As Western governments seek to reduce dependence on Chinese rare earth supply chains, Brazil is emerging as one of the world’s most promising new sources of critical minerals.
The country holds the world’s second-largest rare earth resource base and is home to a growing number of advanced ionic clay projects. At the same time, the recent G7 declaration on critical minerals has reinforced the strategic importance of developing new mining, processing and recycling capacity among trusted partners.
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But geology alone will not determine success. Financing, permitting, downstream processing and international partnerships will all shape whether Brazil can establish itself as a reliable supplier of magnet rare earths to Western markets.
In this episode of Energy Technology, mining editor Alejandro Gonzalez speaks with Rafael Moreno, CEO of Viridis Mining & Minerals, developer of the Colossus Rare Earth Project in Minas Gerais. He is joined by Elizabeth Johnson, Managing Director of Brazil Research at TS Lombard, and GlobalData mining analyst Sai Dheeraj to discuss Brazil’s rare earth ambitions and the challenges of building an internationally competitive supply chain.
Why Brazil, and why now?
Brazil has been a mining nation for decades, but demand for rare earth elements has transformed its strategic importance.
Growing demand from electric vehicles, offshore wind, advanced electronics and defence applications, combined with efforts by the G7 and other Western governments to diversify supply chains beyond China, has placed Brazil firmly in the spotlight.
“Brazil already is a mining country,” explains Johnson. “Within this global push to de-risk supply from China, Brazil understands its potential to play an important role as an alternative supplier.”
Moreno says the shift has been equally noticeable from an industry perspective.
“There’s definitely been a national agenda around critical minerals… Brazil is now seen as an important international partner.”
Why ionic clay deposits matter
Unlike conventional hard-rock rare earth projects, Colossus is an ionic clay deposit, allowing rare earth elements to be extracted using relatively mild chemical solutions rather than energy-intensive crushing and flotation.
The project is targeting magnet rare earths including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium, which are essential components in permanent magnets used by electric vehicles, offshore wind turbines and defence technologies.
According to Moreno, the characteristics of ionic clay deposits could allow Brazil to compete on both operating costs and environmental performance.
Can Brazil move quickly enough?
The opportunity may be significant, but it may also be time limited.
Australia, Canada, the United States and several African countries are all advancing rare earth projects intended to diversify supply away from China.
Moreno argues that Brazil has only “a relatively short window” to establish itself as a major producer before competing jurisdictions reach commercial production.
Johnson agrees that policymakers “understand the urgency”, pointing to growing government support for strategic mining projects and efforts to accelerate investment.
Mining, processing and the real bottleneck
One of the podcast’s central discussions asks what is actually preventing the development of alternative rare earth supply chains.
Moreno argues that the biggest challenge is not downstream processing but “bringing more mines into production”.
Johnson offers a different perspective, suggesting “long-term pricing signals” and commercial certainty will ultimately determine investment decisions.
Meanwhile, Dheeraj highlights the importance of expanding downstream processing capacity if Brazil is to capture more value from its mineral resources.
What role could Brazil play?
The discussion concludes by examining Brazil’s longer-term ambitions.
Can the country become more than a supplier of raw materials? Could it build downstream processing, separation and recycling capacity? And what practical difference might the recent G7 commitments make to projects already under development?
Those questions will shape not only Brazil’s mining industry, but also the resilience of future global rare earth supply chains.
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