Brazil: Mineral Policy

General Overview

Brazil has considerable geological potential. Historically, the country was a large producer of diamonds in the seventeenth century and of gold in the eighteenth century. At present, the country produces more than 80 mineral substances, being an important global player in some of those commodities. In 2014 (At the time of the preparation of this article, the figures of 2014 and 2015 were not publicly available. Brazil was the largest world producer of niobium (93.7% of the world production), the second largest producer of aluminium/bauxite (14.9%), and the third largest producer of iron ore (12.8%). Most of the references are made to the “Mining Summary” (Sumário Mineral) published by the National Department of Mineral Production (Departamento Nacional de Produção Mineral – DNPM) in 2015.)

Furthermore, the country has significant reserves of niobium (98.2% of the world reserves), rare earths (16.1%), nickel (13.7%), tin (10%), iron ore (13.6%), and manganese (8.8%)...