The Future Fuel Bill, recently signed into law by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, aims at the decarbonization of the national automotive sector. However, its implications go beyond that, opening up a new horizon for Brazil’s mineral industry, especially concerning critical minerals.
With the growing emphasis on energy transition, driven by electric battery production, the demand for minerals like lithium, nickel, manganese, cobalt, and aluminum oxide is expected to surge. Brazil, in turn, is a major holder of these critical elements.
Lithium, a lightweight metal with high electrochemical potential and an excellent weight-to-energy capacity ratio, stands out. Spodumene, a form of lithium found in Brazilian soil, is considered of high quality.
Brazil has significant lithium reserves in places such as:
- The Jequitinhonha Valley, Minas Gerais.
- The Borborema province, spanning Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte, and Ceará states.
- The Solonópole province in Ceará.
When combined, the reserves and resources from these locations exceed 1 million tons, positioning Brazil as the 7th largest global holder. With new companies entering the lithium production sector in the country, the annual production of 2,200 tons could propel Brazil to the 3rd position worldwide, meeting the increasing demand for electric vehicles.
Cobalt is another strategic raw material, with a predicted 500% growth by 2050. Brazil holds reserves of approximately 70,000 tons of this metal.
Although in 2019 the country produced only 30 tons of cobalt as a byproduct of nickel production, new nickel projects with associated cobalt are undergoing environmental licensing, anticipating increased investments in mineral research, in line with the Future Fuel Bill and the rising trend of hybrid and electric vehicles.
In addition to lithium and cobalt, graphite is a key component in electric car batteries, with an estimated 383% increase in demand by 2050. Brazil hosts 22% of global graphite reserves, totaling 74,000 tons.
The current production represents only 7% of the global total. Nickel, the second most used material in battery production, also has substantial reserves in Brazilian soil, accounting for 16% of global reserves, with an annual production of 83,000 tons. The expectation is that the demand for nickel will grow by more than 100%.
Source: Brasil Mineral
