Brazil has one of the largest rare earth reserves on the planet

Estimates by the North American Geological Survey (USGS) indicate that Brazilian reserves could reach 3.5 billion tons of rare earths. Rare earths are used in supermagnets, tablet, computer and cell phone screens, in the gasoline production process, and in solar panels.

Brazil may own one of the largest reserves of rare earths on the planet, but today it practically does not exploit these mineral resources. Rare earths are used in supermagnets, tablet, computer and cell phone screens, in the gasoline production process, and in solar panels. Estimates by the North American Geological Survey (USGS) indicate that Brazilian reserves could reach 3.5 billion tons of rare earths. With an eye on the Brazilian potential, the Certi Foundation, from Santa Catarina, the Technological Research Institute (IPT), from S?o Paulo, and the Mineral Technology Center (Cetem), from Rio de Janeiro, are working together to support the private sector , if Brazil decides to explore these mineral resources and enter the market. Rare earth reserves a market today entirely dominated by China, responsible for 95% of production and owner of 36% of known reserves. The value of the world market for rare earth oxides is around US$ 5 billion per year. "We are structuring ourselves so that, if anyone is interested in getting into mining, we can support the initiatives. We have some research projects, but we are starting slowly because if rare earth mining in Brazil does not mature, it makes no sense for us to invest in research and development for exploration and production", says Fernando Landgraf, director of innovation at IPT. As part of the academic entities' action to bring the matter up for discussion and contribute to the debate, Landgraf published an article in the Valor Econ?mico newspaper on April 13, calling attention to the Brazilian potential. In the 3.5 billion tons of land raras, após os processos industriais que concentram e separam os elementos químicos que ocorrem de forma agregada nos minérios, há 52,6 milh?es de toneladas de metal. Essa estimativa do USGS consta no documento os principais depósitos de elementos terras raras nos EUA - Um resumo dos depósitos domésticos e uma perspectiva global. Com base em dados do geólogo da CPRM, Miguel Martins de Souza, publicados em revista científica especializada, a USGS calculou também que a reserva de 2.9 billion tonnes of rare earths at the Seis Lagos mine in the Amazon would result in 43.5 million tonnes of contained metal. In Araxá, Minas Gerais, in a mine operated by Vale, there would be the second largest deposit in Brazil: the estimate given by the document is 450 million tons of rare earths and 8.1 million tons of metal contained for this mine. Rare Earths Rare earths are 17 chemical elements that are very similar, but differ in the number of electrons in one of the layers of the atom's electrosphere. They are grouped in a family on the periodic table because they occur together in nature and are chemically very similar. They also have the complicated names in common: lanthanum, neodymium, cerium, praseodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, scandium, and lutetium. Despite the name suggesting, these metals are not as rare as gold, for example. If, until a few years ago, it did not pay for Brazil to enter the sector, as there were no conditions to compete with China, the potential of Brazilian reserves and the increase in rare earth prices in the international market can make the business economically viable, he argues. the director of the IPT. Prices on the rise On average, rare earth prices on the international market have practically tripled in recent years, according to Landgraf. Neodymium oxide, which in January 2009 cost US$ 15 per kilogram, in January 2011 reached US$ 150 per kilogram. "At a time when the price goes up so much, what was not economically viable three years ago may become viable today. And Brazil is in the position of having the largest reserve of rare earths on the planet", he points out. Some reserves in Brazil are well known, particularly the phosphate reserves in Po?os de Caldas, and Catal?o. Rare earths are contained in phosphate mining tailings. "These are mines that are no longer in the mineral research phase, but economic feasibility research: we know how much there is, but is it economically viable to concentrate?", explains Landgraf. China and rare earths The increase in rare earth prices is directly related to what happened in the Chinese market, explains Landgraf. Concern for the environment has risen sharply in China in recent years, and the government has been pressuring companies to improve their practices. Rare earth producers are being hit hard, as it is an activity that has a high environmental impact in China. "When the Chinese government pushed to organize the environmental aspect of production, many mines and small processing companies closed, decreasing supply," he adds. In addition to this contraction in supply, the Chinese market continues to grow and consumption of rare earths in China has increased much more than consumption in the rest of the world. "China used to be an exporter because it didn't consume much, but the increase in domestic demand leaves less rare earths to be exported", he points out. There is also suspicion that the Chinese are adopting export quotas, which motivates other countries to buy more of these ores to stock. Last year, China gave a sample of its control over the supply of rare earths: it embargoed exports of rare earths to Japan, in retaliation for the arrest of a captain of a Chinese fishing boat in a maritime area disputed by both countries. The Japanese had problems, as their industry is based on high-tech products that use rare earths. In view of this scenario, the United States, for example, has already chosen rare earths as critical resources for its economy, which is also based on the production and sale of products with a high technological content. The company Molycorp Minerals, with operations in California, is investing US$ 200 million to put its factory back in operation. Rare earths in Brazil In Brazil there is also some movement. The Minister of Science and Technology, Aloizio Mercadante, is talking to Vale about the possibility of the mining company entering the business, something that will need government support, favorable financing conditions, improved transport and logistics and investment in R&D so that the venture can compete with Chinese production, as pointed out by a report in the Valor Econ?mico newspaper on May 11. "About 10 companies in Brazil are discussing the topic [entering into the production of rare earths]. Vale is cited for being the largest, but there are other interested parties, who do not manifest themselves publicly", says the director of the IPT. Another initiative of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT) is the negotiation of a technical cooperation agreement in innovation with Germany, by which pilot projects for the production of supermagnets, which use rare earths, would receive support from the Fraunhofer Institute, according to mentioned article in the S?o Paulo newspaper. Another government initiative, which has gained little prominence so far, is that of the company CPRM Servi?os Geologistas do Brasil, linked to the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME). In 2011, it began carrying out the project Assessing the Potential of Strategic Minerals in Brazil, which will identify new areas throughout Brazil where rare earths may occur. The project should last three years and receive R$ 18.5 million in resources from the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC). In 2011 alone, the government plans to invest nearly R$2.4 million in the project, according to CPRM. Technology for exploration of rare earths Landgraf claims that technologies for mining and earth processing are mastered. "We already knew how to do it in the past, and we have the competence to produce rare earths. There is no insurmountable technological challenge", he continues. He recalls that Brazil made supermagnets in the 1990s. "There were at least five research groups making supermagnets, that was my doctoral theme. We even had a company producing supermagnets; it went bankrupt in 1994", he comments. For the IPT director, the problem is economic. "The question is whether anyone has the clout to set up a company in Brazil, or whether we can make a group of companies enter the business, and face possible Chinese dumping", he analyzes. From the point of view of research and development, Landgraf explains that it would be necessary to study production on an industrial scale. "We made things on a laboratory scale, not on a commercial scale. So, if there is a business decision and the government and the country enters this sector, the next challenge is to make the pilot scale of the processes to reach the industrial scale", he says. He adds that today Brazil has an instrument to finance the industrial plants foreseen in R&D projects that operate in pilot scale , as is the case with Funtec, a program run by the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES). mining and concentration of rare earths, lower value stages in the chain. Then it goes through the chemical industry, responsible for carrying out the separation stage. "There is no rare earth magnet, there is neodymium magnet. Rare earths are chemically similar, so you need to separate one from the other", he explains. "The necessary technology is relatively sophisticated, but we know how to do it at universities, research institutes", he continues. He comments that, in the past, there were research groups in USP, in Cetem, and in other centers that carried out the separation in the laboratory, but everything fell apart in the 1990s, when China started to practice low prices in the international market. "S?o Paulo has a tradition in this, we had the company Orquima, which was later acquired by Nuclebras and changed its name to Nuclemon, later incorporated by Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil (INB)", he recalls. The market for selling rare earths is growing. Today, the world consumes 150 thousand tons of rare earths per year , according to the IPT director. Neodymium, the chemical element most used within this group, is present in supermagnets. These, in turn, are increasingly used in engines that need to have small dimensions , such as those that regulate seats and mirrors in more luxurious cars. "These are magnets that make it possible to miniaturize motors. This market is going to grow a lot", points out Landgraf. The wind power generator can be made with supermagnets, another application niche that expands with the need for renewable energy sources. Lanthanum is used to make gasoline. In one of the fuel production stages at the refinery, the gases pass over a lanthanum oxide catalyst, which promotes the joining of molecules that form gasoline. "Brazil consumes 1,000 tons per year of lanthanum. It is not a big market, but if we don't have lanthanum, we don't manufacture gasoline. We are dependent on China", he points out. The other 12 elements that make up the rare earth group are used in smaller quantities in various applications. Cerium oxide, for example, is used to polish eyeglass lenses. In white LEDs, which are replacing fluorescent lamps because they consume less energy, rare earth oxides are also used. "The laser is green, blue or red. To obtain white light, the laser hits a white fluorescent layer and what generates this white light is a mixture of rare earth oxides applied to LEDs", he explains. "If the market for LEDs is going to grow as the projections indicate, a lot of rare earth will be needed", he says..?Por Janaína Sim?es - Inova Unicamp - 24/05/2011 - Publicado no site https://www.inovacaotecnologica.com.brFonte: https://www.geoparkquadrilatero.org/?pg=noticia&id=157

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