{"id":96713,"date":"2025-11-25T13:30:03","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T16:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/?p=96713"},"modified":"2025-11-25T13:30:03","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T16:30:03","slug":"brazils-rare-earths-attract-western-interest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/brazils-rare-earths-attract-western-interest\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazil\u2019s rare earths attract Western interest"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Five companies announce financing, planned funding, or strategic deals amid global race for critical minerals<\/strong><\/em><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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11\/25\/2025\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Western countries have deepened their engagement with companies developing Brazilian rare earth mining projects, a group of elements now central to tensions between the U.S. and China.\u00a0At least five companies\u00a0<\/strong>with projects in Goi\u00e1s, Minas Gerais, and Bahia have recently announced financing, intended financing, or strategic agreements with development lenders and firms from the U.S. and other countries, including Canada and France. At the same time, sources consulted by\u00a0Valor<\/strong> describe efforts to attract investment and strengthen Brazil\u2019s domestic supply chain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The movement comes as\u00a0Brazil\u2019s rare earth reserves draw attention from the U.S.<\/a>\u00a0following the tariff war launched by Washington, which turned the group of 17 mineral elements into part of Brazil\u2019s commercial bargaining strategy to reduce tariffs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Rare earths are a group of chemical elements strategic for the energy transition and defense. They are used in high-tech industries, from wind turbine production to batteries, including those for hybrid and electric vehicles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In negotiations between China and the U.S. after the tariff war launched earlier this year by\u00a0President Donald Trump<\/strong>, rare earths are a central point because China holds the world\u2019s largest reserves. The country also dominates nearly the entire supply chain, accounting for 69% of global production and 91% of refining.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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China restricted U.S. access to its rare earths in retaliation for tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. More recently, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expects an agreement with China on the elements to be concluded soon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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U.S. interest in Brazil\u2019s rare earth reserves stems from the fact that\u00a0they are the largest outside\u00a0<\/a>China and could help reduce U.S. dependence. But Brazil currently has only one commercially operating mine,\u00a0Serra Verde Pesquisa e Minera\u00e7\u00e3o<\/strong>\u00a0(SVPM), in Goi\u00e1s. And last year the country accounted for less than 1% of global production.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Seeking international partners in the mining sector is natural, said\u00a0Ana Paula Repezza<\/strong>, business director at the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil<\/strong>). She participated this month in an event organized by the European Commission in Brussels, where the agency sought European investment for rare earths and other critical minerals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe mineral chain is naturally globalized and, China aside, I don\u2019t think any country in the world can be self-sufficient in capital and technology for exploration and processing along the entire chain,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Repezza added that foreign investment becomes a viable alternative for projects in pre-operational stages to accelerate development and help reduce risk. \u201cMining is a very high-risk activity, and the more partners and investors you have, the better,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Interest has increased due to growing awareness of the importance of critical minerals for the energy transition and recent geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China over American access to Chinese rare earths.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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SVPM\u00a0<\/a>secured up to $465 million in financing in August from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC<\/strong>) to help expand production of heavy rare earth metals, according to the Financial Times.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Canada\u2019s\u00a0Aclara Resources<\/strong>, which has a pre-operational project in Goi\u00e1s, announced in September that it received a commitment of up to $5 million from the DFC for a feasibility study.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Australia\u2019s Viridis Mining and Minerals<\/a>, with a pre-operational project in Minas Gerais, said on Tuesday (18) that it received a letter of interest from Export Development Canada (EDC) for early support of up to $100 million in debt financing. According to the company, it also received a nonbinding support letter on December 10 from France\u2019s export credit agency confirming eligibility for financing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the realm of agreements, goals vary from offtake contracts to future processing and refining. Australia\u2019s\u00a0St. George Mining<\/strong>, which has a pre-operational niobium and rare earths project in Minas Gerais, announced in September a memorandum of understanding with\u00a0REAlloys,<\/strong>\u00a0a major supplier of magnets to the U.S. defense and technology industry, for a potential long-term offtake of up to 40% of its rare earth output.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Australia\u2019s\u00a0Brazilian Rare Earths<\/strong>\u00a0(BRE), with a pre-operational project in Bahia, announced last month an agreement with France\u2019s\u00a0Carester<\/strong>, a specialist in rare earth separation and refining, for a 10-year initial offtake of heavy metals. The French company will also provide services for the development of BRE\u2019s\u00a0separation refinery<\/strong>\u00a0planned for the\u00a0Cama\u00e7ari Petrochemical Complex\u00a0<\/strong>near Salvador.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For\u00a0Elaine Santos<\/strong>, a researcher at Portugal\u2019s National Laboratory of Energy and Geology (LNEG), the relationships Western countries are forging with these Brazilian projects signal an attempt to reorganize the geopolitics of the rare earth supply chain. \u201cIt indicates that the U.S. and its allies are trying to reduce dependence on China, which dominates the critical stages of separation, refining and permanent magnet production,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A specialist in the sociology of energy and strategic mineral resources with postdoctoral research at the University of S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s Institute of Advanced Studies, she said the dynamic also highlights Brazil\u2019s vulnerability. Despite holding strategic resources\u2014most of which are still only resources, not reserves\u2014Brazil does not control strategic stages of the supply chain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt is natural that external actors move early to secure positions from the outset,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is clearly a push to secure access to rare earths from the pre-operational phase. Given Brazil\u2019s significant resources, the country has the geological potential to be a strategic player in a market that will only grow,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The risk, she warned, is that Brazil repeats its \u201chistorical trajectory\u201d and stays limited to exporting critical raw materials while other countries consolidate technology, metallization and component production.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But ApexBrasil is working to prevent that, according to Repezza. At the Brussels conference,\u00a0attracting investment for stages beyond extraction<\/a>, such as processing and downstream manufacturing, was one of the agency\u2019s main goals. To promote interaction with investors, the agenda included presenting Brazil-based projects to development institutions and public and private banks. Projects by Meteoric, Aclara and St. George, along with others focused on minerals such as silica and graphite, were among them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cApex\u2019s strategy for attracting investment in critical minerals is directly linked to the New Industry Brazil program, whose pillars include strengthening the mineral chain,\u201d Repezza said. \u201cThe aim is to have as many links in the chain as possible operating within Brazilian territory.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The proposed National Policy for Critical and Strategic Minerals, now moving through Congress and intended to define the policy\u2019s principles, was also presented by the Ministry of Mines and Energy during ApexBrasil\u2019s meetings in Europe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe are revising our regulatory framework for critical minerals mining to make the exploration licensing process even more investor-friendly, which is important news for foreign investors,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Bryan Harris<\/strong>, managing partner at\u00a0Sabio<\/strong>, a consultancy focused on Latin America, said the West has recognized Brazil as an \u201cexcellent\u201d potential partner. \u201cWestern nations have finally realized that they must diversify their supply of critical minerals, and quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He said the growing engagement with Brazilian projects shows how seriously these countries are treating the issue. Developing rare earth supply chains outside China will take years, require deep reforms and involve complex coordination among countries, he added. \u201cBut the fact that money is already beginning to flow shows that this has become a geopolitical and industrial priority for Western nations.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Goi\u00e1s recently signed memorandums of understanding with Japan\u2019s Organization for Metals and Energy Security (Jogmec<\/strong>) and with the U.S. State Department\u2019s Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs to advance rare earth development in the state, according to\u00a0Adriano da Rocha Lima<\/strong>, Goi\u00e1s\u2019s secretary-general of Government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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With Japan, the state hopes to attract investment to move projects further along the processing chain. With the U.S., the goal is technological cooperation and potential knowledge exchange.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt is still an initial outline, meant to establish a basis for more detailed discussions, which is what is happening now in both cases. We are moving into the phase of defining objectives, targets and financial matters. Discussions with Japan are more advanced, and yes, there is a prospect of financial investment, but no amount has been set,\u201d Rocha Lima said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The state also enacted a law in August creating the Goi\u00e1s Authority for Critical Minerals (Amic-GO<\/strong>) and defining strategic minerals, including rare earths, niobium, nickel, copper and titanium. The authority will coordinate development of a state policy for critical minerals and establish a state fund to support the sector.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cA bill is being discussed in Congress, but we moved ahead and passed a state law,\u201d he said. \u201cIt sets out measures to give the state sovereignty to use its resources in the way most advantageous to Goi\u00e1s, so we do not simply export raw ore without adding value.\u201d<\/p>\n

*By\u00a0Michel Esquer\u00a0\u2014 S\u00e3o Paulo<\/p>\n

Source: Valor International<\/p>\n

https:\/\/valorinternational.globo.com\/<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Five companies announce financing, planned funding, or strategic deals amid global race for critical minerals       11\/25\/2025\u00a0 Western countries have deepened their engagement with companies developing Brazilian rare earth mining projects, a group of elements now central to tensions between the U.S. and China.\u00a0At least five companies\u00a0with projects in Goi\u00e1s, Minas Gerais, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8106],"tags":[26608],"class_list":["post-96713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-murray-news","tag-brazils-rare-earths-attract-western-interest"],"yoast_head":"\nBrazil\u2019s rare earths attract Western interest - Murray Advogados<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/brazils-rare-earths-attract-western-interest\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Brazil\u2019s rare earths attract Western interest - 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