BIF (jaspilite meta-BIF, Paleoproterozoic Minas Gerais

Itabira is a Brazilian

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 ...

and a major city in the state of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

. The city belongs to the

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

mesoregion and to the Itabira microregion. It is currently the twenty-fourth largest city in the state in terms of population, with 120,904 inhabitants, according to a 2020

IBGE The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information ...

survey. It is known as the "Capital of Poetry", by virtue of being the birthplace of

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

Carlos Drummond de Andrade Carlos Drummond de Andrade () (October 31, 1902 – August 17, 1987) was a Brazilian poet and writer, considered by some as the greatest Brazilian poet of all time. He has become something of a national cultural symbol in Brazil, where his wi ...

, is part of the

Circuit of the Gold Circuit may refer to: Science and technology Electrical engineering * Electrical circuit, a complete electrical network with a closed-loop giving a return path for current ** Analog circuit, uses continuous signal levels ** Balanced circui ...

and of

Estrada Real Estrada Real (, ''Royal Road'') was an epithet applied to the roads built and maintained by the Portuguese Crown both in Portugal itself and in the Portuguese overseas territories. Presently it is used to designate a set of colonial-era to ...

History

The first settlements at the site date to the early eighteenth century, when the village of Itabira do Mato Dentro was founded by

bandeirantes The ''Bandeirantes'' (), literally "flag-carriers", were slavers, explorers, adventurers, and fortune hunters in early Colonial Brazil. They are largely responsible for Brazil's great expansion westward, far beyond the Tordesillas Line of 1494 ...

seeking gold. Itabira was politically emancipated as a

on 9 October 1848, through Provincial Law No. 374.

Geography

It is located in southeast Minas Gerais, 110 kilometers away from the state capital,

and 845 kilometers away from the federal capital

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

. The highest point in the city is 1,672 meters above sea level, and is known as

Alto da Mutuca The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses b ...

. Itabira is an access point for a number of smaller cities, such as

Jaboticatubas Jaboticatubas is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in the Southeast region of Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Minas Gerais This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Minas Gerais (MG), located in the Southeast R ...

Santa Maria de Itabira Santa Maria de Itabira is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. The city belongs to the mesoregion Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte and to the microregion of Itabira. As of 2020, the estimated population was 10,857. See ...

Itambé do Mato Dentro Itambé do Mato Dentro is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. The city belongs to the mesoregion Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte and to the microregion of Conceição do Mato Dentro. As of 2020, the estimated populatio ...

and

Nova Era Nova Era is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. The city belongs to the mesoregion of Belo Horizonte and to the microregion of Itabira. As of 2020, the estimated population was 17,551. See also * List of municipaliti ...

. The closest international airport is

Tancredo Neves International Airport Belo Horizonte/Confins – Tancredo Neves International Airport , formerly called Confins International Airport is the primary international airport serving Belo Horizonte. Since 2 September 1986 the airport is named after Tancredo Neves, Tancred ...

(Confins) in

. Itabira is a regional economic center, and hosts a thriving

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

extraction operation headed by

Companhia Vale do Rio Doce Vale S.A., formerly ''Companhia Vale do Rio Doce'' (the Sweet River Valley Company, referring to the Doce River) () is a Brazilian multinational corporation engaged in metals and mining and one of the largest logistics operators in Brazil. Vale ...

since 1942, when the company was created by President

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1954. Due to his long and controversial tenure as Brazi ...

specifically for the mineral exploration of the Rio Doce valley. As of 2017, it is the second largest mining company in the world, and a considerable part of its iron ore output comes from the mines at Itabira. As a result of the decades-old extraction operations, the city faces

air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...

problems.

Culture

's poem "''Confidência do Itabirano''," the speaker remarks:

Notable people from Itabira

, poet and writer. *

Ana Beatriz Barros Ana Beatriz Barros El Chiaty (born 29 May 1982) is a Brazilian model, known for her multiple appearances in the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' and for her work with Intimissimi, GUESS, Bebe, Victoria's Secret, Chanel cosmetics, and Jennif ...

, Brazilian top model. *

Renan Oliveira Renan Henrique Oliveira Vieira (born December 29, 1989 in Itabira), or simply Renan Oliveira, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Remo, as an attacking midfielder. He made his professional debut in a 2–3 home defeat to Guarani-MG on Apr ...

, Brazilian footballer. *

Didi Didi may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Didi" (song), a song by Khaled * Didi, the principal character in ''Didi's Comedy Show'', a German comedy television show * Didi Pickles, mother of Tommy and Dil in the cartoons ''Rugrats'' and ''All ...

, former Brazilian footballer. * Marco Túlio, Brazilian footballer. *

Talmo Oliveira Talmo Curto de Oliveira (born October 10, 1969), known as Talmo, is a retired volleyball player from Brazil. He was a member of the Brazil men's national volleyball team that won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain ...

, former volleyball player. *

Alessandro Vinícius Alessandro Vinícius Gonçalves da Silva (born 15 February 1999), commonly known as Alessandro Vinícius, is a Brazilian association football, footballer who plays as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder for Joinville Esporte ...

, Brazilian footballer.

Sister cities - twin towns

Itabira has a one sister city:

Itajubá Itajubá is a municipality in southeastern Minas Gerais state of the Federative Republic of Brazil. It lies in a valley by the Sapucaí river and has terrain elevations ranging from 827 to 1500 metres, occupying an area of 290.45 km2 (112.14&n ...

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 ...

DeFato Online: Itabira é declarada cidade-irmã de Itajubá; o foco é o crescimento da Unifei
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References

Municipalities in Minas Gerais {{MinasGerais-geo-stub