Critical and Strategic Minerals: Decree Defines Classification and Priority Criteria

The list will be defined by CIMCE, with the possibility of classification into three priority levels

In summary

Decree No. 13,146/2026, published on November 4, 2026, establishes economic, socio-environmental, and climate criteria for defining and updating the list of critical and strategic minerals. The list will be established by resolution of the National Council for the Industrialization of Critical and Strategic Minerals (CIMCE), based on a substantiated proposal from the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

Further details

In addition to the definitions set forth in Law No. 15,506/2026, the classification of substances as critical or strategic minerals must meet the following requirements:

1. the necessity of the substance for key sectors of the national economy, considering its applications in those sectors and the technical and economic feasibility of its substitution;
2. the insufficiency, instability, or vulnerability of the substance’s availability, due to insufficient domestic production, high dependence on imports, geographic concentration of foreign supply, geopolitical risks, market restrictions, or technological bottlenecks; and
3. the possibility of a shortage of the substance that poses a significant risk to the country’s economy, considering the effects on production, employment, and access to goods and services in dependent sectors, especially those related to the energy transition, food and nutritional security, and national security and sovereignty, including in the technological field.

1. the substance’s relevance to the country, stemming from significant reserves, considering available geological knowledge and Brazil’s position in global supply; and
2. the essential nature of the substance for at least one of the following purposes: (a) the economy’s ability to generate a trade surplus, considering exports, imports, and the potential for value addition within the country’s mineral supply chain; (b) technological development, taking into account the industrial use of the substance in products and production processes and the country’s capacity to develop or master technologies associated with its production chain; (c) regional development, taking into account the economic dependence of the regions on the mineral chain and its effects on employment, income, natural resources, and other local productive activities; or (d) the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the respective production chain, taking into account the role of the substance in production technologies and pathways and the differences in emissions compared to alternatives applicable to the same chain.

The list of critical and strategic minerals may be organized into priority classes to guide the implementation of the National Policy on Critical and Strategic Minerals (PNMCE).

Important

Points of attention for companies in the mineral supply chains:

• Simultaneous classification: the same substance may be classified as both a critical and a strategic mineral, provided it meets the requirements of both definitions;
• No automatic benefits: CIMCE may direct PNMCE instruments by class or substance, but the classification will not, in and of itself, result in project approval, the granting of benefits, or an exemption from legal requirements. The selection of projects will follow CIMCE’s criteria and Decree No. 13,118/2026;
• Review of the list: the review will take place every four years, with the CIMCE having the authority to conduct extraordinary reassessments; and
• Ongoing operations and projects:  Any proposal to change the list or priority class assigned to a substance must assess the effects on the investment screening mechanism, the National Registry of Critical and Strategic Mineral Projects (CNPMCE), and the PNMCE instruments, including with respect to ongoing operations and projects. Where necessary, it must specify the applicable transition rules, in accordance with the jurisdiction and regulations governing each instrument.