Brazil has been attracting growing interest from private sector investors due to its potential for developing projects in critical minerals such as lithium, rare earths, nickel and copper.
However, more established segments like iron ore and gold continue to be the focus of the largest share of mining companies' capex.
"In the short term, we will still see the predominance of investments going into more established segments, primarily iron ore. Despite Brazil's potential in various other minerals, since most are projects in early stages, it will take some time before we see significant capex being directed toward those segments," mining consultant Pedro Galdi told BNamericas.
BNamericas takes a closer look at the investment plans of key players, as major mining firms operating in Brazil have recently published their 2025 capex plans.
Vale (iron ore, copper, nickel)
Brazil's largest mining company, Vale, has made a downward revision to its capex guidance for this year to US$5.9bn from the previous US$6.5bn.
The company attributed the reduction to efficiency gains identified in its project portfolio. By comparison, in 2024, Vale's capex totaled US$6.0bn, up from US$5.92bn in 2023.
The downward revision has primarily affected the company's base metals segment, which includes copper and nickel operations. Vale now projects US$2bn in capex for this segment, a significant decrease from the US$2.5bn to US$3bn previously expected.
Vale will invest US$3.9bn in iron ore, in line with previous estimates of US$3.5-US$4bn.
The key iron ore expansion projects currently under construction include:
- Serra Sul (20Mt/y) – expected to start up in 2H26;
- Capanema (18Mt/y) – planned to begin operations in 1H25;
- Tubarão briquette second plant (6Mt/y) – set to begin operations this year;
- maintenance at the compact crushing S11D project (50Mt/y) – scheduled for 2H26.
Regarding base metals, Vale is installing a second furnace at the Onça Puma nickel mine in Pará state to increase capacity by up to 15,000t/y, with operations expected to start in the second half.
CSN Mineração (iron ore)
CSN Mineração, the iron ore arm of Brazilian conglomerate CSN, is stepping up its capex plans as the Itabirito P15 project (Casa de Pedra) in Minas Gerais state progresses.
"We will accelerate investments. This year, our investments will be between 2bn reais [US$352mn] and 2.5bn reais, and we will increase this amount year by year until 2027," CSN Mineração CFO Pedro Oliva said during the firm's 4Q24 results call.
By comparison, CSN Mineração invested 1.79bn reais in 2024 and 1.48bn reais in 2023.
Oliva emphasized that the company's 2025-30 capex plan involves 13.2bn reais.
"In recent weeks, rainfall in the project area has been lower than expected, which has helped us advance construction. We are currently performing drainage and concreting work on-site, and throughout this year, we will proceed with hiring and begin civil works," Oliva said.
The P15 project is scheduled to start production in 1Q27, adding 15Mt/y of iron ore to CSN Mineração's output. It is a strategic project aimed at improving iron ore quality by increasing iron content to 65% from 58% by 2028. Higher-grade iron ore is expected to fetch higher prices, particularly in Asia, where steel mills seek raw materials that involve lower carbon emissions.
CSN Mineração also plans substantial investments in the Tecar terminal at Itaguaí port in Rio de Janeiro state.
Nexa Resources (zinc)
Nexa Resources, a Brazilian polymetallic miner operating in Peru and part of the Votorantim group, has unveiled its 2025 capex plan, totaling US$347mn, up from US$277mn in 2024.
Of the total, US$316mn will go toward sustaining investments, with US$225mn allocated to mining and the remainder to smelting.
"Sustaining investments are projected to increase by 21% compared to 2024 guidance, primarily related to the tailings pumping system, which is the central element of Phase I of the [Peru] Cerro Pasco integration project, the expansion of tailings filter capacity at [Brazil's] Aripuanã, including the acquisition and installation of a fourth filter, the expansion of the tailings stockpile area at Aripuanã, and the improvement of the dry stacking method at the [Brazil-based] Três Marias smelter," the company said in a statement.
Nexa will also invest US$70mn in exploration to replace and expand mineral reserves, focusing on new ore bodies and resource classification upgrades.
"As part of our long-term strategy, we remain committed to replacing and increasing mineral reserves and resources. In line with this, we plan to advance exploration efforts focused on identifying new ore bodies and upgrading resource classifications through infill drilling campaigns," the firm added.
Last year, the company's capex reached US$277mn, down from US$309mn in 2023.
Anglo American (iron ore)
Anglo American, a multinational mining company with operations in Brazil, Chile and Peru, has approved a US$300mn investment in its Minas-Rio iron ore complex in Brazil, mostly for recleaner flotation columns.
"Capex for recleaner flotation columns at Minas-Rio is expected to enable higher throughput while maintaining product quality. The average impact on production from the implementation of the recleaners between 2028 and 2040 is estimated to be ~2.8Mt/y," the company stated.
The investments will be made gradually over the coming years, with less than US$100mn planned for Minas-Rio in 2025.
Anglo American is also increasing its focus on iron ore in Brazil, following its recent agreement to sell its local nickel operations to China's MMG Singapore Resources, a unit of China's MMG, for US$500mn.
Equinox Gold (gold)
Canadian-listed Equinox Gold plans US$310mn in sustaining expenditures and US$102mn in non-sustaining capex for 2025.
In Brazil, the company's projects will receive US$142mn in sustaining expenditures and US$51mn in non-sustaining capex.
"Sustaining expenditures in 2025 of US$310mn include investing: US$101mn in capitalized stripping programs, with the largest investments at Aurizona (Maranhão state, in Brazil) and Mesquite (California, US); US$72mn in equipment costs, of which US$52mn relates to fleet support processing improvements and production loaders at Greenstone (Canada), US$12mn relates to equipment and components acquisition at (Brazil) Bahia Complex, and US$66mn relates to tailings storage facility (“TSF”) lifts and maintenance at Greenstone, Aurizona, Bahia Complex, and RDM (Minas Gerais, Brazil)," the company said in a statement.
Aura Minerals (gold)
Canadian-listed gold miner Aura Minerals has outlined a 2025 capex plan of between US$149mn and US$167mn, compared to US$181mn in 2024 and US$96.9mn in 2023.
The decline is primarily due to the completion of major expenditures for the Borborema project in Brazil's Rio Grande do Norte state in 2024. However, this is partially offset by investments in developing the higher-grade Nosde phase III deposit at Apoena, with completion expected by end-2026.
For 2025:
- US$99mn-US$106mn will be allocated to new projects and expansion;
- US$10mn-US$13mn will be invested in exploration, focusing on Matupá (Mato Grosso state);
- US$40mn-US$47mn will be used for maintenance, including improvements to tailings dams at Apoena and mine development at Minosa and Borborema.
Last year, Aura Minerals produced 267,232oz of gold equivalent and acquired Canada's Bluestone Resources, owner of the Cerro Blanco gold project in Guatemala.
