First Circular

First International Workshop

Brasilia and Patos de Minas, Brazil, November 7-14^th, 2004

ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE

William S. Fyfe

Honorary President

Chairpersons

Peter van Straaten* Othon Henry Leonardos

University of Guelph, Canada Universidade de Brasilia, Brazil

General Secretary and Treasurer

Suzi Huff Theodoro

Universidade de Brasilia, Brazil

* also International Treasurer

All correspondence must be addressed by e-mail to suzitheodoro@cds.unb.br and pvanstra@uoguelph.ca

Guelph and Brasilia, August 20, 2004

Dear colleagues and friends,

It gives us great pleasure to inform you that we are convening the first international workshop on ‘Rocks for Crops’ from November 7^th to 14^th 2004 in Brasilia and Patos de Minas, Brazil. This workshop is supported by the Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Brasilia, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and UNESCO. The workshop is intended to provide an opportunity for scientists to interact and get acquainted with latest developments in the geoscience field of agrogeology, geology in the service of agriculture.

As part of the workshop and scientific deliberations the participants will also take part in a three day field trip to sites around Patos de Minas, Province of Minas Gerais. This field trip will provide the participants with ample opportunities to interact with colleagues from various disciplines related to agrogeology and personally view and examine outcrops of various rock materials that can potentially be used as ‘rock fertilizers’. The participants will also have opportunites to interact with small farmers in the Fruta D’Anta Settlement (Minas Gerais). In addition, the participants will be able to visit rock outcrops of the Mata da Corda , an active phosphate mine and processing plant in Rocinhas, Minas Gerais. At the mine site the participants will have opportunities to discuss potential ways of utilizing ‘mine wastes’ for the production of local phosphate fertilizers for food crops, trees and biofuels.

During the last days of the workshop (to be held at the Antares Hotel in Patos de Minas) the participants will engage in brainstorming sessions, the formulation of a research agenda and the screening of abstracts and papers for publication of proceedings of the workshop.

We cordially invite you and your colleagues to participate in the scientific deliberations and wish for your cooperation and support.

We are looking forward to welcoming you in Brasilia in November this year.

OBJECTIVES

The principal objectives of this international workshop are

• to bring together eminent scientists from the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe for a workshop on the state of the art of rock, mineral and organic residue utilization to maintain and enhance soil fertility for sustainable tropical and subtropical environments and improve bioproductivity of food crops, forests and biofuels,

• to increase income and food security of communities in selected developing and emerging countries that reside in close proximity to mining and organic (food fibre, biofuel) industries, through improved soil fertility practices using inorganic rock and organic residues,

• to improve the long-term bioproductivity of crops, forests and biofuel crops of food, fibre and biofuel industries using rocks, and mine/mineral industry-generated wastes as well as plantation and community-generated organic wastes.

Secondary objectives

• To delineate areas and industries that create rock and biosolid wastes that can be transformed into products that supports food, fibre, and biofuel production,

• To delineate potential project sites in South America, Africa, and Asia where soil fertility restoration strategies will improve the livelihood of communities near mining and food, fibre production and biofuel industries.

ACTIVITIES:

• To hold an international conference on the use of rocks and minerals, mine and mineral industry-generated wastes, as well as organic plantation waste and community-generated organic wastes to improve the bioproductivity of crops, forests and biofuel crops;

• To create project documents for at least four specific projects for the reduction of poverty in communities near mining, food, fibre and biofuel industries,

• To produce conference proceedings and other scientific publications.

PARTICIPANTS:

The conference is open to all scientists, researchers and students who wish to present or discuss relevant papers on the topic of the conference.

The participants will have ample opportunities to exchange knowledge and experiences with eminent international conference participants including:

• William S. Fyfe (University of Western Ontario, Canada),

• Peter van Straaten (University of Guelph, Canada),

• Othon Henry Leonardos (Universidade de Brasilia),

• Suzi Huff Theodoro (Universidade de Brasilia),

• Fernando Barriga (Univ. de Lisboa – Portugal),

• Rita Fonseca (Univ. de Évora – Portugal),

• C.D. Dissanayake, Peradeniya (University, Sri Lanka),

• Kazue Tazaaki (Japan),

• K. Kharisun (UNSOED University, Purwokerto, Indonesia),

• Bashir Jama (International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya),

• F. Tembo, Dean, (School of Mines, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia),

• Nellie Mutemeiri (MINTEK, Johannesburg, South Africa),

• Prinya Putthapebon, Thailand ,

• Sun Daisheng, China

• Shengrong Li, China

• Alok Gupta (Univ. Allahabad – India)

• Representative of the Earth Science Program, UNESCO, Paris

• Antonio C.Pedrosa Soares (IG/ UFMG)

• Milton Formoso – UFRGS

GENERAL INFORMATION

The conference will consist of two days of presentations, a two day field trip and two days of follow-up discussions and formulation of international collaborative research projects. The conference will be held at the Hotel Nacional in Brasilia, DF, Brazil. The field visit to the Patos de Minas area will serve to examine areas where soil fertility can be maintained and improved through the application of agrominerals, including Fruta D’Anta Settlement (Minas Gerais).

SCIENTIFIC SESSIONS

Venue

The conference will be held in the Conference room of the National Hotel in Brasilia from Sunday November 7^th to November 9^th, followed by a field excursion to the area around Patos de Minas (November 10-13^th). During the field workshop the participants will be accommodated at the Antares Hotel in Patos de Minas. The last two days of the conference (November 12th and 13^th) will be spent in Patos de Minas with a brainstorming session, formulation of research agendas and discussion of potential proposals.

Return toBrasilia: Saturday (November 13th) afternnon.

Reaching Brasília

General. Brasilia is the capital of Brazil, located in the centre of the country. Brasilia is well connected by air and road. Foreign participants arriving by international flights to Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro will have to connect with domestic flights to Brasilia. It is advised to review flight informations prior to your trip to Brasilia with your travel agency and make sure that you connect in Brazil from the same airport where you arrive, (for example in Sao Paulo) in order to avoid inconveniences with time consuming and difficult airport transfer. Weather. The climate in the month of November in Brasilia and Patos de Minas is pleasant. Temperature may vary between 15^º to 25°C. More information about Brasília see http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/3416/index.html

We recommend to our overseas participants to make visa arrangement well in advance and try to arrive in Brasilia on Sunday November 7^th or one day in advance in order to participate in the opening and inaugural functions of the conference on November 7^th, 2004.

Reaching Patos de Minas

General. Patos de Minas in Central Minas Gerais is the maize capital of Brazil. A somewhat pleasant modern town of 130,000 people with an economy based on agricultural products and services. The town has good hotels with accommodations and convention facilities. Climate. The climate is mild to moderately warm with cool evenings and sometimes hot afternoons, November temperatures runs from 18 to 30 degree Celsius. The rainy season usually starts with rapid afternoon showers around mid-September and extends to March-April but in recent times weather has been somewhat unpredictable. Last year rains started only in December. Geology. Patos lies on the border of the highly fertile dark soils of the Mata da Corda plateau formed by Cretaceous mafic to ultramafic potassic lavas, tuffs and intrusions of the Mata da Corda Formation and the clayish badlands of the Bambui group. Intensive grain crops have replace the dense luxuriant forests known as Mata da Corda. Phosphate, niobium, titanium and rare-earths have been mined from nearby carbonatite complexes (Araxa, Tapira, Catalão etc). Large reserves of sedimentary phosphate are known at Rocinha. Alluvial diamond is common in the region and a kimberlite diamond mine has been recently opened at the Serra da Canastra.

Organization

• The scientific sessions will comprise oral and poster presentations.

• A time slot of maximum of 15 minutes will be allotted for the oral presentation followed by an additional 5 minutes for discussion. All presentation equipment - LCD, Slide and OHP will be made available at the Conference Hall. It is recommended to prepare the presentation in POWERPOINT form (with a back-up of overheads).

• The poster presentations (A0 size) relevant to the theme will be accommodated in an allotted hall in the Hotel Nacional.

• The invited theme paper speakers will review and summarize the present state of knowledge in the scientific field of agrogeology.

• A meeting of eminent scientists will be held at the end of the workshop to evaluate the suggestions made during the sessions for future researches with the view to conclude and identify the specific challenges and opportunities.

Registration Fee

The Registration Fee for this workshop will be US$ 150 per person. The fee covers the abstract volume, lunch & tea/coffee during the conference in Brasilia. All other expenses for accommodation and food will have to be paid by the participants themselves.

For Brazilian delegates the registration fee is fixed at R$ 300. Student fees will be R$ 100 for the conference.

Hotel Accommodation

Foreign participants shall be accommodated in Brasilia in the Nacional Hotel and Conference Centre @ US $ 40 per day, and approximately US $ 20 per night at the Antares Hotel in Patos de Minas. Lunch and Dinner (U$ 10) each.

Brazilian delegates are encouraged to make their own hotel arrangements in Brasilia.

Excursion Fees

Agrogeological Field Excursion Fee

Foreign Delegates US $ 200

Brazilian delegates R$ 600.

Visa

Foreign participants are encouraged to check the requirement of visa to travel to Brazil from a nearby Brazilian embassy/consulate section in their respective country.

Financial Support

We are exploring the possibility of offering partial financial support to students whose abstracts are accepted for presentation. Applicants should submit a calculation of their costs and the amount of possible self-financing along with their abstract by October 1^st 2004. The decision of the organizing committee will be communicated to the participants applied in time.

Conference Language

The conference language is English. The authors are requested to submit the extended abstracts in English, which will be reproduced in an abstract volume to be distributed to the participants.

Summary of Dates & Events

• Return of extended abstract by October 1^st , 2004.

• Return of Registration Form by October 1^st, 2004.

• Registration for conference and field excursion, Hotel Nacional, Brasilia: November 7^th 2004.

• Field excursion November 10-13^th, 2004. Starting time at Hotel Nacional, Brasilia: November 10^th, 7.30 a.m.

• Departure from Brasilia: November 14th, 2004.

Registration Form

1st International Workshop of ‘Rocks for Crops’

Brasilia and Patos de Minas, Brazil

November 7^th to 14^th, 2004

Name (Prof./Dr./Ms./Mr.) ………………………………..……………

Institution: ……………………………………………………………….

Address: ………………………………………………………….…….

City: ……………………………… Zip / Postal Code:………….…...

Country:…………………………

Telephone:……………………….Fax no:…………………………

E-mail:…………………………………………………………………

Please send me a letter of invitation:…………………………..( )

I will submit a Full Paper:………………………………...(Yes or No)

Title of paper:..........................................................................................

Please complete form and return before October 1st 2004, by email to

Suzi Theodoro, Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Brasilia, Brazil

suzitheodoro@cds.unb.br

and

Peter van Straaten, Land Resource Science, University of Guelph, Canada

pvanstra@uoguelph.ca