According to the BNDES, the credit, accounting for 22 percent of the project's total investment, will be invested in the construction of logistics and industrial infrastructure in the mine.

Apart from the exploration of the mine, the project includes the construction of a road and a railway, each with an estimated length of 55 km, connecting the mine with a river port.

The bank stressed that the mine, to be located in the municipality of Juruti, on the Amazon River's southern bank, is expected to start operating in mid-2008, generating 225 direct jobs and 425 indirect jobs. During its construction phase, the project is expected to generate about 4,500 job positions.

The initial production capacity of the mine is estimated at annual 2.6 million tons of bauxite, which can be extended to up to 12 million tons per year.

The bank added that the mine will supply with bauxite a smelting plant in the state of Maranhao, in the northeast of the country, in which Alcoa holds a 35-percent stake. The so-called Alumar plant produces alumina and aluminum from bauxite.

In Brazil, Alcoa each year produces 300,000 tons of aluminum, 800,000 tons of alumina and 2.5 million tons of bauxite.

The BNDES also stated that the U.S. company plans to invest 55 million reals (28.2 million dollars) in social and urban improvements in Juruti.