The Pitinga River ( pt, Rio Pitinga) is a river of
Amazonas state in north-western
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 empties into the
Balbina Dam
The Balbina Dam ( pt, Usina Hidrelétrica de Balbina) is a hydroelectric dam and power station on the Uatumã River in the Amazon Rainforest, Brazil. The location is under the municipality of Presidente Figueiredo jurisdiction, in the state of A ...
on the
Uatumã River
The Uatumã River (sometimes spelled Uatamã) is a river flowing through the state of Amazonas in Brazil. It is a northern tributary of the Amazon River, and known for its extensive peacock bass population. It is a blackwater river.
The river f ...
.
Mining operation
In the 1970s the Amazon Radar Project detected deposits of
cassiterite
Cassiterite is a tin oxide mineral, SnO2. It is generally opaque, but it is translucent in thin crystals. Its luster and multiple crystal faces produce a desirable gem. Cassiterite was the chief tin ore throughout ancient history and remains t ...
(tin ore) on the
Waimiri Atroari Indigenous Reservation.
Prospectors of
Mineração Taboca, a subsidiary of the Paranapanema heavy civil construction company, found traces of cassiterite in 1979 in tributaries of the Pitinga River.
The
Pitinga mine
The Pitinga mine is an open pit tin mine in Brazil. It is thought to have the largest undeveloped tin deposit in the world.
A complete community of 5,000 people was established in the remote location in the Amazon rainforest to support the mining ...
began operations in 1982.
The company built a community in the Amazon forest from Manaus with housing, schools, health facilities, power and telecommunications.
In 1985 Paranapanema invested US$15 million in infrastructure upgrades, including a 10,000 kilowatt hydroelectric power plant on the Pitinga River, expected to reduce energy costs by US$4 million annually.
See also
*
List of rivers of Amazonas
References
Sources
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Rivers of Amazonas (Brazilian state)