Brazil's Câmara dos Deputados Approves National Policy on Critical and Strategic Minerals
Brazil's lower house approves a new policy on critical minerals, aiming to boost competitiveness and international collaboration ahead of Lula-Trump talks.
- • The Câmara dos Deputados approved the National Policy on Critical and Strategic Minerals bill on May 6, 2026.
- • The legislation defines critical minerals, establishes financing and licensing frameworks, and creates a dedicated oversight committee.
- • The bill gained broad support but faced opposition from the PSOL/Rede federation and saw rejection of an amendment to remove a veto-capable council.
- • The approval comes ahead of a meeting between President Lula and U.S. President Trump, signaling the policy’s geopolitical importance.
Key details
On May 6, 2026, Brazil's Câmara dos Deputados approved the main text of a bill establishing the National Policy on Critical and Strategic Minerals, marking a significant step for the country's strategic positioning within global mineral markets. The legislation defines essential critical and strategic minerals, sets up financing mechanisms, and regulates licensing processes to promote efficient mineral exploration and exploitation.
The approved bill includes the creation of the Critical and Strategic Minerals Committee (CMCE), which will be linked to the National Mineral Policy Council (CNPM), as well as the establishment of the Mineral Activity Guarantee Fund (Fgam) to support these initiatives. The proposal garnered substantial support, including parts of the opposition, although the PSOL/Rede federation opposed it. Notably, a proposal to remove a council empowered to analyze and potentially veto related projects was rejected during the parliamentary vote.
Hugo Motta, President of the Chamber of Deputies, underscored the importance of this policy, highlighting Brazil's status as holding the world's second-largest reserves of critical minerals. Motta emphasized that the legislation provides vital government incentives and prioritizes licensing for projects critical to producing advanced technologies like smartphones, electric vehicles, and defense systems. He described the policy as a "compass" guiding Brazil's role in the global energy transition and technological development, pledging that it would foster job creation and attract diverse international investment without aligning with any single global power.
The timing of the vote was significant, occurring just ahead of a scheduled meeting between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, where critical mineral exploration in Brazil was expected to be a central topic. Following its approval by the Câmara dos Deputados, the bill now advances to the Senate for further analysis.
This legislative milestone aims to enhance Brazil's competitiveness on the world stage by providing a clear, regulated framework to harness its rich mineral reserves, aligning with global demands for critical materials essential to modern technology and energy systems.
This article was translated and synthesized from Brazilian sources, providing English-speaking readers with local perspectives.
