Por Michael Esquer —From São Paulo.
28/07/2026

The British company Brazil Iron is developing an iron ore project in the state of Bahia, with a planned investment of US$5.7 billion. Meanwhile, Canadian mining company Ero Copper, in partnership with Vale, plans to bring into operation a gold and copper project in the state of Pará, with an estimated investment of US$1.3 billion. Another Canadian company, Aclara, is targeting the state of Goiás with a US$780 million investment to develop a rare earths project—an area that has become a strategic focus in the geopolitical competition between the United States and China.

These initiatives are just a few examples of the investment cycle expected to transform Brazil’s mining sector over the coming years. Planned investments span iron ore, critical minerals, environmental and social projects, and logistics infrastructure.

Between now and 2030, total investment in Brazil’s mining industry is expected to reach US$76.9 billion. This represents a figure 4.3 times higher than the investment forecast recorded nearly a decade earlier, between 2017 and 2021, when projected investments totaled US$18 billion, according to data published by the Brazilian Mining Institute (Ibram).

“There is significant potential and, possibly, even upside surprises in the level of investments we expect,” Pablo Cesário, President of Ibram, told Valor Econômico.

According to Cesário, growing global demand for minerals—driven by expanding markets in India and Southeast Asia, as well as the reorganization of global supply chains in pursuit of greater security—is helping fuel this investment wave.

“Conflicts, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz and in Ukraine, have strengthened demand for reliable regions. From that perspective, Brazil is viewed as a center of stability and predictability,” he said.

New applications for certain minerals in sectors such as renewable energy, batteries, and permanent magnets have also increased demand for critical raw materials. Brazil holds significant reserves of these minerals, further supporting investment growth.

This group of critical minerals—which includes rare earth elements and metals such as lithium, nickel, and niobium—accounts for US$21.3 billion of the investments projected through 2030, representing roughly one-quarter of the total. However, iron ore remains the single largest investment destination, with US$19.812 billion in planned investments.

Under the most optimistic scenario, the Brazil Iron project could begin operations between 2030 and 2031, while Aclara’s project is expected to come online in 2028. The joint venture between Ero Copper and Vale Base Metals (VBM), a subsidiary of Vale, has not yet announced an official start date, although the market expects production to begin after 2030.

“We will extract the iron ore, which will then be processed into Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI), the product that will ultimately be marketed,” said Emerson Souza, Vice President of Institutional Relations at Brazil Iron, referring to the raw material used in the production of green steel through electric arc furnaces.

Source: Mining will receive an investment of US$77 billion by 2030.