Brazil Aims for Open Stance on Critical Minerals, as US Launches $10B Project Vault Initiative

Published: Feb 11, 2026 11:02

Save

Brazil seeks to avoid signing exclusive agreements on critical minerals with other countries, instead maintaining an open stance and pursuing partnerships with various nations.

Recently, the U.S. government disclosed details of "Project Vault" (PV), an initiative led by the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) aimed at formulating a strategy to secure domestic supplies of critical minerals.

The EXIM Board approved up to $10 billion in direct loans for PV, more than double the largest financing amount in the bank's history. PV is designed to shield U.S. domestic manufacturers from supply shocks, expand the production and processing of critical raw materials in the U.S., and fundamentally improve the state of the U.S. critical minerals industry.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

For any inquiries or to learn more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

Common.Time.minsAgo

Northern Stanmore Rare Earth Mine in Western Australia Rich in Hafnium

Victory Metals has achieved a breakthrough in processing tests at its Northern Stanmore heavy rare earth project in Western Australia, successfully recovering the niche critical metal hafnium. Gravity separation tests increased the hafnium grade by 26 times, from 4 ppm to 108 ppm, with a recovery rate of 66%, and eliminated 97% of waste rock prior to recovery, significantly reducing ore beneficiation costs and operating expenses. Hafnium has a high melting point of 2,233°C and is corrosion-resistant, making it suitable for national defense and nuclear industries. Current global annual consumption is less than 100 mt, while its price has doubled within a year to $11,000/kg, with supply concentrated in China and Russia.

Common.Time.minsAgo

1 hour ago

Exploration of the Financialization of Global Rare Earth Futures Accelerates, Europe and the U.S. Continue to Explore New Technologies [SMM Rare Earth Overseas Weekly Review]

Last week, the overseas rare earth market exhibited distinct characteristics, including accelerated exploration of futures financialization, diversified development of global resource projects, deepened supply chain strategies in major consumer countries, progress in alternative technology R&D, and continuous expansion of international cooperation networks. Next week, as China enters the Chinese New Year holiday, overseas markets will maintain this pace of advancement.

1 hour ago

Common.Time.hoursAgo

Although Rare Earth Market Prices Rose Significantly, Actual Transactions Did Not Follow Up [SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review]

[SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review: Rare Earth Market Prices Rose Significantly, but Actual Transactions Did Not Follow Up] Pr-Nd oxide market quotations remained high, with suppliers holding optimistic expectations for the future market and showing little willingness to sell at low prices. However, downstream buyers have gradually entered the holiday period, leading to a near halt in actual procurement. As of today, the price of Pr-Nd oxide has been adjusted to 845,000-855,000 yuan/mt.

Common.Time.hoursAgo