Brazil has designated 27 critical minerals as the country looks to accelerate mineral projects, develop the sector domestically and reduce its reliance on exporting raw materials.
The National Council for Industrialization of Critical and Strategic Minerals (CIMCE) approved the list on Nov. 5, dividing the minerals into three priority groups based on their importance to national security, industrial development and supply chain resilience. The classification will help determine which mining projects qualify for federal support.
“For so long we have exported mineral wealth as ore and imported it back as a finished product, developing value and jobs in other countries,” development, industry, commerce and services minister, Brazil’s minister of development, industry, commerce and services, Márcio Elias Rosa, said. “We want to stop this cycle and create a strategy to develop this here.”
The initiative comes as countries seek to diversify supplies of minerals essential to electric vehicles, renewable energy, defence and advanced technologies.
Brazil hopes to capture more value from its mineral resources by encouraging investment in refining and manufacturing rather than relying primarily on raw material exports.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said the government intends to work with international partners rather than control the industry outright.
“We don’t want the state to have absolute control over exploration, processing and industrialization,” Lula said during the council meeting, according to Bloomberg. “We need to work with other countries that want to join us in developing and processing this wealth.”
Only the 27 minerals included in the list, and nationally registered projects, will be eligible to receive government support, according to the new government strategy.
The list
The council identified nine high-priority minerals: rare earths, graphite, lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, silicon and uranium. The government said high-priority minerals have a high geopolitical risk, global demand and low substitution rate for other materials, CNN Brasil reported.
“The list will function as the compass of Brazilian mineral politics, giving the sector the most important tool: predictability,” the mines and energy ministry said in a statement to G1.
Eight minerals fall into the medium-priority category: tungsten, chrome, vanadium, tantalum, titanium, phosphate, potassium and sulfur. The remaining 10 are classified as lower priority: niobium, tin, iron, zinc, gold, magnesium, molybdenum, thorium, aluminum and platinum group metals.
The classifications will undergo reviews every four years to account for economic, technological and geopolitical developments.
Investment priority
Having this list will allow the government to direct financing toward projects that strengthen domestic mineral production and processing. The rules for approval or denial of projects still need to be defined.
The council also created a fund to reduce risks and expand investments in the sector, known as FGAM. It can receive up to R$2 billion (about $364 million) from the federal government as well as more from local and state governments and private investment.
A separate Federal Program for Critical and Strategic Minerals (PFMCE) will have an annual funding limit of R$1 billion ($180 million) between 2030 and 2034 so companies can invest in mining development and transformation.
The measures follow Lula’s approval in September of R$5 billion (about $909 million) in funding to advance rare earths exploration, part of Brazil’s broader push to develop its mineral industry.
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Both the council and government aim to have another meeting on this issue before the end of the year to better define supply chain priorities to advance investment decisions in the sector.
The list will be reassessed every four years and may undergo changes based on economical, technological or geopolitical changes across the globe.
(With files from Bloomberg)