Sao Paulo [Brazil], September 18 : Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Wednesday signed a law establishing the country’s National Policy for Critical and Strategic Minerals, aimed at strengthening domestic processing and adding greater value to Brazil’s mineral resources, as reported by Brasil 247. 
The legislation, signed on September 16 at the Planalto Palace, seeks to expand research, mining, processing and transformation of critical and strategic minerals within Brazil. The policy also aims to support industrialisation, technological innovation, energy security and regional development.
Addressing the signing ceremony, Lula stressed that Brazil should ensure its natural resources contribute to domestic industrial development instead of being exported primarily as raw materials.
“We are not and will never again be a colony,” Lula said, according to Brasil 247, while stressing that Brazil’s sovereignty over its strategic resources was “not for sale.”
Lula also called for mining activities to be socially and environmentally responsible, sustainable and capable of contributing to Brazil’s industrialisation.
The Brazilian president said the country should pursue its international relations independently and should not be subordinate to major global powers. He said Brazil had the size and capacity to determine how its strategic resources are developed.
Lula further criticised what he described as attempts to hand over Brazil’s rare earth resources to foreign interests, saying the country should not repeat the experience of exporting mineral resources without developing greater domestic value addition.
Chief of Staff Miriam Belchior also spoke against what she described as “entreguistas” a term used in Brazil for those accused of transferring national assets to foreign interests. She linked the debate over rare earths to earlier disputes surrounding the ownership and control of strategic Brazilian assets.
The new law creates the National Council for the Industrialisation of Critical and Strategic Minerals, or CIMCE, under the Presidency. The council will coordinate, plan and monitor the implementation of the new policy and help identify priority projects.
The policy also provides for financial and fiscal incentives to encourage domestic processing and transformation of critical minerals. Companies can receive incentives linked to beneficiation, transformation and urban mining, while the framework includes requirements related to research, development, innovation and socio-environmental commitments.
The Brazilian government said the policy is intended to transform the country’s mineral potential into greater technological capability, industrial development and economic value within Brazil.