Vazante

Vazante is a municipality in the north of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Its population in 2007 was 19,300 inhabitants in a total area of 1,903 km². It is a large producer of cattle and there is mining of zinc.

Vazante belongs to the Paracatu statistical microregion. The elevation of the municipal seat is 680 meters. It became a municipality in 1953. This municipality is located north of Patos de Minas on paved national highway BR-354. It is 27 km. north of Lagamar and 39 km. southeast of Guarda-Mor. The distance to the capital of the state, Belo Horizonte, is 496 km.

Neighboring municipalities are: Lagoa Grande, Coromandel, Guarda-Mor, Lagamar and Paracatu. There are two districts, besides the municipal seat: Claro de Minas, 12 km. distant, and Vazamor, 32 km. distant.

The climate is humid sub-tropical with an average maximum of 35°C; a minimum of 16°C; and an annual average between 21°C and 24°C. The hottest time of the year is between September and October and the coldest in June and July. The year can be divided into a rainy summer, from October to April, and a dry winter, from May to September. The main river is the Rio Claro, which has its source in the Serra de Chapadinha. Another river is the Rio Santa Catarina, which is a tributary of the Paracatu River. There are several lakes, the most important being Lagoa do Vermelho.

The main economic activities are cattle raising, mining and farming. The GDP was R$209,137,000 (2003). In agriculture the main products cultivated are mangoes, rice, soybeans, and corn. There are 02 bank branches in the town. In the health sector there were 12 health clinics and 02 hospital with 59 beds (2007).

There is also a large open-pit zinc mine. The Vazante Mine is a property of Votorantim Metais and has reserves of around 2 million tons of zinc. It has the largest Brazilian deposit of zinc ore, with a production of 290,000 tons of silicate concentrate. and

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