VOA科学技术2024--Brazil Aims to Become Major Rare Earths Supplier

Brazil aims to become a major producer of rare earth metals as Western countries push to gain supplies needed to manufacture high technology devices.

Rare earth metals are 17 elements that are important to electronic equipment and to batteries, electricity storage devices.

South America's largest country could become a competitor to China, which currently produces much of the world's supply of the metals. Brazilian officials hope to move the country into the world's top five suppliers.

Supporters of Brazil's push say low labor¹ costs, existing rules and being close to markets in Latin America are advantages. But currently, low prices for rare earth metals, technical difficulties and concerns from possible lenders present problems.

Supplies could grow

Brazil is believed to have the world's third-largest supply, or reserves, of rare earth metals. Serra Verde is the country's first rare earth mine. The mine started operations this year.

Experts, business leaders and investors² expect production to grow. Western governments are providing incentives³.

Daniel Morgan is with Barrenjoey, an investment bank in Sydney, Australia. Speaking about Brazil's possible rare earth supplies, Morgan said, "There have been some very meaningful discoveries made in the past couple of years."

He added, "I do think outside of China, Brazil's projects are the most economic greenfield projects available." "Greenfield" normally means that the area involved is undeveloped or used only for agriculture.

Currently, the United States and its allies depend almost completely on China for rare earth metals. However, the U.S. aims to develop its own supply chain for rare earths by 2027. The goal is to provide enough materials to meet the needs of the defense⁴ industry.

China biggest producer

China produced 240,000 metric tons of rare earth-related materials in 2023. That is five times more than the U.S., the next biggest producer. China processes about 90 percent of the world's supply to make permanent magnets, which are used in equipment such as wind turbines, electric vehicles and missiles.

Countries including Australia, Vietnam and Brazil aim to increase production, but their efforts have been slow. In Brazil, Serra Verde has taken 15 years to develop. It is expected to produce 5,000 tons of rare earths once production starts.

The company's chief, Thras Moraitis says production could double by 2030. He said his company's mine and Brazil have "competitive advantages" that could aid development of the rare earths industry. These include geological qualities, electricity supplies and a skilled workforce⁵.

But, Moraitis said development "will require continued support to establish itself in a highly competitive market. Key processing technologies are controlled by a small number of players."

Reg Spencer, an expert with investment bank Canaccord said the country could have two or three more mines by 2030.

Low prices and other problems

A barrier to getting big mining projects started has been a 70 percent drop in the price of many rare earth metals.

That means banks will be less willing to lend money for rare earth projects.

Nick Holthouse is chief of Australian developer Meteoric⁶ Resources. He said, "Getting money at the moment is tough."

The company is aiming to make an investment decision in late 2025 for its Caldeira project in Brazil's central state of Minas Gerais. It will produce both heavy and light rare earths. In March, the U.S. Export-Import Bank expressed interest in lending Meteoric Resources $250 million for the project.

Brazilian Rare Earths is at an early point in developing resources in the country's northeast. The company's chief Bernardo Da Veiga said it is much less costly⁷ to mine in Brazil compared to Australia.

Although low labor costs help developers, most countries are behind China in processing and producing rare earths. To assist developers, Brazil's government has set aside $195 million to help finance important mineral projects including mining rare earths. The Ministry⁸ of Mines and Energy said in a statement that it wants to build an industry for creating alloys⁹ and finished products like turbines, motors and batteries.

The ministry is also considering efforts to get rare earths from recycling old equipment and parts. Such an effort might save costs on developing separate technologies and establishing a new supply chain.

Words in This Story

advantage -n. something that makes success more likely

technical -adj. related to the practical use of engineering or industrial sciences

supply chain -n. a network of businesses that supply the materials and parts needed to provide people with products and goods

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

3 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

6 meteoric   

adj.流星的，转瞬即逝的，突然的

参考例句：

• In my mind,losing weight is just something meteoric.在我眼中，减肥不过是昙花一现的事情。
• His early career had been meteoric.他的早期生涯平步青云。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

9 alloys   

n.合金( alloy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This is essentially a development of thoria dispersion strengthened nickel alloys. 这基本上是用二氧化钍弥散强度化的镍基合金。 来自辞典例句
• The lack of deep hardening in these alloys negates their use. 这些合金缺乏深层硬化能力使它们无法利用。 来自辞典例句