Brazil Aims to Become Major Rare Earths Supplier
2024-06-25
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1Brazil aims to become a major producer of rare earth metals as Western countries push to gain supplies needed to manufacture high technology devices.
2Rare earth metals are 17 elements that are important to electronic equipment and to batteries, electricity storage devices.
3South America's largest country could become a competitor to China, which currently produces much of the world's supply of the metals.
4Brazilian officials hope to move the country into the world's top five suppliers.
5Supporters of Brazil's push say low labor costs, existing rules and being close to markets in Latin America are advantages.
6But currently, low prices for rare earth metals, technical difficulties and concerns from possible lenders present problems.
7Brazil is believed to have the world's third-largest supply, or reserves, of rare earth metals.
8Serra Verde is the country's first rare earth mine. The mine started operations this year.
9Experts, business leaders and investors expect production to grow. Western governments are providing incentives.
10Daniel Morgan is with Barrenjoey, an investment bank in Sydney, Australia.
11Speaking about Brazil's possible rare earth supplies, Morgan said, "There have been some very meaningful discoveries made in the past couple of years."
12He added, "I do think outside of China, Brazil's projects are the most economic greenfield projects available."
13"Greenfield" normally means that the area involved is undeveloped or used only for agriculture.
14Currently, the United States and its allies depend almost completely on China for rare earth metals.
15However, the U.S. aims to develop its own supply chain for rare earths by 2027.
16The goal is to provide enough materials to meet the needs of the defense industry.
17China produced 240,000 metric tons of rare earth-related materials in 2023.
18That is five times more than the U.S., the next biggest producer.
19China processes about 90 percent of the world's supply to make permanent magnets, which are used in equipment such as wind turbines, electric vehicles and missiles.
20Countries including Australia, Vietnam and Brazil aim to increase production, but their efforts have been slow.
21In Brazil, Serra Verde has taken 15 years to develop.
22It is expected to produce 5,000 tons of rare earths once production starts.
23The company's chief, Thras Moraitis says production could double by 2030.
24He said his company's mine and Brazil have "competitive advantages" that could aid development of the rare earths industry.
25These include geological qualities, electricity supplies and a skilled workforce.
26But, Moraitis said development "will require continued support to establish itself in a highly competitive market.
27Key processing technologies are controlled by a small number of players."
28Reg Spencer, an expert with investment bank Canaccord said the country could have two or three more mines by 2030.
29A barrier to getting big mining projects started has been a 70 percent drop in the price of many rare earth metals.
30That means banks will be less willing to lend money for rare earth projects.
31Nick Holthouse is chief of Australian developer Meteoric Resources.
32He said, "Getting money at the moment is tough."
33The company is aiming to make an investment decision in late 2025 for its Caldeira project in Brazil's central state of Minas Gerais.
34It will produce both heavy and light rare earths.
35In March, the U.S. Export-Import Bank expressed interest in lending Meteoric Resources $250 million for the project.
36Brazilian Rare Earths is at an early point in developing resources in the country's northeast.
37The company's chief Bernardo Da Veiga said it is much less costly to mine in Brazil compared to Australia.
38Although low labor costs help developers, most countries are behind China in processing and producing rare earths.
39To assist developers, Brazil's government has set aside $195 million to help finance important mineral projects including mining rare earths.
40The Ministry of Mines and Energy said in a statement that it wants to build an industry for creating alloys and finished products like turbines, motors and batteries.
41The ministry is also considering efforts to get rare earths from recycling old equipment and parts.
42Such an effort might save costs on developing separate technologies and establishing a new supply chain.
43I'm Mario Ritter Jr.
1Brazil aims to become a major producer of rare earth metals as Western countries push to gain supplies needed to manufacture high technology devices. 2Rare earth metals are 17 elements that are important to electronic equipment and to batteries, electricity storage devices. 3South America's largest country could become a competitor to China, which currently produces much of the world's supply of the metals. Brazilian officials hope to move the country into the world's top five suppliers. 4Supporters of Brazil's push say low labor costs, existing rules and being close to markets in Latin America are advantages. But currently, low prices for rare earth metals, technical difficulties and concerns from possible lenders present problems. 5Supplies could grow 6Brazil is believed to have the world's third-largest supply, or reserves, of rare earth metals. Serra Verde is the country's first rare earth mine. The mine started operations this year. 7Experts, business leaders and investors expect production to grow. Western governments are providing incentives. 8Daniel Morgan is with Barrenjoey, an investment bank in Sydney, Australia. Speaking about Brazil's possible rare earth supplies, Morgan said, "There have been some very meaningful discoveries made in the past couple of years." 9He added, "I do think outside of China, Brazil's projects are the most economic greenfield projects available." "Greenfield" normally means that the area involved is undeveloped or used only for agriculture. 10Currently, the United States and its allies depend almost completely on China for rare earth metals. However, the U.S. aims to develop its own supply chain for rare earths by 2027. The goal is to provide enough materials to meet the needs of the defense industry. 11China biggest producer 12China produced 240,000 metric tons of rare earth-related materials in 2023. That is five times more than the U.S., the next biggest producer. China processes about 90 percent of the world's supply to make permanent magnets, which are used in equipment such as wind turbines, electric vehicles and missiles. 13Countries including Australia, Vietnam and Brazil aim to increase production, but their efforts have been slow. In Brazil, Serra Verde has taken 15 years to develop. It is expected to produce 5,000 tons of rare earths once production starts. 14The company's chief, Thras Moraitis says production could double by 2030. He said his company's mine and Brazil have "competitive advantages" that could aid development of the rare earths industry. These include geological qualities, electricity supplies and a skilled workforce. 15But, Moraitis said development "will require continued support to establish itself in a highly competitive market. Key processing technologies are controlled by a small number of players." 16Reg Spencer, an expert with investment bank Canaccord said the country could have two or three more mines by 2030. 17Low prices and other problems 18A barrier to getting big mining projects started has been a 70 percent drop in the price of many rare earth metals. 19That means banks will be less willing to lend money for rare earth projects. 20Nick Holthouse is chief of Australian developer Meteoric Resources. He said, "Getting money at the moment is tough." 21The company is aiming to make an investment decision in late 2025 for its Caldeira project in Brazil's central state of Minas Gerais. It will produce both heavy and light rare earths. In March, the U.S. Export-Import Bank expressed interest in lending Meteoric Resources $250 million for the project. 22Brazilian Rare Earths is at an early point in developing resources in the country's northeast. The company's chief Bernardo Da Veiga said it is much less costly to mine in Brazil compared to Australia. 23Although low labor costs help developers, most countries are behind China in processing and producing rare earths. To assist developers, Brazil's government has set aside $195 million to help finance important mineral projects including mining rare earths. The Ministry of Mines and Energy said in a statement that it wants to build an industry for creating alloys and finished products like turbines, motors and batteries. 24The ministry is also considering efforts to get rare earths from recycling old equipment and parts. Such an effort might save costs on developing separate technologies and establishing a new supply chain. 25I'm Mario Ritter Jr. 26Melanie Burton and Fabio Teixeira reported this story for Reuters. Mario Ritter adapted this report for VOA Learning English. 27________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29advantage -n. something that makes success more likely 30technical -adj. related to the practical use of engineering or industrial sciences 31supply chain -n. a network of businesses that supply the materials and parts needed to provide people with products and goods 32We want to hear from you. 33Our comment policy is here.