It is located in southeast Minas Gerais, 110 kilometers away from the state capital,
Belo Horizonte and 845 kilometers away from the federal capital
Brasília. The highest point in the city is 1,672 meters above sea level, and is known as
Alto da Mutuca. Itabira is an access point for a number of smaller cities, such as
Jaboticatubas,
Santa Maria de Itabira,
Itambé do Mato Dentro and
Nova Era. The closest international airport is
Tancredo Neves International Airport (Confins) in
Belo Horizonte. Itabira is a regional economic center, and hosts a thriving
iron ore extraction operation headed by
Companhia Vale do Rio Doce since 1942, when the company was created by President
Getúlio Vargas specifically for the mineral exploration of the
Rio Doce valley. As of 2017, it is the second largest mining company in the world, and a considerable part of its iron ore output comes from the mines at Itabira. As a result of the decades-old extraction operations, the city faces
air pollution problems. == Culture ==