Latin America’s mining sector may be on the cusp of a major transformation.
Citigroup (NYSE:C) analysts recently described the region as entering “one of its most favourable investment environments in years”, pointing to a shift towards right-wing politics and changing global supply chains as potential tailwinds for investment.
As Latin America’s largest economy and one of its most mineral-rich countries, Brazil stands out as the biggest potential beneficiaries of any major policy shift.
In fact, mining has emerged prominently in the policy platforms of leading candidates ahead of Brazil’s upcoming election.
Incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has pushed for a regulatory framework to strengthen Brazilian control over its mineral resources, while conservative challenger Flávio Bolsonaro has argued the country could help meet US demand for critical minerals.
Brazil holds the world’s second-largest rare earth reserves after China, alongside significant deposits of minerals used in smartphones, EVs, defence, and other advanced technologies. Those resources are drawing increasing attention from the US as it seeks to reduce China’s dominance of critical mineral supply chains.
“Brazil will remain open to foreign investment. We will work to ensure predictability for investors and businesses,” Pablo Cesário, acting president of Brazilian mining industry group Ibram, recently told Bloomberg.
However, attracting the capital and technology required to turn Brazil’s mineral potential into new production remains a challenge.
“We lack access to capital, technology, and faster permitting,” says Rinaldo Mancin, a senior mining consultant who previously spent 20 years at Ibram. “There’s a risk that by the time Brazil is able to produce rare earths, the market will already be flooded.”
Brazil’s ‘golden’ opportunity
While the outlook for Brazil’s emerging critical minerals industry remains unclear, the country already has a long-established position in another increasingly strategic commodity: gold.
Central banks have accumulated around 1,000 tonnes of bullion annually in recent years, according to the World Gold Council, as countries seek to diversify their reserves and hedge against geopolitical risks.
A record 45% of central banks surveyed by the council expect to increase their gold reserves over the coming year.
Brazil is already the second-largest gold producer in South America behind Peru, although iron ore and bauxite have traditionally played a more prominent role in its mining industry.
Its gold history stretches back more than 300 years. During the 18th century, around 1,200 tonnes of gold was extracted using artisanal methods across Minas Gerais, Goiás, Bahia, and Mato Grosso.
Industrial mining expanded over the following century, but large parts of the country’s gold endowment remain underexplored.
Three areas stand out. The Carajás Mineral Province in Pará hosts extensive gold systems alongside its better-known iron ore deposits, while the Quadrilátero Ferrífero – also known as the Iron Quadrangle – in Minas Gerais continues to produce new discoveries despite more than three centuries of mining.
The broader Amazon region also contains extensive Archean and Proterozoic geology comparable with major gold-producing regions in West Africa and Western Australia.
Major miners establish foothold
Brazil’s key advantage compared with many of its Latin American peers is the potential scale of its mineral systems, with several major international producers already operating substantial gold mines in the country.
Kinross Gold (TSX:K) operates Paracatu in Minas Gerais, Brazil’s largest gold mine by production. The open-pit operation is expected to continue until at least 2034 and is supported by 4.8 million ounces of gold reserves.
Minas Gerais also hosts AngloGold Ashanti’s (NYSE:AU), which operates the Cuiabá underground mine, and Jaguar Mining, which operates in the Iron Quadrangle.
Further north, Pan American Silver (TSX:PAAS) owns the Jacobina complex in Bahia, which includes an underground mine and a processing plant with capacity of 8,500 tonnes per day.
More recently, attention has shifted towards the highly prospective Amazon region.
G Mining Ventures (TSX:GMIN) brought its Tocantinzinho mine in Pará into commercial production in late 2024, less than two years after construction began. It has since become Brazil’s third-largest gold mine.
Cabral Gold (TSX-V:CBR) also recently brought Cuiú Cuiú into production in Pará’s Tapajós region.
The region hosted what is considered Brazil’s largest gold rush, producing an estimated 30 million–50 million ounces of placer gold between 1978 and 1995, according to Brazil’s National Mining Agency.
Tocantinzinho and Cuiú Cuiú sit around 25km apart, with their respective operators identifying further exploration potential around the projects.
Goiás offers another exploration frontier
Despite new development in the Amazon, Minas Gerais and neighbouring Goiás remain important areas for gold exploration.
Stockworks Gold (TSX-V:STW) is exploring its Pirenópolis project in Goiás, near a town founded during Brazil’s 18th-century gold rush.
According to Stockworks CEO Nasim Tyab, the bedrock source responsible for the area’s historical placer gold production has never been identified, presenting a potential greenfield exploration opportunity.
The company has also drawn geological comparisons between Pirenópolis and Kinross’ Paracatu deposit.
“We are on the same belt as Paracatu — essentially [working] on the same rocks,” Tyab told Mining.com.au earlier this year. “Big tectonic events have occurred at Paracatu, and we have a similar one through our property.”
“Although it’s greenfield, it’s very high impact,” he says.
Recent stream sediment sampling at Pirenópolis returned gold values as high as 6.38 grams per tonne. Stockworks now plans to evaluate its priority targets through drilling.
Goiás already hosts 34 producing mines, including nine gold operations spanning both open-pit and underground mining.
Exploration gap leaves room to grow
Brazil’s gold production nevertheless remains well behind jurisdictions with comparable geological potential.
World Gold Council data shows Canada produced 213.3 tonnes of gold in 2025, compared with 87.4 tonnes from Brazil — less than half Canada’s output.
That gap underscores the opportunity proponents see in further exploration.
A 2022 study published in Ore Geology Reviews reviewed Brazil’s gold mining history and identified several emerging exploration frontiers, including the Goiás Magmatic Arc and regions of the Amazon.
With established mines demonstrating the country’s ability to host large-scale operations, new projects emerging in Pará, and significant areas still underexplored, Brazil’s next challenge will be turning its geological potential into investment and, ultimately, new production.
Write to Jackson Chen at Mining.com.au
Image: Stockworks Gold
