Exports soar and bring Brazilian copper into the spotlight

Brazil recorded a sharp increase in copper exports in May, highlighting the country’s potential to become a more relevant player in the global metal market.

Exports of copper ores and concentrates increased by almost 150% in May compared to the same period last year, totaling US$1.03 billion, according to federal government data.

Although Brazil is not considered a global powerhouse in copper production, like Chile and Peru, the metal has been gaining ground on the mineral agenda in the largest country in Latin America.

In contrast, iron ore exports, a segment in which Brazil is a global powerhouse, reached US$1.97 billion in May, representing a 15.2% drop in the year-on-year comparison.

Last month, copper accounted for 3.23% of all Brazilian exports, more than double the 1.38% share recorded a year earlier. Iron ore, in turn, represented 6.17% of the country’s exports, below the 7.76% observed in May 2025.

Soybeans and oil remained the two main products exported by Brazil in terms of value.

Investments

Although Brazil is not seen as one of the world’s main copper producers, projects in the segment have attracted the interest of international companies, in addition to the Brazilian giant Vale.

Factors such as strong global demand and a mineral jurisdiction that is already established and well known to investors tend to contribute to the advancement of copper projects in the country.

“The energy transition, the electrification of transportation and power grids, the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure and, increasingly, of defense and national security, are structural forces that are fundamentally reshaping the global economy, and copper is indispensable for all of them. These are not trends that will reverse with a change in quarterly sentiment. They are decade-long transformations, backed by public policies and capital-intensive in nature, that require enormous amounts of copper, and the world is still only in the early stages of this expansion,” said Makko DeFilippo, CEO of the Canadian mining company Ero Copper, which operates in the copper sector in Brazil, in a recent interview with BNamericas.

“Brazil has a solid track record and we believe that its continued commitment to regulatory, fiscal, and legal stability will be essential not only for Ero, but also for attracting the broader capital flows needed to develop the next generation of critical mineral supply that the world so badly needs,” he added.

Vale, the world’s largest iron ore producer, has placed copper at the center of its expansion strategy.

The company announced at the beginning of this year plans to invest US$ 3.5 billion in its copper assets, reinforcing its bet on the segment. The investments will be made between 2026 and 2030 and will focus on the company’s assets in the Carajás region, in Pará.

Vale’s plans are part of a broader trend.

Investments in copper projects in Brazil are expected to reach around US$ 8.6 billion between 2026 and 2030, according to projections by the Brazilian Mining Institute (Ibram), an entity that represents the main mining companies in the country. The amount represents an 18% increase compared to the previous cycle, between 2025 and 2029.

In addition, Brazil may soon have a new company participating in the copper segment, amid growing interest in projects in the sector.

In April, Largo Resources, a company listed in Canada and the only vanadium producer in Brazil, requested authorization from the National Mining Agency (ANM) to produce and sell copper.

The company’s request, which also extends to the production and commercialization of platinum group metals (PGMs), nickel, and cobalt, refers to byproducts to be produced within its existing mining activities at the Maracás Menchen mine, located in the state of Bahia, using its current ore processing infrastructure.

Also in April, the Turkish group CoreX Holding officially made its debut in Brazil’s mining sector after completing the purchase of copper and gold assets from the Australian company BHP.

Last year, the company reached an agreement to acquire BHP’s assets in Brazil for US$465 million (mn), involving copper and gold operations, including the Pedra Branca mine in Pará. With the completion of the transaction, the new company that will operate the assets is called CoreX Copper Brasil.

Projects

Several copper projects at different stages of development are expected to move forward in Brazil in the coming years, mainly concentrated in the state of Pará. BNamericas has compiled the main ventures registered in its database.

The largest of them in terms of planned investment is the Alemão project, by Vale, with an estimated investment of US$ 1.8 billion. Currently at the feasibility, basic engineering, and environmental and social assessment stage, the project foresees annual production of 80 thousand tons of copper and 140 thousand ounces of gold, as well as the implementation of a 230 kV transmission line.

Also in Pará, Ero Copper, in partnership with Vale, is developing the Furnas project, with an estimated investment of US$ 1.28 billion. The asset is in an advanced exploration phase, with feasibility studies and environmental and social assessment underway.

The Cristalino project, located in Pará and controlled by Vale Base Metals, calls for investments of US$500 million. Currently in the project, feasibility and basic engineering phase, the venture is expected to have a production capacity of 80 thousand tons of copper per year.

Vale Base Metals, through its subsidiary Salobo Metais, is also carrying out Project 118 in Pará, with an estimated investment of US$350 million. The asset is in an advanced exploration phase and is expected to produce 60 thousand tons of copper per year.

The Bacaba copper project, located in Canaã dos Carajás, in Pará, is being developed as a brownfield expansion of Vale’s Sossego mine, using the existing railway and port infrastructure of the operation. With an estimated investment of US$ 290 million, the project is currently under construction and consists of an open-pit mine with a production capacity of 50 thousand tons of copper per year and an expected useful life of eight years.

Another highlight is the Salobo CPF (Coarse Particle Flotation) project by Vale, which envisages an investment of US$ 275 million. At the feasibility and basic engineering stage, the project seeks to increase the operational efficiency of the Salobo complex.

In Mato Grosso, Meridian Mining is moving forward with the Cabaçal project, which calls for investments of US$ 248 million. Currently in the advanced exploration, feasibility and environmental assessment phase, the project is expected to produce approximately 16 thousand tons of copper per year, in addition to 70,271 ounces of gold and 125,331 ounces of silver annually.

Source: BN Americas 

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