Niquelândia is

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in northern

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goiânia. ...

state,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. It is the largest municipality in the state in area and is an important producer of minerals.

Geography

Niquelândia is 370 km from the state capital, Goiânia, and has an elevation of 650 meters above sea level. The average annual temperature is 32 °C, and the climate is tropical humid. The municipality is crossed by highways BR-414 and GO-080, GO-237 e GO-327, besides the various municipal roads that make up a total of 12,000 kilometers. Highway connections with

Goiânia Goiânia (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region and the 10th-largest in the country. Its metropolitan area has a population ...

are made by GO-080 /

Nerópolis Nerópolis () is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in central Goiás state, Brazil. Location The municipality is part of the metropolitan region of Goiânia, which is 25 kilometers to the west. It is nationally known as the city of garlic ...

São Francisco de Goiás São Francisco de Goiás is a municipality in central Goiás state, Brazil. Municipal boundaries: *North: Jaraguá *South: Petrolina de Goiás *East: Pirenópolis *West: Jesúpolis and Jaraguá Connections from Goiânia are made by GO-080 / ...

/ BR-153 / Jaraguá / GO-080 /

Goianésia Goianésia () is a municipality in the state of Goiás, Brazil. It is a large producer of sugarcane for production of alcohol used as a source of fuel. Location Goianésia is located almost due north of Anápolis (150 km), 54 km from th ...

/ Barro Alto / GO-342 / BR-080 / BR-153 /

Uruaçu Uruaçu is a city and municipality in north Goiás state, Brazil. Geography Uruaçu is located north of Anápolis and Goiânia on the important interstate highway BR-153, which links Brasília to Belém. It is 269 km. from Goiânia and 244&n ...

/ GO-237. Municipal boundaries are with Água Fria de Goiás,

Alto Paraíso de Goiás Alto Paraíso de Goiás, usually referred to as Alto Paraíso, is a municipality located in the northeastern region of the state of Goiás, Brazil. The city is located in the Chapada dos Veadeiros and, since 2001, in the environmental protection a ...

, Barro Alto,

Campinaçu Campinaçu is a municipality in north Goiás state, Brazil. Location Campinaçu is surrounded by the following municipalities: *north: Minaçu *east: Colinas do Sul *west: Campinorte and Uruaçu *south: Niquelândia *Distance to Goiânia: 46 ...

Colinas do Sul Colinas do Sul is a municipality in north-central Goiás state, Brazil. Location Colinas is located in the Chapada dos Veadeiros statistical micro-region and is almost directly north of Brasília, to which it is connected by G0-327 as far as Alt ...

Mimoso de Goiás Mimoso de Goiás is a municipality in northeastern Goiás state, Brazil. Mimoso is located in statistical microregion 012, called Entorno do Distrito Federal. It is almost directly north of Federal District and is on an unpaved highway linking Pa ...

Santa Rita do Novo Destino Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...

São João d'Aliança São João d'Aliança is a municipality in northeastern Goiás state, Brazil. São João is a gateway to the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park. The name is sometimes written as São João D'Aliança. Location São João is located north of Br ...

and

Vila Propício Vila Propício is a municipality in central Goiás state, Brazil. It is a large producer of sugarcane. Location Vila Propício is located in the Entorno do Distrito Federal micro-region and has boundaries with the following municipalities: *nor ...

. The size of the municipal area compared to countries ranks it below

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

and above

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

Economy

As the name of the city implies (Niquelândia can be translated as "Nickeland"), it is the national capital of

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...

. It has one of the largest nickel reserves in the world, which are exploited by two mining companies: Companhia Níquel Tocantins—CNT, belonging to the Votorantim group -, and Codemin - to Anglo American. Although mining is practically all done for nickel, there are also more than 120 types of mineral, such as gold, crystal, platinum, copper, mica, iron, manganese, diamonds, quartz, marble, cobalt, asbestos and even uranium. The nickel mines bring needed jobs but also cause serious problem to the health of the inhabitants. The ovens to heat the raw material operate at one thousand degrees Celsius and highly toxic ammonia is used in the process. This mixture damages the skin, kidneys, the digestive and the respiratory tract. Mining is not the only economic activity in the region with cattle raising (250,000 head in 2006), agriculture, small transformation industries, commerce, and public administration employing large segments of the population. In 2007 there were 4 banking agencies: CEF - Banco do Brasil S.A. - Banco Itaú S.A. - Banco ABN AMRO Real S.A (Agosto/2007).

Agricultural Census (2006)

*Farms: 2,168 *Planted area: 15,345 hectares *Natural Pasture: 53,300 hectares *Woodland and Forest: 181,389 hectares *Persons occupied related to the farm owner: 4,543 *Persons occupied not related to the farm owner: 839 *Main crops: soybeans (20,000 hectares), corn (5,000 hectares), and rice (2,000 hectares).

History

Niquelândia is one of the oldest towns in the state of Goiás. It was settled shortly after the arrival of the Portuguese bandeirantes, with the news of the discovery of gold. Niquelândia is one of the oldest municipalities in Goiás. The town was founded in 1735 as São José do Tocantins. In 1938, the German miner Freimund Brockes was panhandling in the region for gold and discovered the second largest nickel deposit in the world. This discovery attracted miners from all over Brazil and the little town grew rapidly. In 1943 the city changed its name to Niquelândia.

Tourism

The most important touristic site near the town is the artificial lake of Serra da Mesa. It was created with the construction of the Serra da Mesa Dam, in

Minaçu Minaçu is a municipality in the north of the state of Goiás, Brazil. There is a large asbestos mine in the municipality. Location and climate It is located on the shores of the artificial lake, Cana Brava, created after a dam was constructed o ...

, at the end of the nineties. It is formed by the joining of the Maranhão, Tocantinzinho and Bagagem rivers. Serra da Mesa has one of the largest concentrations of fresh water in the country, with a surface of 1,784 km². With 57% of its area in the municipality of Niquelândia, it has reached a width of 22 km. in the rainy season.

Health and education

*Hospitals: 5 with 167 beds (2007) *Schools: 40 with 14,365 students (2006) *Higher education: Unidade Universitária de UEG *Infant mortality rate in 2000: 26.40 *Literacy rate in 2000: 84.4%

Index of Economic Development (Seplan 2001)

*39/246 municipalities. Se
Seplan

Index of Social Development (Seplan 2000)

*147/246 municipalities. Se

References

External links

O Portal de Niquelandia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niquelandia Municipalities in Goiás