As demand surges for minerals used in electric vehicles, renewable energy systems and advanced electronics, Australian miners are increasingly turning their attention to Brazil’s vast, largely under-developed reserves of rare earths, titanium minerals, nickel and lithium. The move reflects both the urgency of securing resilient supply chains and Brazil’s emergence as one of the most promising critical minerals jurisdictions outside China.
For years, Brazil and Australia were defined by their competition in iron ore exports. But as global priorities pivot toward clean-energy inputs, Australian miners are expanding into Brazil not as competitors, but as investors.
Brazil’s geological potential is a major driver. The country holds more than 94% of the world’s known niobium reserves, is a top-tier producer of graphite and nickel, and has rapidly become a key player in lithium, where producers like Sigma Lithium have put the country on the global map with ultra-low-carbon operations.
Rare earth elements (REEs), (crucial for magnets used in EV motors and wind turbines) are emerging as the strongest magnet for new investment. Brazil has the world’s second-largest REE resource base, with roughly 23% of global reserves, according to the US Geological Survey. As geopolitical tensions reshape the minerals trade, this resource potential is now attracting significant interest from Australian companies.
A growing group of Australian miners is now advancing rare earth and titanium projects across several Brazilian states:
Other Australian juniors (including Alvo Minerals, Axel REE, Equinox Resources, Perpetual Resources, St George Mining, among others), are also evaluating or advancing projects across several Brazilian mining provinces.
Beyond exploration, some companies are investing in processing, long seen as a critical bottleneck in the global rare earths industry.
Brazilian Rare Earths is planning an integrated separation refinery at Bahia’s Camaçari industrial complex. The facility would process material from the company’s Monte Alto deposit, which contains high concentrations of neodymium, praseodymium and heavy rare earths: all essential for permanent magnets.
The company has partnered with France’s Carester, one of the few groups with world-class expertise in sustainable rare earth processing. A ten-year offtake agreement and a dedicated technology partnership aim to bring Brazil deeper into the higher-value stages of the supply chain.
Camaçari’s industrial ecosystem is expanding rapidly, underscored by the recent launch of BYD’s electric vehicle manufacturing site, further positioning Bahia as a future hub for energy transition industries.
Brazil’s federal government has made the critical minerals industry one of its priority pillars for industrial and energy transition policy. Following the unveiling of the Brazilian Industry Plan, authorities are finalizing a dedicated strategy for critical minerals aimed at:
State-led institutions are moving in parallel. BNDES and FINEP recently launched a R$5 billion (USD 938 million) financing program to support exploration, processing, technology development and supply-chain innovation. The initiatives include grants, concessional credit and investments in areas such as graphene, advanced materials and magnet production.
BNDES has also established a dedicated critical minerals investment fund expected to mobilize roughly USD 200 million for early-stage and development-stage projects.
With Australian miners playing an increasingly visible role across Brazil’s critical minerals landscape, the relationship between the two countries is shifting from competition in iron ore to collaboration in minerals essential for the global energy transition.
For Brazil, this influx of capital and technical expertise strengthens its position as a future anchor in clean-technology supply chains. For Australian companies, Brazil offers scale, geology and a stable regulatory environment - a combination that is becoming harder to find elsewhere.
As global markets race to diversify away from concentrated supply chains, Brazil’s critical minerals sector is entering a pivotal expansion phase, and Australian investors are helping shape it.
