Brazil is located in South America and occupies almost the majority of it. On the local territory, low-lying relief predominates.
The state has many mineral deposits dispersed practically throughout Brazil, but most of them are located in mountainous areas. In order to be able to study the field data in detail, a geological map is needed, which can be seen in the photo.
Relief features
The relief of Brazil can be divided into several component segments:
- coastal zone;
- Pantanal marshland;
- Brazilian and Guiana Highlands;
- Amazonian lowland.
And it is not without reason that we pay attention to the features of the relief of Brazil - the mineral resources of these places are the country's main wealth and the key to its successful economic development. And the formation of mineral deposits directly depends on the structure of the earth's surface.
Coastal zone
The coastal zone of the country is a plain that is located along the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean and includes part of the Brazilian Highlands. In the north, the transition from the plain to the mountainous terrain is smooth, but its southern part is characterized by a sharp transition from mountains to sands.
It is worth noting that the coastal zone has in its arsenal not only sandstones and lagoon lakes, but also wetlands. There are also natural harbors and granite outcrops, which are especially rich in Brazil. The minerals found in this type of combustible area are oil and gas.
Pantanal Marshland
Pantanal swamps are located in the southwest of the Paraguay River. They are fairly close to the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul. This territory is simply created for cattle breeding, since here, thanks to the contrasting climate, a more diverse flora grows than in other similar parts of the country.
Brazilian and Guiana Highlands
The Brazilian Highlands are quite extensive. It is located in the south and in the center, occupying about 30% of the territory of the state of Brazil. Minerals whose deposits are located on this site are among the most valuable. This is rock crystal, iron ore, etc.
The highlands are characterized by the presence of fertile soil. The highest point in this area is Mount Bandeira (2890 m). In its southwestern part there is a lava plateau that crosses the Parana River and its tributary, Iguazu. They form waterfalls at the place where the plateau ends.
Part of the Brazilian Highlands is Guiana. They are divided by the Amazonian lowlands. Here, in the north of Brazil, minerals are represented by uranium, manganese, gold, bauxite, etc.
Mount La Neblin, located here, is considered the highest point not only of this highland, but also of the whole country, and rises to 3014 m above sea level.
Amazon lowland
The Amazonian lowland is represented by a fairly vast area. And its main part is located in Brazil. The local area is rich in iron ore and gold, and in the lower reaches of the Madeira watercourse, gas and oil deposits have been discovered.
The Amazon is considered the largest river in the world, but the country has a lot of other water bodies, in particular, rivers, whose basins define the main low-lying relief.
Brazil: Minerals
Many minerals are concentrated in Brazil: all kinds of ores, precious metals, precious and semiprecious stones, oil, gas, bauxite, tar shale, uranium, rare-earth ore, tin, lead, nickel, tungsten, barite, zinc, copper, phosphates, lead lithium. And this is just a small list.
A lot of land is still not fully explored, so new deposits are discovered almost every week.
Combustible minerals
Oil and natural gas in the area are represented by small reserves - 136 oil fields and 14 gas fields .
Bituminous shale deposits are located in the state of Parana. These fossils are represented by mudstone and limestone facies interspersed with diabase and basalt.
The country does not have large reserves of coal. Their total amount is less than 2 billion tons.
The uranium ore deposit is located in the states of Bahia, Ceara and the Serra di Jacobin mountains. Thorium and uranium are mainly concentrated in northeast Brazil, closer to the shores of the Amazon.
Ore deposits
The amount of iron ore in the country is 17% of total world reserves. It is mined in Mato Grossa in the Minas Gerais basin. The main bauxite resources are located in Par in the Amazon basin. According to studies, Brazil ranks 1st among the countries of Latin America in their reserves.
Tungsten ores are located in the north-east of the country. They are mainly represented by scheelite skarn. However, in the south of Rio Grande do Norte, these minerals can be attributed to the vein quartz type. Nickel ores, mainly silicate, are concentrated at great depths in the Goiás region.
There are also hydrothermal deposits with polymetallic elements (there are more than 120 in total). Note that these infinite riches exist here thanks to the relief features of Brazil.
The minerals listed above are most often found in the Ribeira River Valley and near the industrial state of Minas Gerais. And rich deposits of tin are located in the territory of Rondonia. Zirconium, tantalum, niobium and beryl elements are mined from pegmatite ores, which are concentrated in Sao Tome, Seridosinje and Parelyas.
Special deposits
The country is also rich in precious metals. Gold mining flourishes in Minas Gerais, at the mouth of the Amazon and in Goiás. Precious and semi-precious stones are mined here. In Brazil there are deposits of noble opal, rock crystal, amethyst, diamonds, tourmaline, jewelry beryl, emeralds, agate.
By the way, red-orange topazes, which are considered the rarest, are mined here - their main deposits are located near Oru Preto. And most of the semiprecious elements are located in Minas Gerais, Santa Catarina, Bahia, Sao Paulo, Mato Grosso Goias.