Brazil Sets National Priority List for 27 Critical Minerals

Overview

• The federal decree formalized three priority classes for critical and strategic minerals and the CIMCE approved an official list of 27 substances at its first plenary on Thursday.
• Nine minerals — rare earths, graphite, lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, silicon and uranium — were ranked class 1 and will get the highest priority for funding and scrutiny of transactions.
• The decree sets clear tests to label minerals “critical” (economic need, supply vulnerability, shortage risk) and “strategic” (size of domestic reserves and national purpose) that guide the classification.
• The government said it is open to foreign investment but will require local processing, technology and contractual counter‑offers to protect sovereignty; detailed triage rules, thresholds and timelines remain to be written.
• Next steps include additional CIMCE meetings in late November and early December to define which deals must be screened, how controls will work and how incentives will be allocated, a process that will shape jobs and local industry growth.