It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Monday, April 27, 2026
Brazil left wing party asks court to halt rare earths miner’s sale
Serra Verde’s mine in Brazil. (Image: Serra Verde)
Left-wing Brazilian political party Rede Sustentabilidade asked the country’s Supreme Court to suspend the sale of mining company Serra Verde Group to USA Rare Earth Inc on national security grounds.
In a filing submitted on Friday, the party argued that Brazilian legislation doesn’t provide sufficient safeguards for the national interest as required by the Constitution in the exploitation of strategic mineral resources. The party said that no transaction should be carried out that could directly or indirectly transfer significant economic control over the country’s strategic mineral assets.
USA Rare Earth offered $2.8 billion in cash and stock for Serra Verde, which would mark one of the largest transactions in the rare earths industry to date.
Serra Verde’s Pela Ema operation in Goiás is being upgraded and currently produces about 100 metric tons of rare earth oxides per year. Output is expected to rise significantly, reaching around 6,400 tons annually by the end of next year.
Serra Verde’s press office declined to comment. USA Rare Earth didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment outside of normal business hours.
(By Daniel Carvalho)
Brazil rejects ‘TerraBras’ as US minerals deal stalls
Brazil’s government sees no need for a state-run critical minerals company. (Stock image)
Brazil sees no need to create a state-run critical minerals company, Industry Minister Marcio Elias Rosa said Friday, pushing back on proposals for a state-backed entity.
“There is no need whatsoever to create a state-owned company to carry out the exploration or processing of critical minerals,” Rosa told local broadcaster CanalGov, adding the current regulatory framework already offers incentives for the sector.
His comments come as a proposed national framework for critical minerals remains stalled in Congress and the Lula administration misses its own deadline to deliver a broader mining strategy.
The bill, led by federal deputy Arnaldo Jardim, includes a fund of up to 5 billion reais ($1 billion) to back mining projects, though officials have raised concerns about provisions that could expand state intervention.
Finance Minister Dario Durigan said the forthcoming framework will prioritize national sovereignty and domestic value creation without relying on broad tax breaks,. He argued strong global demand is already sufficient to attract investment while targeted tools like the Eco Invest programme will be used selectively to support projects.
“Brazilian critical minerals are too great for any potential political impediments to stand in the way,” Neil Harrington, senior vice president for the Americas at the US Chamber of Commerce, said at a São Paulo summit last month.
“It makes too much sense from a strategic, economic and investment perspective for both countries not to engage in this sector,” Harrington noted.
Brazil has the world’s second-largest rare earths reserves only behind China, but it produces less than 1% of global output. (Data source: USGS – metric tonnes.)
Policy uncertainty is not halting projects but is making capital allocation more selective, particularly for higher-risk downstream investments, as developers seek clearer signals on permitting, financing and the state’s role, Carlos Nogueira, senior advisor Brazil at consultancy Plusmining, told MINING.COM.
The absence of a clear policy is not stopping investment but is limiting how much capital Brazil could attract, while measures such as fast-tracked permitting could significantly accelerate project timelines, Adriano Drummond Trindade, a Brazilian mining lawyer, added.
Other analysts point to a broader policy vacuum that is highlighting rising friction between Brasilia and Washington, with missed diplomatic engagements, blocked visits and trade tensions complicating efforts to secure a bilateral minerals agreement ahead of Brazil’s October election.
State by state
Despite the lack of a federal deal, the US is deepening engagement at the regional level. Goiás is advancing a memorandum of understanding with US partners to expand research, investment and processing tied to the Serra Verde rare earths operation.
The deal could potentially create one of the few Western producers of heavy rare earths outside China. It includes a 15-year supply arrangement with minimum pricing, marking a shift from previous exports to China.
Pela Ema rare earth mine in Brazil. (Image courtesy of Serra Verde.)
Rafaela Guedes of the Brazilian Centre for International Relations said the transaction strengthens Brazil’s role in diversifying supply but warned it falls short of building an industrial base.
“Without clear policies for adding value, building technology, and aligning mining with industry, Brazil may end up negotiating assets one by one instead of from a national strategy,” she said.
Other companies, including Aclara Resources (TSX: ARA) and Meteoric Resources, have also secured US-backed financing for early-stage projects.
Strategic market
Brazil’s vast rare earth reserves make it a strategic prize as Beijing tightens export controls. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has pushed for domestic processing and diversified partnerships, including recent agreements with India, while resisting pressure to simply export raw materials.
Domestic processing is increasingly driven by project economics rather than policy alone, particularly in rare earths and lithium where pre-processing is often necessary, though it raises capital costs and execution risks for investors, Nogueira said.
Building a competitive rare earths value chain will likely require partnerships with the US to access advanced processing technology and innovation, as Brazil faces steep technical barriers to matching China’s capabilities, Juan Ignacio Guzman, head of GEM consulting said.
Incentives rather than export restrictions are the more effective path to building domestic processing, while proposals such as export taxes or state intervention risk undermining competitiveness, Trindade said. He added that current geopolitics could favour Brazil as a neutral investment destination if policy clarity improves.
Debate over a potential state-backed entity, often dubbed “TerraBras” (Terra= land or earth in Portuguese and Bras= shorthand for Brazil), has added to regulatory uncertainty, even as authorities insist no such plan is under consideration. Instead, officials say the focus remains on attracting private investment and expanding refining capacity.
Geopolitical competition is likely to steer Brazil toward a flexible framework that avoids choosing between the US and China, preserving access to Chinese processing while encouraging Western investment and technology partnerships, Nogueira said.
Advisory firm Speyside Group points to Brazil’s combination of mineral diversity and relatively clean energy as a competitive advantage, but warns that fragmented policy, weak implementation and misalignment with global ESG standards could delay projects and raise costs.
With 13 bills related to critical minerals under review, according to the National Mining Agency (ANM), analysts say legislative gridlock is already weighing on investment decisions and delaying partnerships. Without a unified strategy, experts say Brazil risks missing a window to align foreign interest with its industrial ambitions as demand for critical minerals accelerates.
Latin America is heading into 2026 with resources at the centre of a growing global power struggle, as governments and investors focus on who controls critical minerals and the supply chains behind them. If the region matters to you, don’t miss MINING.COM’s series tracking the geopolitical forces reshaping it and why markets are increasingly driven by global alliances as much as local politics.
Serra Verde’s Pela Ema mine in Brazil. Credit: Serra Verde
Brazil’s Serra Verde Group — the target of a $2.8 billion acquisition by USA Rare Earth Inc. — expects about one-third of its future production to come from heavy rare earth elements, a category currently dominated by China.
The company’s Pela Ema operation in Goiás is being upgraded and now produces roughly 100 metric tons of rare earth oxides each year, according to chief operating officer Ricardo Grossi. Production is expected to increase significantly, reaching about 6,400 tons annually by the end of next year.
A recent wave of deals underscores a global push to build rare earth capacity after China last year threatened widespread industrial shutdowns by restricting exports. Earlier this month, USA Rare Earth agreed to acquire Serra Verde in one of the largest deals in the industry.
Heavy rare earths are less abundant and more valuable than lighter ones. That’s prompting companies to expand production outside China, including in the US and South America.
For the expected output from Pela Ema, about 32% will be terbium and dysprosium — less common elements that are essential for high-performance magnets. The rest will include neodymium-praseodymium — at 22% — and yttrium — 42%, according to Grossi.
Serra Verde has signed a 15-year supply agreement with a US-backed partner. The deal sets minimum prices of $2,050 per kilogram for terbium and $575 per kilogram for dysprosium. Grossi said the materials will be sold only to Western markets.
The company is also considering carrying out part of the processing — known as oxide separation — in Brazil, with a final investment decision expected by early 2027.
“We’ve developed a pricing model that isn’t tied to highly volatile Asian benchmarks, which enhances revenue visibility” Grossi said, adding that the structure could help unlock other projects in Brazil.
Serra Verde’s mine in Brazil. (Image: Serra Verde)
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