Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva chaired a ministerial meeting at the Planalto Palace on July 10, focusing on the national critical minerals strategy, aimed at promoting the exploration, processing, and industrialization of strategic minerals such as lithium, rare earths, nickel, and cobalt. Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services Geraldo Alckmin, and Minister of Mines and Energy Alexandre Silveira attended the meeting.

The meeting comes as the government is pushing forward the National Policy for Critical and Strategic Minerals bill in Congress. The bill has already passed the Chamber of Deputies and is now awaiting Senate approval. However, progress has been hampered by tensions between Lula and Senate President Davi Alcolumbre.

The bill would expand government control over critical minerals, including the creation of a commission directly under the presidency to define priority projects, establish classification criteria, and veto sensitive transactions such as foreign acquisitions of mining assets. The bill also provides 5 billion reais in tax credits between 2030 and 2034 to stimulate the critical minerals supply chain.

The Brazilian government has identified priority minerals including rare earths, lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, and graphite – essential raw materials for batteries, electric vehicles, electronics, and clean energy generation technologies. Brazil holds the world’s second‑largest rare earth reserves (about 21 million tonnes), second only to China, and also controls 26% of global graphite, over 90% of niobium, 12% of nickel, and 5% of proven lithium reserves.

However, there are internal disagreements over the degree of intervention. Points of contention include the extent of state involvement, the means to stimulate local processing of minerals, and Brazil’s positioning in global supply chains. The private sector fears the bill could increase regulatory uncertainty and scare off investment. The government also acknowledges that the economic viability of different minerals varies, depending on technology, market size, international competitiveness, and their position in the value chain.

Minister Silveira recently made clear that Brazil “under no circumstances” should export unprocessed critical minerals. He stressed that the country’s mineral wealth should drive industrialization, technological innovation, and job creation, not merely raw material exports. The Lula administration has established the National Mining Policy Council to coordinate strategic policies for critical minerals. On the international front, Brazil has signed a joint declaration with Germany to promote research, technological development, and innovation cooperation in critical minerals. The EU is also in talks with Brazil to establish a strategic partnership on critical minerals.