It is between the basins of the São Francisco River, the Rio das Velhas, Paraopeba, Cipó, and Bicudo.

Neighboring municipalities are: Corinto, Felixlândia, Inimutaba, Monjolos, Morro da Garça, Presidente Juscelino and Santo Hipólito.

More land is also used for charcoal production in João Pinheiro, Bocaiúva, Brasilândia, Paraopeba and other smaller communities.

When the charcoal is ready it is transported by truck to the industrial area of greater Belo Horizonte.

In addition to the ecological damage of destroying the land to plant trees of only one species, the physical risks for the charcoal workers are: excessive fatigue due to lifting and transporting heavy materials, which can bring on physical stress and cause damage to various muscles and skeletal structures (one study showed that a typical charcoal worker will carry 7,000 kilos of Eucalyptus wood to fill a 5 cubic metre oven in one hour!

); long hours of work, including shifts during nights and the weekends, which brings about alterations in biological rhythms, increasing the risk of accidents on the job, difficulty in sleeping, chronic fatigue and loss of emotional control; and dust and smoke inhalation, causing skin irritations, conjunctivitis, and respiratory problems.

Counting only last year, the 52 industries involved in the production of "ferro-gusa" made 700 million dollars in profit.

[8] The above figures can be compared with those of Poços de Caldas, which had an MHDI of .841, the highest in the state of Minas Gerais.

[10] The most important popular event is the Forró Beneficente de Curvelo, which takes place in July.