 | ||
The Pitinga River (Portuguese: Rio Pitinga) is a river of Amazonas state in north-western Brazil. It empties into the Balbina Dam on the Uatumã River.
Contents
Map of Rio Pitinga, Urucar%C3%A1 - State of Amazonas, Brazil
Mining operation
In the 1970s the Amazon Radar Project detected deposits of cassiterite (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 began operations in 1982. The company built a community in the Amazon forest 300 kilometres (190 mi) 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.