Brazil possesses a significant proportion of critical minerals for energy transition, including nickel, which is fundamental for the production of batteries used in electric vehicles and diverse industrial technologies. According to the Brazil-China Business Council, Chinese investment in the country was increased by 113% in 2024, compared to the previous year. This was highlighted by MMG’s purchase of nickel mines in Goiás and other states. With this operation, companies with Chinese origin carry out approximately 60% of Brazil’s production of this material.
Meanwhile, the interest in this sector is not only limited to nickel. Brazil also holds significant reserves of lithium, copper, and one-fifth of the world’s rare earth element reserves, which are the resources that are playing important roles in the global supply. These conditions explain the dynamics of the recent foreign investments, which signifies the strategic importance of Brazil’s minerals in the Global Value Chain (GVC).
In this context, the Minister of Economic Affairs, Fernando Haddad, pointed out that Brazil has to maintain a strategic debate on the issue of its critical minerals. It is therefore expected that the debate around the National Policy on Critical Minerals would gain greater relevance, since Brazil is now facing a challenge in utilizing its geopolitical advantages to generate added values.
