Brazil's miners set to invest nearly US$65bn through 2028

Mining firms operating in Brazil are planning to invest a combined US$64.5bn in 2024-28, significantly more than the US$50bn forecast for 2023-27, according to national mining association (Ibram).

"The mining sector is likely to increase investments in the coming years amid a need for greater production of critical minerals to meet demand related to the energy transition," Ibram president Raul Jungmann said on a Wednesday in a conference call with reporters, responding to a question from BNamericas.

"Brazil is a major global frontier for the expansion of renewable energy projects and there is a path for it to follow by reinforcing the entire value chain that that this entails, from inputs to services," Paula Dalbello, Brazil country manager at renewable energy firm EDP Renováveis, told BNamericas on the sidelines of the Energyear conference on Wednesday.

Iron ore, the country's chief mining product, is expected to receive investments of US$17.3bn through 2028, up from US$16.9bn in 2023-27, according to Ibram.

The forecast for the copper segment is US$6.74bn, up from US$4.47bn in the previous period, while nickel is expected to see investments rise nearly 90% to US$4.44bn.

Meanwhile, US$5.58bn will go to investments in fertilizers, US$1.80bn to bauxite, and gold will receive US$1.54bn.

For 2023-28, Ibram also highlighted heavy expected investments in logistics (US$10.4bn) and ESG practices (US$10.7bn).

Jungmann said the possibility of higher taxes for the sector represents a risk to the expected increase in investments.

He added that Ibram is in talks with federal development bank BNDES regarding the structuring of a fund to support mineral exploration projects.