Rare Earth Miner Says Scarce Brazil Financing Undercuts Industry Push
- Meteoric also looking abroad to get support for Brazil project
- Overseas deals will mean production goes to other countries
Haul trucks move minerals at a mine in Parauapebas, Brazil.
Photographer: Dado Galdieri/BloombergMeteoric Resources NL is finding it difficult to find local financing for its $420 million rare earth project in Brazil, pushing the Australian firm to expand its search for investors beyond the South American nation.
Scarce funding in Brazil is prompting Meteoric and other small mining firms operating in the country to consider sales deals tied to future output as collateral for international loans. The industry says that undermines Brazil’s ambitions of playing a bigger role in developing an industry around rare earth elements — a group of 17 minerals that play a key role in defense and other high-tech sectors — as Western nations seek to diversify supply chains away from China’s dominance.