Brazil Unveils 200M Reais Investment Plan for Mining Innovation

The Brazilian government has initiated a plan to allocate funds for innovation in the mining sector. The funding, totaling 200 million reais (equivalent to $40 million), is jointly established by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI) and the Research Projects Financing Agency (Finep), and will be implemented through the "Brazil Innovation Program." Against the backdrop of growing interest from domestic and overseas investors in developing projects related to critical minerals, the Brazilian government has launched this initiative. Notably, many of these projects, particularly rare earth separation projects, still require further R&D investment.

The market quotation for praseodymium-neodymium oxide is in the range of 880,000 - 890,000 yuan/tonne, representing an increase of approximately 35,000 yuan/tonne compared to pre-holiday levels, a rise exceeding 4.12%. This marks a staggering 98% increase year-on-year. The quotation for praseodymium-neodymium metal stands at 1.07 - 1.08 million yuan/tonne, up by 50,000 yuan/tonne (4.88%) from pre-holiday prices, also reflecting a 95% year-on-year increase.

This week coincided with the Chinese New Year holiday, with most rare earth producers temporarily suspending external shipments and maintaining pre-holiday price levels. On the trading side, overseas inquiries increased in frequency, while domestic enterprises selectively took orders. Some companies, facing a shortage of spot resources, halted external shipments. In news, the opening of India's artificial intelligence summit became the hottest topic this week, with multiple countries announcing plans to strengthen rare earth mining to secure local supply chains.