Alcoa’s Juruti Mining Project Seeking to Set Sustainability Benchmark

This research paper describes Alcoa's 'Sustainable Juruti Program' for its bauxite mine in the Brazilian Amazon, which aims to establish a sustainability benchmark for mining in ecologically sensitive regions through a combination of environmental respect, social responsibility, and economic success.

• The Juruti bauxite mine project, inaugurated in September 2009, includes a mine, a port on the Amazon River, and a 55-kilometer railway to transport bauxite to the port. The project targets one of the world's largest high-quality bauxite deposits, estimated at 700 million metric tons, to support the expansion of Alcoa's Alumar refinery in São Luís, Brazil.
• Alcoa implemented a sustainable development model based on three pillars: the Sustainable Juruti Council (CONJUS) for multi-stakeholder dialogue, a system of sustainability indicators and metrics to track progress, and a development fund (FUNJUS) for community-proposed sustainable initiatives.
• The Sustainable Juruti Council (CONJUS), established in February 2008, consists of 15 members: three from the private sector, three from government institutions, and nine from civil society. It manages eight working groups covering areas such as health, education, environment, and infrastructure, and serves as a forum for collective action and monitoring the sustainability agenda.
• Alcoa established a 'Positive Agenda' fund to finance local community priorities. Key infrastructure achievements include the Juruti Community Hospital, 16 classrooms across eight municipal schools, a legal complex with the municipality's first courthouse, three deep water wells for clean water, a Juruti Cultural Center, and a New Business Training Program.
• To minimize environmental impact, Alcoa optimized the project's permanent footprint to be significantly lower than the requirements of its Installation License and committed to revegetating mined-out areas using native species. The project also utilizes 35 Environmental Control Plans (PCAs) to monitor air, noise, water, and biodiversity.
• Public perception of the project has remained high; an IBOPE survey in early 2008 showed 89% of the population viewed the mine's installation positively, and a 2010 poll showed this figure increased to 91%.

APA

Abdala, F., & Archell, L. (2010). Alcoa’s Juruti Mining Project Seeking to Set Sustainability Benchmark. World Resources Institute. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/wrr-2010-11-question-8-response-3.pdf

Chicago

Abdala, Fabio, and Libby Archell. Alcoa’s Juruti Mining Project Seeking to Set Sustainability Benchmark. World Resources Institute, 2010. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/wrr-2010-11-question-8-response-3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Abdala |first1=Fabio |last2=Archell |first2=Libby |title=Alcoa’s Juruti Mining Project Seeking to Set Sustainability Benchmark |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=2010 |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/wrr-2010-11-question-8-response-3.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{abdala2010alcoas, author = {Abdala, Fabio and Archell, Libby}, title = {{Alcoa’s Juruti Mining Project Seeking to Set Sustainability Benchmark}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2010}, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-02/wrr-2010-11-question-8-response-3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }