The proposal was criticized by civil society organizations, indigenous movements, and even municipalities with a presence of mining companies.
Updated on 8/5/2026 at 13:54
The plenary session of the Chamber approved, on Wednesday night (6), the bill (PL) that creates a national policy to regulate the exploration and commercialization of critical and strategic minerals, among them the so-called “rare earths” (learn more below).
Bill 2.780/2024 creates a Guarantee Fund for Mineral Activity (FGAM), which could reach R$ 5 billion, and a National Council for the Industrialization of Critical and Strategic Minerals (Cimce), responsible for updating the list of these substances and indicating the priority projects that should receive public incentives.find out more in the box at the end of the report).
The proposal now goes to the Senate. This Thursday, the rapporteur in the Chamber of Deputies, Representative Arnaldo Jardim (Cidadania-SP), stated that the president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP), had said he would prioritize the vote on the matter. The government leader in Congress, Senator Randolfe Rodrigues (PT-AP), commented that the bill could be voted on in the Senate as early as May.
The project was criticized by civil society organizations, the indigenous movement, and even the association of municipalities with mining operations for stimulating a new economic cycle in the country without guaranteeing consistent and concrete socio-environmental safeguards.
The bill does not include, for example, the mandatory prior consultation with affected indigenous and traditional communities, protection for environmentally sensitive areas, or socio-environmental or climate criteria for granting incentives, according to a technical note from the Climate Observatory (OC), the largest network of environmental organizations in the country. The Socioenvironmental Institute (ISA) It is part of the OC.
“[The project tends to] weaken socio-environmental protection rules, cause human rights violations, amplify territorial conflicts and legal disputes, and reinforce a low value-added exploitation model. Furthermore, it may hinder the alignment of mineral policy with the country's climate goals,” the document warns.
The note states that the proposal puts pressure on environmental licensing because, "although it mentions compliance with environmental standards, the regulatory design creates mechanisms for prioritization in the decision-making flow, articulating the inducement of administrative speed, without providing for additional instruments of control, inspection or qualification of the analysis."
The bill is moving forward in Congress months after the country's environmental licensing system was completely dismantled with the approval of the so-called "Devastation Bill".
Furthermore, the rural caucus had another victory in Wednesday's vote: Bill 2.780 places agricultural fertilizers on the same level as critical and strategic minerals. In practice, companies and projects focused on the production of these inputs will be able to access tax benefits and credit.
Indigenous People
Em note Released on Tuesday (5), the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib) stated that the PL is an example of the proposals being processed in Congress that, “under the discourse of economic development and energy transition, structure public policies with the potential to significantly impact indigenous territories, without, however, adequately incorporating mechanisms for protection and participation”.
Today, there is already significant political pressure to allow mining on Indigenous Lands. A Senate Working Group is discussing the matter, following... decisions of Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Flávio Dino They demand that the Legislature regulate activity in these areas. The Constitution foresees the need for a specific law on the subject.
Although Bill 2.780 ignores Indigenous Territories and other traditional lands, they tend to be even more pressured by the global race for critical and strategic minerals. The bill's approval reflects this demand – but without establishing effective ways to protect these areas from the socio-environmental impacts of economic activity, according to the Indigenous movement and civil society.
What are critical and strategic minerals?
These minerals are essential for the high-tech industry and the energy transition, being used in the manufacture of microprocessors, chips, cell phones, electronic devices, solar panels, batteries, and military equipment. Hence their economic and geopolitical importance.
Examples include lithium, cobalt, nickel, niobium, graphite, and rare earth elements, a group of 17 chemical elements such as neodymium, praseodymium, and lanthanum, used in the manufacture of magnets for wind turbines and electric cars, as well as resistant metal alloys, high-definition screens, and industrial catalysts.
In fact, these substances are not so rare; they are scattered in various locations, but generally in rocks with low concentrations. The deposits with high concentrations, which are more economically viable, are the truly uncommon ones.
Brazil holds the second largest reserve of rare earth elements in the world, with 25% of the total, but exploration is still in its early stages in the country. China holds the largest reserve, with 70% of the total, and is also the world's largest producer, with a well-developed extraction and industrialization sector.
mining municipalities
“[Brazil] is trying to accelerate a new mineral cycle without addressing structural problems that have already produced tragedies, regional inequalities, economic concentration, and enormous environmental liabilities,” he says. statement from the Brazilian Association of Mining Municipalities (Amig) Regarding Bill 2.780.
"Today, Brazil lacks a robust regulatory structure, adequate oversight, or institutional capacity compatible with the risks involved in expanding the mining of critical minerals. It also lacks a consolidated mineral industrialization policy. Even more serious: it has not even resolved the historical liabilities left by traditional mining," the text continues.
Amig mentions the impacts of exploiting these substances, such as reduced groundwater levels, child labor, pressure on farmers, sanitation problems, and the spread of diseases like birth defects, in countries such as the USA, Chile, Bolivia, and Congo.
Controversy within the government's base.
The approval of Bill 2,780 also caused controversy within the government's base in Congress. Left-wing parties advocated for the creation of a state-owned company to control the sector, Terrabrás. The Presidential Palace rejected the idea. Parliamentarians from the PCdoB and PSOL parties spoke out against the project, arguing that it facilitates the entry of foreign capital and corporations into the country without adequate safeguards.
After all, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva supported the PL. In the government’s assessment, its approval would strengthen Brazil’s position at the meeting that Lula had, this Thursday (7), with the US president, Donald Trump, in Washington, in which the topic was discussed. The Americans are engaged in a geopolitical dispute, especially with China, to control the exploitation of critical and strategic minerals.
Presidential pre-candidate Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) recently gave a speech in the US promising to open Brazil's doors to Americans for the exploration of rare earth elements. Lula, on the other hand, adopts a discourse defending national sovereignty on the matter.
The bill's approval was personally sponsored by the Speaker of the House, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), who scheduled the project for urgent consideration, taking it directly to the plenary session without going through the committees and reducing the space for debate on the matter.
“Today, the Chamber of Deputies will certainly take another step in collaborating on what is important and fundamental for the future of the country,” he stated, shortly before the vote. Last year, Motta was also one of the main figures responsible for the approval of the “Devastation Bill.”
Indigenous congresswoman Célia Xakriabá (PSOL-MG) said that Bill 2.780 could be called the bill of "surrender" and "disgrace." "Now, we have sustainable mining, sustainable prospecting, sustainable destruction," she criticized.
Congressman Chico Alencar (PSOL-RJ) advocated for amendments to the bill that would guarantee environmental and social participation criteria for granting tax incentives to companies in the sector, as well as two seats for representatives of traditional peoples and communities on the Cimce. None of the proposals were accepted by Jardim.
Understand the main points of Bill 2.780.
National Policy on Critical and Strategic Minerals (PNMCE). It establishes guidelines to regulate the sector, providing for control mechanisms, incentives, and subsidized credit for companies and projects.
Mineral Activity Guarantee Fund (FGAM). It aims to encourage the processing, transformation, research, innovation, and value addition to the exploitation of critical and strategic minerals. The fund is projected to reach R$ 5 billion, including tax credits and a direct contribution of R$ 2 billion from the federal government. The fund may also receive resources from states, municipalities, other countries, and international and multilateral organizations.
National Council for the Industrialization of Critical and Strategic Minerals (Cimce). It will be responsible for updating the list of these substances every four years, registering and indicating the priority projects that should receive support from the fund. It will also be responsible for approving the sale of mining companies that hold exploration rights, as well as international contracts, agreements or partnerships. It will have a structure linked to the Presidency of the Republic, with 15 representatives from the Executive Branch, including one representative from the states, one representative from the municipalities; in addition to two representatives from the private sector and one representative from a higher education institution.
National Registry of Critical and Strategic Mineral Projects (CNPMCE). It will register initiatives that may access resources from the fund and other incentives, including those that research and identify the presence of these minerals and those present in strategic areas defined by the council. The registry will unify information submitted by all federal, state, and municipal agencies.
fertilizers. The proposal places agricultural fertilizers on the same level as critical and strategic minerals. In practice, companies and projects focused on the production of these inputs will be able to access tax benefits and credit.
Low Carbon Mining Certificate. In a statement, the OC warns that the mechanism does not require a complete assessment of emissions throughout the supply chain, allowing certifications based on partial cut-offs, without addressing indirect emissions and the end use of minerals, creating a risk of no effective reduction in emissions, distorting market signals and favoring [other entities]. greenwashing.
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