Silveira: Minerals Council belongs to the State and should not generate distrust

The Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, said this Tuesday (30) that the project approved by the Chamber of Deputies to create the National Council for the Industrialization of Critical and Strategic Minerals is "of the State, not a government council", and that there is no reason to distrust the mining sector.

During the CNN Talks: New Era of Mining event, in São Paulo, Silveira denied the existence of a potential risk of bureaucratic obstacles or interventionism in private activity from the council. According to the minister, the new body - approved in common agreement with the Executive - will have a strictly strategic character and will serve to establish national sovereignty over subsoil wealth, "ensuring that mineral development results in social and economic prosperity for Brazilians".

The critical minerals council must be composed of ministers, members of academia and representatives of civil society. The group will be the key player in designing specific public policies for each type of critical mineral.

The immediate central focus will be on rare earths, a segment in which Brazil has the second largest global reserves and broad competitiveness given the clean electrical matrix.

The target for attracting capital, according to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, is the United States, since China already dominates the processing chain with lower costs. "In the case of rare earths, I can already say that, for the Americans, it is much cheaper to produce refineries and bring intelligence to Brazil, than to produce there", said the minister.

Still on the subject of geopolitical chess, Silveira highlighted that, although the development of the industrial chain on Brazilian soil may contradict the interests of some foreign powers, Brazil will act in a sovereign manner.

To assuage the fears of the formal mining market about possible regulatory obstacles, Silveira compared the new body to the already consolidated CNPE (National Energy Policy Council). "It would be bad if we hadn't created the National Mineral Policy Council," he said. "Like the CNPE, which is made up of 18 State ministers, it establishes infraconstitutional policies and regulations, decrees and norms."

As examples of the success of this collegial model, the minister cited the decisions that increased the mixture of ethanol in gasoline from 27% to 30% - heading towards 32% - and the advancement of biodiesel to the B15 flag, boosting agribusiness.

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Critical minerals could increase the country's GDP by R$243 billion by 2050

Source: CNN