(MENAFN- The Rio Times) Key Points

• Terra Brasil Minerals is seeking about $1 billion for a rare earths and fertilizer hub in Minas Gerais.
  
• The project links food security and high-tech supply chains as Brazil tries to monetize underused reserves.
  
• Financing, permits and community demands will decide whether Brazil becomes an alternative to China.
  

Terra Brasil Minerals, a junior miner from Minas Gerais, is on the radar of governments and multinationals hunting alternatives to China in critical minerals.

The company is marketing a $1 billion package to develop rare earths and fertilizers in the Alto Paranaíba region, between Patos de Minas and Presidente Olegário. Around 18 companies from the US, Europe, Australia and China have already opened the data room.

U.S. agencies are backing other Brazilian rare earth projects such as Serra Verde and Aclara, part of a push by Western governments to diversify supplies for electric vehicles, wind turbines and advanced weapons.


Brazil's Rare Earths Move From Potential to Proof
The prize is a kamafugito rock body holding phosphate, potassium and several rare earth elements. Terra Brasil says the deposit exceeds 3 billion tonnes and could support about 50 years of scalable production.

Founded in 2013, the firm has invested more than R$200 million of its own capital in drilling, feasibility studies and processing technology.

Brazil holds the world's second-largest rare earth reserves but barely appears in production statistics, while China dominates mining and processing. At the same time, Brazil still imports most of its fertilizers, a weakness exposed during the war in Ukraine.

A single complex that can feed local farmers and global technology manufacturers therefore appeals to investors who trust market discipline and long-term contracts more than state planning.

Money and paperwork remain bottlenecks. Rare earth developers complain that banks demand guarantees early in the life of a mine, when cash flow is weakest, and communities in Minas Gerais want firm assurances on water, land and environmental oversight.

Terra Brasil's next steps – including a Canadian-style NI 43-101 certification and the shape of any joint venture – will show whether Brazil is ready to turn geology into jobs, tax revenue and strategic leverage, or let others capture the value of its subsoil.

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