OREANDA-NEWS. August 17, 2011. The EBX Group mining company will invest BRL  4 million over three years to plant 211 thousand native tree species in the Guandu River and the Jacatirao-Guandu Environmental Protection Areas (APAs)

MMX and the Federation of Industries ofRio de Janeiro (Firjan) signed today (13/7) an agreement for the planting of 211 thousand seedlings of native trees on 106 hectares of the Guandu River and the Jacatirao-Guandu areas of environmental protection (APAs), both composed of Atlantic forest vegetation. The investment from the EBX Group mining company is BRL  4 million and is based on Firjan’s “Cultivar” project.

The work will last three years and will be carried out by the Senai-RJ Center for Environmental Technology, which will be responsible for the reforestation and also for the maintenance of the area. The planting of nearly 211 thousand seedling native trees aims to compensate for the loss of 37 hectares of forest, in the municipality of Itaguai, in the south of the state, where the company is building the Sudeste Superport, which will come into operation next year.

Commitment to the environment

Strict compliance with Brazilian environmental legislation and investment in projects to preserve and revitalize the environment are core values of MMX and all the EBX Group. MMX develops socio-environmental programs in the states of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and Mato Grosso do Sul, where its operations are present, always respecting the environment, acting with social responsibility and contributing to the socio-economic development of these regions. In line with the sustainability policy of the EBX Group and its guidelines and standards for sustainable development, MMX supports and invests in activities that benefit communities and other important social protagonists in thoseStates where it has projects.

Project “Cultivar”

The program is a result of the Firjan System’s concern with putting into practice concrete, specifications to deal with global warming and environmental recuperation, relying on the power of replication of these actions through the environmental awareness of the students of SESI and SENAI, collaborators with the Firjan System and all associated companies. SENAI and SESI Rio students will plant 200 thousand seedlings a year, over five years, totaling one million trees,thus recuperating, through reforestation, the environmental vocation of degraded areas.