and discussed increasing from 2.44 million tonnes to over 5 million tonnes per year the output from its Autazes project.

That could cover almost half of Brazil's need for potash, a key fertilizer...

Brazil Potash owner, investment bank Forbes & Manhattan, whose chairman Stan Bharti met with Dias on Sunday, has been trying to develop the Autazes deposit for more than five years, but the project has been held up by environmental concerns.

Prosecutors recommended in 2016 suspending the license to develop Autazes because the Mura indigenous tribe had not been consulted, in violation of Brazil's constitution...

The company says the mine would have minor environmental impact. Salt separated from the potash at a surface processing plant would be returned underground, according to plans.

The Mura worry that it will pollute the rivers and scare away game and fish on which they depend...