Goias and Minas Gerais, two neighboring Brazilian states which hold Brazil's largest rare earths and lithium reserves, respectively, are signing critical minerals cooperation agreements with the US.
Goias' governor Ronaldo Caiado signed a preliminary agreement on Wednesday to collaborate with the US in developing the state's rare earth reserves. Minas Gerais is also planning on signing a similar agreement on lithium and other critical minerals on 19 March, a source close to the matter exclusively told Argus.
Goias' agreement is not yet legally binding, but aims to create cooperation opportunities in research and technical skills development.
"This partnership enables us to better map and develop our mineral potential," Caiado told journalists after signing the deal. "It allows us to update our tech, enabling us to be more than just a raw mineral exporter."
State-level deals like these also allow Goias and Minas Gerais to speed up environmental licensing and offer tax exemptions to US firms, but they do not grant research or exploration rights, which remain under federal authority.
Both states are led by right-wing governors who are more amenable to US president Donald Trump's administration than Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. As a result,this could be a tactic to pressure the federal administration into signing a broader critical minerals trade deal with the US.
Lula has been resistant to signing any agreements that did not guarantee a commitment to developing critical minerals processing and refining capacity in Brazil.
Gabriel Escobar, a spokesperson for the US government, told journalists after Caiado signed the deal that the US had already formally proposed a critical minerals agreement to Lula and was still awaiting a response. President Trump has yet to name an ambassador to Brazil.
The US has long sought a critical minerals agreement with Brazil, which has proven to be one of the toughest negotiators in South America. Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina — Latin America's other lithium producers — in addition to copper-rich Ecuador and Peru, have all signed bilateral agreements with the US.
Caiado has been strengthening ties with the US as of late. He was present at the US Critical Minerals Ministerial Meeting, held in Washington on 4 February, during which the Trump administration signed 11 bilateral critical minerals deals.
One day later, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) granted a $565mn funding to the Serra Verde rare earths project, in Goias. DFC had also previously backed the Aclara project — also in Goias state — with a $5mn loan.
