Brazil approves its list of 27 critical and strategic minerals: rare earths, lithium, and copper top the national priority list

Decree No. 13,146/2026 establishes the classification criteria and priority classes, and the CIMCE, at its first meeting, approves the official list that unlocks access to the PNMCE’s support instruments

A little over a month and a half after the enactment of Law No. 15,506/2026, which established the National Policy on Critical and Strategic Minerals (PNMC), and the issuance of Decree No. 13,118/2026, which established the National Council for the Industrialization of Critical and Strategic Minerals (CIMCE), the implementation of the new policy took two decisive steps this week.

On Wednesday, November 4, a special edition of the Federal Official Gazette published Decree No. 13,146/2026 (Decree), which establishes economic, socio-environmental, and climate criteria for defining and updating the list of substances classified as critical and strategic minerals and provides for the possibility of organizing these minerals into priority classes. On Thursday, November 5, the CIMCE held its inaugural meeting at the Planalto Palace, during which it approved the Brazilian list of 27 critical and strategic minerals, divided into three priority classes.

Establishing this list was one of the missing pieces needed to give the PNMCE practical effect: inclusion on the list is a criterion for accessing the new support instruments provided for in the Law and serves as a reference for the investment screening mechanism and for the National Registry of Critical and Strategic Mineral Projects (CNPMCE). Below, we highlight the main changes.

1. Decree No. 13,146/2026: the method for defining the list

The Decree itself does not contain the list of substances. Its role is to establish the method: the requirements for including each substance, the criteria for organizing them into priority classes, and the procedure for defining and revising the list. Classification must comply with the legal definitions of critical minerals and strategic minerals set forth in Article 2, items I and II, of Law No. 15,506/2026, and a single substance may be classified in both categories simultaneously, provided that compliance with the requirements of each definition is demonstrated. The Decree took effect on the date of its publication.

2. Requirements for classification as a critical mineral

For a substance to be classified as a critical mineral, the analysis must demonstrate, cumulatively:

1. Necessity: the necessity of the substance for key sectors of the national economy, considering its applications in those sectors and the technical and economic feasibility of its substitution;
2. Supply vulnerability: the insufficiency, instability, or vulnerability of the substance’s availability, due to insufficient domestic production, high dependence on imports, geographic concentration of foreign supply, geopolitical risks, market restrictions, or technological bottlenecks; and
3. Risk of Shortage: the possibility of a shortage that poses a significant risk to the country’s economy, considering the effects on production, employment, and access to goods and services in dependent sectors, especially those related to the energy transition, food and nutritional

Noteworthy is the explicit inclusion of socio-environmental and climate variables in the assessment of supply vulnerability. In the affected stages of the production chain, the following will be considered: (a) the capacity to meet demand and diversify sources, including through recycling, the use of tailings and waste rock, and other secondary sources; (b) limitations arising from the availability of water and other natural resources and from socio-environmental impacts on territories and communities; and (c) the exposure of production and transportation to climate events.

3. Requirements for cassification as a strategic mineral

To qualify as a strategic mineral, the analysis must demonstrate, cumulatively:

1. Relevance: the substance’s relevance to the country, stemming from significant reserves, considering available geological knowledge and Brazil’s position in global supply; and
2. Essentiality: the essentiality of the substance for at least one of the following purposes: (a) generation of a trade surplus, considering exports, imports, and opportunities for value addition within the country; (b) technological development; (c) regional development, taking into account the economic dependence of the regions on the mineral supply chain; or (d) reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the respective production chain.

4. Priority classes

Once classified as critical or strategic, substances may be organized into priority classes to guide the implementation of the PNMCE. The classification will result from an integrated assessment – without requiring cumulative compliance – of the following criteria:

• Geopolitical risk: exposure of the supply chain to conflicts, sanctions, trade restrictions, export controls, or logistical difficulties;
• Concentration of supply: degree of geographic concentration of production, processing, or transformation, including refining;
• Substitutability: availability and technical and economic feasibility of alternative materials or technologies;
• Brazil’s position in the production chain: the country’s level of participation and autonomy in the stages of prduction, processing, transformation, and industrialization; and
• The country’s dependence and vulnerability: the degree of external dependence and the intensity and time horizon of its effects on the economy, the energy transition, food security, industrial and technological development, and national sovereignty.

The Decree defines the three classes as follows:

1. Class 1: substances that require priority action by the State, due to their high relevance to national interests and the intensity of the identified risks or strategic opportunities;
2. Class 2: substances whose significance justifies measures to foster development, reduce vulnerabilities, or strengthen production chains; and
3. Class 3: substances whose relevance justifies strategic monitoring and periodic reassessment.

CIMCE may apply the PNMCE instruments by class or by substance, subject to the legal requirements and regulations governing each instrument. The Decree notes, however, that the classification does not, in and of itself, imply the automatic approval of projects, the granting of benefits, or an exemption from the legal requirements applicable to the PNMCE instruments. The selection of specific projects will continue to comply with the CIMCE’s general criteria and the authorities set forth in Decree No. 13,118/2026.

5. Definition, revision, and transition rules

The list will be defined and updated by a CIMCE resolution, based on a substantiated proposal from the Ministry of Mines and Energy, covering the inclusion, retention, and exclusion of substances and, where applicable, the assignment and change of class. For each substance, the proposal must present a conclusive analysis of compliance with legal requirements, how economic, socio-environmental, and climate criteria were considered, and the reasons for the assigned class. The rationale will be disclosed with the resolution, subject to the protection of information safeguarded by law.

The list will be reviewed every four years, in line with the Multi-Year Plan, with the CIMCE authorized to conduct extraordinary reassessments. A point of particular importance for investors: any proposal to amend the list or the classification must assess its effects on the investment screening mechanism, the CNPMCE, and the PNMCE instruments – including with respect to ongoing operations and projects – and indicate, when necessary, the applicable transition rules.

6. The Brazilian list of critical and strategic minerals

At the inaugural meeting of the CIMCE, the 27 minerals to be prioritized by the PNMCE were approved, divided into three classes according to their importance to the country in terms of sovereignty and industrialization:

1. Class I – High priority (9): rare earths, graphite, lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, silicon, and uranium;
2. Class II – Medium priority (8): tungsten, chromium, vanadium, tantalum, titanium, phosphate, potassium, and sulfur; and
3. Class III – Low priority (10): niobium, tin, iron, zinc, gold, magnesium, molybdenum, thorium, aluminum, and the platinum group.

According to the Federal Government, the list was compiled based on minerals proposed by the ministries that make up the CIMCE, lists from other countries, contributions from Council representatives, and suggestions from experts. The list may be updated at future Council meetings.

Some aspects are worth highlighting. The inclusion of phosphate, potassium, and sulfur in Class II reflects the PNMCE’s concern for food security and the fertilizer supply chain. On the other hand, niobium – a mineral in which Brazil holds a dominant position in global supply – was classified in Class III, which is consistent with the logic of the Decree, which prioritizes in Class I those substances with greater exposure to supply risks and lower national autonomy in the supply chain.

7. Practical implications

With the approval of the list, the PNMCE now has its scope clearly defined. We highlight the following effects:

1. Access to funding: projects focused on the 27 minerals and included in the CNPMCE may receive government support, and the classes indicate priority in accessing these instruments. This prioritization unlocks, for example, the Mineral Activity Guarantee Fund (FGAM), which may receive up to BRL 2 billion in funding from the federal government, and the Federal Program for the Beneficiation and Processing of Critical and Strategic Minerals (PFMCE), with a fiscal limit of BRL 1 billion per year between 2030 and 2034;
2. Screening of investments and M&A transactions: the list defines the scope of assets subject to the screening mechanism of the CIMCE and the ANM, which covers changes in corporate control, international supply contracts, and the sale, assignment, or encumbrance of mining titles. It is believed that projects related to Class I substances will be subject to more rigorous scrutiny in transactions involving changes in corporate control and strategic financing; and
3. Predictability: The requirement to provide justification for public decisions, the quadrennial review, and the establishment of transition rules provide greater legal certainty for investors structuring long-term projects within these supply chains.

Also at the meeting, it was decided that the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services must submit, within 15 days, a proposal for the priority production chains under the National Plan for Critical and Strategic Minerals, to be presented to the CIMCE Plenary.

Concluding remarks

Decree No. 13,146/2026 and the CIMCE’s approval of the list mark the PNMCE’s transition from a regulatory plan to an operational plan. From now on, determining whether a project involves one of the 27 substances – and in which class – becomes a central issue in structuring investments, financing, and corporate transactions in the minerals sector.

However, several key actions remain pending, including: (a) the publication of the CIMCE resolution formalizing the list and its rationale; (b) the definition of priority production chains and the drafting of the National Plan for Critical and Strategic Minerals; (c) the regulation of the investment screening mechanism; and (d) the creation and bylaws of the FGAM, the competitive bidding procedure for the PFMCE, and the regulation of the CNPMCE.

Our Mining team continues to closely monitor the implementation of the PNMCE and is available to discuss the impacts of the classification of substances on specific projects, operations, and investment structures, as well as to facilitate communication with the relevant agencies.