Brazil demands rare earths be processed at home as US and China compete
Move comes as Washington locks US$565 million deal with Brazil’s only operating rare earth mine
Brazil will require foreign partners to process rare earth minerals domestically as a condition for access to its reserves, a senior government official said this week, setting terms that could reshape how Chinese and Western firms compete for resources the country has long exported raw.
“Our doors of Brazil to foreign investment are open, but our position has matured,” Leonardo Durans, a senior official at Brazil’s industry ministry, said at a press conference with international media on Monday.
“The commitment we will demand from everyone is domestic technological development and job creation.”
“We are open to the United States, the European Union and China. We will talk to everyone,” he said.
Brazil holds about 10 per cent of global critical mineral reserves, with the world’s second-largest reserves of rare earths and graphite, and third-largest of nickel.