Brazil seeks bigger share on metals market for electric batteries

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A top Brazilian mining official expects his country to attract a wave of investment in copper, nickel, and lithium in the coming years as simplified rules and practices improve access to the rich deposits of the battery metals.

Brazil, the largest iron ore producer after Australia, wants to attract more exploration and development of key minerals for the clean energy transformation.

To that end, the government is reviewing geological information, opening up inactive areas, and working on indigenous consultation processes, said Pedro Paulo Dias Mesquita, secretary of geology, mining, and mineral transformation at Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy.

For now, Brazil is only a minor player in the lithium sector, overshadowed by Chile and Argentina, where desert salt flats contain vast brine reserves.

But the government is backing hard-rock projects in Minas Gerais state and expects a “big transformation,” Mesquita said in an interview Sunday.

Copper and nickel are also part of Brazil’s mineral diversification ambition, with geological potential far outstripping production.

“I expect at least five major projects in each in Brazil in the next ten years,” Mesquita said, referring to copper and nickel. A nickel project being developed by Horizonte Minerals Plc “is just the beginning,” he said.

In comments from Toronto, where he is attending the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada mining conference, Mesquita said there is a lot of interest from potential investors as the world struggles to produce enough of the raw materials needed for decarbonization.

While other Latin American nations such as Chile and Peru are looking to increase mining taxes and stricter environmental protections, the Brazilian government of President Jair Bolsonaro is betting on opening up new areas, removing regulatory barriers, and offering investors a safe harbor.

“If the business environment deteriorates there, of course, it’s an opportunity,” Mesquita said, referring to Chile and Peru.

With information from Bloomberg