By Neville Judd
Mining in the Amazon is unlike anywhere else on Earth. Rich in biodiversity and home to local communities, the region demands an approach that balances productivity with sustainability. For Alcoa’s bauxite operations in Juruti, located in western Pará, this responsibility is front and centre.
“We mainly value minimising all impacts so that this biodiversity is conserved as much as possible, and that we bring a return to society and to the fauna and flora as a whole within our operations,” explains Alcoa forest engineer, Tainah Aquino, in a video interview.
To meet these commitments, Alcoa turned to Hexagon’s MinePlan portfolio, supported by local partner Prominas, to integrate mine and forestry planning into a single, responsible workflow.
The challenge: reconciling productivity and preservation
Mining in the Amazon requires reconciling three competing demands:
- Clearing land responsibly while protecting biodiversity
- Meeting production goals without compromising sustainability
- Planning for rehabilitation and community growth from the outset
Alcoa needed a model where productivity and sustainability advanced in step. That meant precise planning, integrated data, and transparent ESG reporting to prove measurable impact.
The solution: Hexagon MinePlan at the core
By adopting Hexagon MinePlan as the backbone of its planning operations, Alcoa created a seamless connection between geology, mine planning, land clearing, and rehabilitation. This integrated workflow provided not only operational efficiency but also accountability to environmental and community stakeholders.
Two specialised tools proved essential:
- MinePlan Schedule Optimiser (SO): supports tactical scheduling across the full mining cycle, from land clearing to rehabilitation. With Gantt charts and calendar views, Alcoa can monitor multiple activities in one platform, reducing the gap between plan and execution.
- MinePlan Activity Scheduler (MPAS): enables detailed sequencing of activities, ensuring operational efficiency and smooth coordination across departments.
“Our mining cycle and total movement of waste and ore is done with Schedule Optimiser, while the suppression cycle and rehabilitation are managed with Activity Scheduler,” says José Vinicius, mining engineer at Alcoa. “Putting these together gives us the perfect operating cycle for bauxite mining.”
Real results: more land rehabilitated than cleared
The integration of mine and forestry planning has delivered tangible, measurable outcomes:
- 409 hectares rehabilitated within Juruti’s operational area
- Greater control over the topsoil chain, ensuring soil is preserved and restored effectively
- A one-for-one rehabilitation goal that has been exceeded — Alcoa now rehabilitates more land than it clears
- Recognition as the first mining company honoured by the United Nations for excellence in rehabilitation, reflecting the quality and impact of its practices
“When we can see this history of the forest areas within the Juruti mine, we arrive at very real values in sequencing,” says Aquino. “Today, we rehabilitate much more than we clear.”
A model for responsible mining
Alcoa Juruti has become a benchmark for how technology, sustainability, and productivity can coexist in one of the world’s most sensitive ecosystems. By aligning operational productivity with sustainability commitments – and by leveraging expert partners like Hexagon and Prominas – Alcoa has created a model for mining that benefits businesses, communities, and the environment.
Conclusion: a path forward for mining globally
As the industry faces mounting expectations around ESG, the Juruti operation proves that responsible mining is not only possible, it’s profitable, scalable, and future-ready.
Alcoa’s journey demonstrates how Hexagon MinePlan helps mining operations worldwide reduce environmental impacts, safeguard biodiversity, and empower communities while achieving production goals.
Discover how MinePlan can support your responsible mining journey. Evaluation, Planning & Design | Hexagon
Throughout 2025, we’ll be blogging about the challenges facing the mining industry. Drawing upon insights from thought leaders in our customer community and from within Hexagon, we’ll share how trusted partnerships and proven technology are addressing those challenges, helping to improve safety and cut costs while balancing the demands of productivity and sustainability.