Federal deputy Rodrigo Rollemberg (PSB-DF) presented on Thursday, 9, the bill (PL) 1,733 of 2026, which authorizes the federal government to create the state-owned Terra Raras Brasileiras SA (Terrabras) for research, exploration, processing, industrialization and commercialization of rare earths, strategic minerals and critical minerals.
According to the congressman, the creation of the state-owned company will benefit the development of the production chain by carrying out geological studies, investing in research and mediating the signing of contracts in the area, through subsidiaries, consortia or partnerships with public and private companies.
“Terrabras will act as a public policy instrument to promote the addition of value and the industrialization in the national territory of products that incorporate metallic chemical elements called rare earths in their manufacture”, states Rollemberg in the text presented.
According to the project, the company must also stimulate and participate in the installation of industrial hubs linked to the mineral chain, with the aim of boosting domestic production, reducing external dependence and promoting the country’s technological and industrial development.
The state-owned company would be responsible for monitoring and acting on mineral exploration throughout the national territory, in addition to directly participating in mining projects in regions considered strategic, especially those with already identified reserves.
Among its responsibilities is also the development of technologies aimed at processing and refining rare earths, as well as investing in solutions that expand the national processing, refining and industrialization capacity of these minerals, with added value.
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The text does not establish a minimum shareholding of the Union in private ventures nor does it provide for a mandatory percentage of the state’s presence in mining projects. There is also no mention of Terrabras’ direct participation mechanisms in other companies in the sector with defined shares.
The proposal only opens the possibility of forming partnerships and the participation of other shareholders in the state-owned company itself, without detailing rules for the company’s participation in third-party projects.
Separately, as found by the Broadcast (Grupo Estado’s real-time news system), the idea of creating a state-owned company with a minimum participation of 30% in critical mineral projects in the country was circulated in the Executive. This modeling, however, is not included in the project presented by Rollemberg and was not incorporated into the text.
Under criticism, proposals for greater state presence in the sector were compared to models adopted in other countries in areas considered strategic. The discussion, however, has not progressed at the highest level of the government so far.
