Cana Brava Mine

Cana Brava is a chrysotile asbestos mine in Goiás, Brazil, and for decades was one of the largest sources of chrysotile in the Western Hemisphere. Operated by SAMA, it supplied chrysotile fiber to manufacturers in Brazil and exported widely, including to the United States, especially after North American mines closed.

Origin

The mine takes its name from the Cana Brava region of Minaçu, Goiás, where commercial chrysotile deposits were identified in the late 1960s. SAMA began large-scale production in 1967, and Cana Brava became Brazil's dominant chrysotile source, ultimately ranking among the top global producers until Brazil's Supreme Court upheld a national ban on asbestos in 2017.

Significance in Asbestos Context

For patients in the United States and elsewhere who were exposed to chrysotile-containing products manufactured from the 1970s onward, Cana Brava is often the geological source of the fiber. As Canadian (Quebec) and U.S. (California, Arizona) mines wound down, Brazilian chrysotile filled the gap in products such as cement pipe, roofing, gaskets, brake linings, and joint compounds. Provenance analysis, identifying where the fiber in a product or in lung tissue originated, can connect Cana Brava chrysotile to specific manufacturers and import periods, which matters when reconstructing an exposure history and identifying which defendants supplied the asbestos a patient encountered.

Example Sentence

The industrial hygiene expert traced the chrysotile in the cement pipe used at the plaintiff's worksite to Brazilian sources, most likely Cana Brava, based on the supplier's import records from the 1980s.

Related Terms

Chrysotile, Provenance Analysis, SAMA, Serpentine, Fiber Burden Analysis, Asbestos Ban

Notes

• If you worked with chrysotile-containing products manufactured after the mid-1970s, ask your legal team whether the manufacturer sourced fiber from Brazil; supplier and import records can identify Cana Brava as the origin.
• Preserve any product packaging, purchase orders, MSDS sheets, or shipping documents that name the fiber supplier. These are key to provenance analysis.
• Cana Brava chrysotile has been characterized in published mineralogical studies; an expert can compare its fiber profile to fibers recovered from lung tissue or product samples.
• Brazil banned asbestos in 2017, but products made from Cana Brava fiber remain in buildings, vehicles, and equipment worldwide. Exposures from legacy materials are still occurring.