By Cássio Lyra – 10/08/2026

The Brazilian mining sector faces challenges in transforming its geological potential into new investments and productive projects. The need for long-term public policies, greater predictability in environmental licensing, and expanded knowledge about mining activities are among the main concerns of representatives of companies and entities in the sector.

The mining sector and its challenges were discussed during one of the technical panels on the last day of activities of the Brazil Export Forum, this Thursday (8), in Brasília.

For the Director of Communications and Projects at the Brazilian Mining Institute (Ibram), Paulo Henrique Soares, one of the particularities of the sector is the long period required to make projects viable. According to him, the interval between the discovery of a deposit, studies, licensing, and the start of a mine’s operation reaches an average of 17 years in Brazil.

“All activities can change location. Mining is the only economic activity that has locational rigidity,” he stated. According to Soares, these characteristics need to be taken into consideration when formulating public policies, as occurs in countries with a mining tradition, such as Canada, Australia, and Chile.

Galvani CEO Marcelo Silvestre also highlighted the difficulty of developing projects in the face of high financing costs and regulatory uncertainties. For him, the discussion surrounding critical and strategic minerals and rare earths represents progress in building a national policy for the sector.

“It is not that it has to be fast. It is not that it has to be done just any way. We want to make the environmental licensing process as good as possible, but there needs to be predictability, I would not even say speed, predictability,” he emphasized.

Silvestre observou que o Brasil ainda apresenta grandes oportunidades de expansão da mineração, mas precisa intensificar os investimentos em pesquisa geológica. Segundo o executivo, menos de um quarto do território nacional possui conhecimento geológico suficiente, o que limita a identificação de novas reservas e o desenvolvimento de projetos.

Environmental predictability was also identified as a priority by Appian Capital Brazil’s country manager, Milson Mundim. He highlighted that factors such as exchange rates, trade tariffs, and international conditions are beyond investors’ control, but defended greater stability in the application of licensing rules.

“All we expect from governments is that these rules be followed in a rational and impartial manner, so that a process that is known from the beginning does not suffer from external influences,” he stated.

Mundim added that Brazilian environmental legislation establishes strict requirements for safety, impact compensation, and relations with communities, which must be complied with by companies.

In addition to regulatory obstacles, the image of mining in society represents another challenge. Brazil Iron’s Vice President of Institutional Relations, Emerson Souza, assessed that the sector remained distant from public debate for decades, a situation that changed following the major environmental disasters involving mining dams.

According to the executive, the greater exposure of mining activities in the media and in political discussions needs to be accompanied by technical knowledge about their particularities.

“There is no point in extending, deepening, and broadening the discussion about mining in Brazil as a whole, in society as a whole, in governments, and in Congress, without us better understanding what this scenario is,” he stated.

Source: www.portalbenews.com.br