The newly created Critical Minerals Association (AMC) aims to coordinate companies in Brazil’s sector to address obstacles such as financing and permitting.
At the same time, the association —made up of companies in the lithium, nickel, graphite, rare earths, copper and other segments— wants to broaden the sector’s dialogue with the government and is preparing an international agenda to showcase the potential of projects in Brazil.
Marisa Cesar, chair of the AMC board and corporate affairs and sustainability director in Brazil for Australian lithium firm PLS, one of the association’s members, spoke with BNamericas about the AMC’s objectives.
BNamericas: How did the idea to create the AMC come about?
Cesar: A few months ago, we began conversations among nine companies in the sector —mostly juniors, in addition to PLS, which is the world’s largest company in the [lithium] segment.
Since I work in government relations and, together with Frederico [founder of Frederico Bedran Advogados, specialized in mining], we identified the need for additional work to what IBRAM [Brazilian Mining Association] already does.
So we structured a parallel and complementary initiative to address specific concerns from our segment and jointly presented these issues to the MME [ministry of mines and energy] as conditions for new investments.
BNamericas: What are currently the main bottlenecks faced by companies in Brazil associated with critical minerals, many of them juniors?
Cesar: Issues related to financing.
Most juniors have been included in financing lines from BNDES and Finep, which are well-structured programs.
Most of the juniors were covered by [financing] lines from , which are well-structured programs.
However, the key issue remains: how to obtain guarantees without production? Without the ability to offer guarantees, juniors cannot access private financing in the country.
BNamericas: Another recurring concern in the sector is environmental permitting. How has this affected critical minerals projects in Brazil?
Cesar: The challenge is enormous, especially during the installation license phase.
There is no uniform permitting model in Brazil —and this applies to projects in all states, Minas Gerais, Bahia or Goiás.
This heterogeneity causes delays and creates a real risk: Brazil could become a global leader in critical minerals, but permitting delays could make the country lose that opportunity.
BNamericas: Beyond financing and slow permitting processes, what other aspects generate instability?
Cesar: The lack of governance has generated instability and affected investment decisions. Political and economic uncertainties raise questions about the continuity of projects.
Recent problems in Minas Gerais, environmental technicians’ fear of signing documents and internal postponements affect companies already investing, and it is important to remember that most of this investment is foreign capital —companies based in Canada and Australia.
[BNamericas note: In September, Federal Police and other oversight agencies launched an operation to dismantle a criminal network linked to the granting of mining permits in Minas Gerais.]
BNamericas: What are the chances that Brazil develops a broad value-added chain internally associated with critical minerals?
Cesar: We created a working group supported by SGM/MME [national secretariat for geology, mining and mineral transformation] and ANM [national mining agency] to focus specifically on the critical minerals sector, with direct input from companies and comparisons with international models.
The goal is to develop practical solutions and support the formulation of public policies.
Without tax incentives to attract processing plants, it’s very difficult to compete globally.
Other countries offer clear subsidies. In the case of lithium, with the clean energy matrix we have, it would make perfect sense to bring the final plant to Brazil —but without government incentive, it doesn’t hold. All companies are interested, but they face the same bottlenecks.
BNamerics: Regarding the AMC, which companies are currently part of the association? Are there expansion plans?
Cesar: The current group includes Aclara, Atlantic Nickel, Centaurus, Graphcoa, Graph+, Meteoric, PLS, Viridis and Lithium Ionic, with support from the law firm Frederico Bedran Advogados.
We are in talks with CBL, CBMM, Sigma and St. George, which have shown interest in joining the association, and we are in the formalization process.
BNamericas: Could the creation of the AMC create conflicts with IBRAM? What is that relationship like?
Cesar: There was that concern in the beginning, but we had a meeting with Raul Jungmann [IBRAM president] and the vice president [Fernando Azevedo e Silva], and both were very receptive. Raul understood the need to create this association precisely due to the level of technical depth.
We will work jointly and invited IBRAM to take a seat on our board. They asked for time to validate this internally.
BNamericas: What are the next steps for the association?
Cesar: We are in the early stages, but in the coming months we will have our structured plan to participate in PDAC [Prospectors & Developers Association convention, one of the world’s major exploration and mining events].
We are also already coordinating events in New York to strengthen the critical minerals agenda. Through Amcham [American Chamber of Commerce of Brazil], we seek to support this dialogue and bring more inputs to the debate.
Going to New York is part of a broader effort. Brazil may still not fully grasp the scale of its reserves or the relevance of these materials for the energy transition, defense and other industries. We need to expand production, improve permitting and act with strategy and agility.
(The original version of this content was written in Portuguese)
