Trump government is interested in critical minerals in Brazil, says institute after meeting with US manager

The so-called, indispensable for the advancement of new technologies, from clean energy to electric vehicles, were a prominent subject mentioned by Gabriel Escobar, in charge of business and interim ambassador in Brazil, according to the Brazilian Mining Institute (IBRAM) on Thursday (24). The visit of the US authority took place on Wednesday afternoon (23), at the headquarters of Ibram, in Brasilia, and was requested by him. The meeting was attended by the president of the institute, Raul Jungmann, and the vice president, Fernando Azevedo.

According to an official statement from, Escobar expressed interest in the National Policy of Critical and Strategic Minerals, which is being prepared by the Brazilian government, as well as legislative proposals related to the subject. Within the scenario of the recent tariff imposed by the US, different sectors have been looking for negotiation instruments. In the case of mining, the production of rare lands – fundamental for areas such as technology, innovation and defense – was already being dealt with during the government of Joe Biden, and remains of interest to Donald Trump. “US interest remains in strategic critical minerals,” Jungmann said.

The growing international focus on critical minerals – especially the rare lands – has been driven by the global energy transition and the development of cutting -edge technologies such as electric cars. As a result, Trump even considered extreme measures, including military action, as he stated in an interview with NBC News on March 29, commenting on the idea of attaching Greenland. However, this type of mineral resource is not restricted to the Arctic Island. According to data from the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), Brazil has the third largest reserve of rare land on the planet, as well as other relevant sources of critical minerals.

Report produced with the aid of AI

Posted by Carol Santos