Text: Fabrício Queiroz, edited by Alice Martins Morais
Photos: Philip Bishop
The decarbonization of the economy has driven the public and private sectors to seek solutions to reduce emissions and expand the energy matrix on a sustainable basis. In this scenario, so-called critical minerals, such as lithium, nickel and copper, have become decisive for the creation of less polluting technologies. However, the reserves of these resources are limited and have a direct impact on the transition goal.
First director of the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) and PhD in Energy Economics, David Zylbersrajn highlights that the direction of the energy transition leads to electrification that requires these minerals, whose concentration occurs in countries such as China and Congo.
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According to the expert, the tendency is for these nations to form a group of “mineralocountries”, following the example of the petrocountries organized around the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), with the potential to solidify themselves as a new force in global geopolitics.
“This is a new global challenge. We are going to create a new name for this situation, which is the issue of mineral concentration. So, the challenge goes beyond technology and will involve extremely relevant geopolitical tensions because of these minerals,” Zylbersrajn assessed during his participation in the Amazon and New Economies Conference.
With mining as an activity of relevance to the national economy, Brazil can play a strategic role in this new scenario that is emerging. For Mônica César, corporate affairs manager for the South Atlantic at Vale Metais Básicos, the country needs to value its clean energy matrix as a competitive advantage and invest in technology, innovation and integration of strategic policies to accelerate the transition agenda.
“Regulatory bodies need to be better equipped to speed up the licensing processes for energy transition projects,” said Mônica César, who also highlighted the importance of companies and private investments in the matter.
The role of the productive sector, the current reality and future demand for energy on the planet, and the production of technical and scientific data to support Brazil's decarbonization policies were also highlights of the panel “The National and International Vision of Strategic Minerals in the Decarbonization of the Global Economy”, which also included the participation of the Deputy Superintendent of Economic and Energy Studies at the Energy Research Company (EPE), Gustavo Naciff; the professor emeritus at UFMG and member of the ESG committee at Sigma Lithium, Maria José Salum; the director of the Center for Mineral Technology (CETEM), Silvia França; and Rafaela Guedes, senior fellow at the Brazilian Center for International Relations (Cebri).
“The demand for minerals for the transition is already a reality. Of course, this is expected to intensify and in Brazil this will also happen on the horizon,” said Gustavo Nassif, who added that EPE is currently working on the preparation of the ten-year energy plan, commissioned by the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) and that the document will have a chapter dedicated to signaling to the government about the minerals needed for the energy transition.
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