Economy
Brazil stakes claim in global rare earth race with Western backing
Brazil positions itself as a rare earth alternative to China. It offers cleaner extraction methods and attracts Western interest, despite higher costs and limited funding for scaling up production.
![The Morro do Ouro mine in Minas Gerais, Brazil. As the country aims to become a global supplier of rare earth elements (REEs), its extraction model, unlike China's polluting chemical methods, relies on shallower, cleaner techniques. Western nations have shown growing interest. [Agência Brasil]](/gc4/images/2025/06/30/50994-brasil_tierras_raras-600_384.webp)
By Waldaniel Amadis |
SÃO PAULO -- Brazil has emerged as a new contender in the race for rare-earth elements (REEs), the strategic minerals essential to electric vehicles, wind turbines, smartphones and advanced military technology.
As the world's second-largest holder of REE reserves, behind only China, Brazil now draws growing attention from the United States, Germany and other nations looking to reduce dependence on Beijing.
Canadian firm Aclara Resources is leading one of the most promising new ventures. It is developing a mine in Nova Roma, in the central state of Goiás, with a pilot processing plant near Goiânia. Backed by US private investment, Aclara's project places Brazil at the heart of a reconfigured global supply chain.
China's recent export restrictions on critical minerals have only sharpened interest in alternative sources.
In response, Brazil is mapping new deposits and exploring ways to extract REEs from mining waste, particularly valuable elements like neodymium, dysprosium and terbium used in high-performance magnets.
Cleaner methods, higher costs
Brazil's extraction model differs sharply from China's heavily polluting chemical methods.
Aclara plans shallow excavations, followed by clay transport and soil restoration without the use of tailing dams, a key distinction in a country with a tragic history of mining-related environmental disasters. Still, costs remain a hurdle.
Extracting REEs in Brazil can cost up to three times more than in China, and few firms worldwide possess the necessary refining technology.
Despite holding over 20% of the world's known reserves, about 21 million tonnes, Brazil produced only 80 tonnes in 2023. China, by contrast, extracted more than 200,000.
Officials hope to ramp up domestic output over the next decade with new public-private partnerships and technology investments.
The Brazilian government, through its industrial research agency Embrapii, has launched a national innovation network that brings together universities, the Brazilian Geological Service (CPRM) and private companies to strengthen the country's technical expertise in rare earth exploration and processing.
'A prominent hub'
Although limited state funding may not fully cover the costs of bringing REE projects to completion, Brazil's national development bank, BNDES, remains open to partnering with international institutions.
"The world has realized it can't rely on just one country," said José Gordon, director of development, foreign trade and innovation, in comments reported by Bloomberg Línea on June 11.
Among the active projects is one led by Australian firm Viridis Mining & Minerals.
The first year of studies yielded "excellent results" and highlighted the region's potential as a prominent hub for REE production, according to the Secretariat of Economic Development and Labor of Poços de Caldas.
Poços de Caldas is a municipality in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais where the project is based.
To become a true global player, Brazil must go beyond raw extraction and build a full supply chain at home. The challenge lies in developing the industrial muscle to process REEs domestically and positioning itself as a stable, sustainable supplier.
For a country seeking economic and geopolitical influence, REEs may offer a rare opportunity.