The Tapira phosphate deposit is part of a series of Late-Cretaceous, carbonatite-bearing alkaline ultramafic plutonic complexes belong to the Alto Paranaiba Igneous Province. The Tapira igneous rocks intrude the phyllites, schists, and quartzites of the Late-Proterozoic Brasilia mobile belt. The Tapira igneous complex is roughly elliptical, 35 square kilometers (km2) in area and consists predominantly of alkaline pyroxenite rocks with subordinate carbonatite, serpentinite (dunite), glimmerite, syenite, and ultramafic potassic dikes. Locally, the pyroxenites are divided into: 1. Bebedourites: a local name for a variety of biotite pyroxenite composed essentially of aegirine-augite, and biotite with perovskite and opaques. 2. Phoscorites: plutonic ultramafic rocks, containing magnetite, apatite, and one of the silicates, forsterite, diopside, or phlogopite. Phoscorites almost always occur in close association with carbonatites. The Tapira phosphate deposit was formed by the supergenic alteration of bebedourites, phoscorites, and carbonatites rich in apatite. The extreme weathering process was responsible for the residual concentration of apatite. The weathering processes are typically related to the partial hydrolysis of silicate rocks and the dissolution of carbonates, with a general loss of calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), and silica (Si), and the accumulation of aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), and titanium (Ti), from the base to the top. The main geological types i ........

The ore at Tapira is recovered using open-pit conventional truck and shovel mining methods due to the proximity of the ore to the surface and the physical characteristics of the deposit. Mining operations progress in a four-step process, which includes clear and grub, drilling and blasting, overburden removal, and ore production. In the development phase, drainage and water control are established, and then the required infrastructure consisting of power, pipelines, and roadways is established.

Surface areas to be disturbed during the mining process are progressively cleared of vegetation using track dozers, as necessary.

Blasting at Tapira is conducted by Enaex Britante. The main explosive in use is emulsion and the blast design includes 4.5 to 5-inch diameter holes, in a 10-meter bench with a burden of 2.1 to 3.8 m and a spacing from 2.5 m up to 4.4 m. Typical powder factors range from 200 g/t up to around 330 g/t.st.

Waste is hauled to one of the 6 ex-pit overburden storage facilities, serving different areas and types of waste from the mine. Waste containing notably higher grades of titanium is hauled to one of the two titanium stockpiles. Overburden material is loaded by a Hitachi EX1200 or Hitachi EX2500 bucket-class hydraulic mining excavator loading CAT 777 90-tonne haul trucks or Komatsu 730E 180-tonne haul trucks. Dozers assist the loading fleet with general clean-up and material removal, as necessary. Overburden material is hauled ........

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