Despite the lower price of iron ore — the country's main mineral commodity — Brazil's mining output increased in value terms in 2025, driven by higher iron ore production volumes and favorable prices for several other minerals including gold and copper. According to estimates from the National Mining Agency (ANM), in 2025 Brazil's mining output rose to R$ 298.8 billion (approximately US$ 55.3 billion), for a 10 percent increase in the year. Iron ore remained the country's main mineral product with a figure of R$ 152.2 billion (US$ 28.1 billion), although that was down 2.2 percent compared with the previous year. Next, copper and gold both gained prominence, ending the year at R$ 39 billion (US$ 7.2 billion) and R$ 30 billion (US$ 5.5 billion) respectively. Both showed significant growth compared with 2024, up no less than 65 percent in the case of gold and 50 percent for copper.
Revenue from the CFEM (Financial Compensation for Mineral Exploitation), based on the value of mining output, rose to R$ 7.91 billion (approximately US$ 1.46 billion), for a nominal 6.3 percent growth rate in the year, although still far from the record set in 2021, when the nominal value of CFEM reached R$ 10.3 billion (now equivalent to US$ 1.90 billion). In terms of mineral commodities, while iron ore remains the leader, its share decreased from 75 percent to 69 percent. Copper and gold, on the other hand, significantly increased their share, copper from 5.5 percent to 7.8 percent and gold from 4.8 percent to 7.5 percent, confirming the trend toward diversification in Brazil's mining production. There was also an increase in the number of companies paying CFEM: from 7,974 in 2024, the number rose in 2025 to 8,086 companies, meaning that over a hundred new players entered the mining industry in Brazil.
Another point marking the evolution of the Brazilian mining industry in 2025 was the activity in mergers and acquisitions, with major players seeking to optimize their portfolios through the divestment of assets considered non-essential and the acquisition of projects in strategic minerals or metals. A KPMG survey shows there were several movements in this direction in 2025. In the first six months of the year alone, there was a 50 percent growth in the volume of business, totaling no fewer than 14 transactions. There was an increase in transactions classified as Foreign Direct Investment, in which a foreign company acquired the control of assets in Brazil.
The year 2025 was also marked by the implementation of capital-intensive projects by large mining companies, such as Vale and CSN Mineração, which entered critical stages of their multi-year investment cycles, focusing not only on volume expansion but fundamentally on automation as a means to enhance quality and operational efficiency. In parallel, in the case of the minerals needed for the energy transition, a rare earth hub was created in Minas Gerais and Goiás, and progress was made in consolidating the Jequitinhonha Valley as the "Lithium Valley," demonstrating that the diversification of the Brazilian mining agenda is gradually becoming a reality.
On the mergers and acquisitions side, an emblematic transaction of the year was Anglo American's exit from its nickel operations in Brazil, aiming to align with its new global guideline of focusing on copper, premium iron ore, and agricultural nutrients. The British giant sold its entire nickel portfolio in Brazil to MMG (Minmetals), a Chinese government-controlled company. This operation, assessed at up to US$ 500 million, had a complex financial structure, which up to a point reflects the inherent volatility of the nickel market. The payment was structured with an initial cash payment of US$ 350 million for immediate settlement, plus contingent payments: up to US$ 100 million tied to the future performance of the nickel price and US$ 50 million linked to the development of greenfield projects. The transaction includes the Barro Alto and Codemin mines and processing plants (in Niquelândia, Goiás), which have historically been benchmarks in ferronickel production in Brazil, and two projects still under development, Jacaré in Pará and Morro Sem Boné in Mato Grosso. These two projects ensure MMG of a long-term expansion platform. The acquisition also ensures that China — the world's largest consumer of battery metals — will now exert direct control over nickel sources in the Americas, diversifying its supply sources beyond Indonesia and the Philippines. For Anglo American, the divestment represented the fulfillment of its promise of simplification, allowing the company to deleverage its balance sheet and focus on protecting itself against hostile takeover bids while optimizing its copper assets in Chile and Peru.
Another important transaction, in fact a merger on a global scale, was the union between Anglo American and Teck Resources, approved by Canadian shareholders and regulators in December 2025, having immediate repercussions on the perception of risk and asset value in Latin America. The new entity, named Anglo Teck, starts off with a commitment to invest at least C$ 10 billion in Canada over 15 years, focusing aggressively on copper and zinc. For Brazil, the importance of the deal lies in the signal that this megamerger sends to the market: the era of diversified conglomerates holding thermal coal assets or marginally profitable operations is over. The new Anglo Teck, headquartered in Vancouver, will have multiple listings in London, Johannesburg, Toronto, and New York, creating an investment vehicle focused on transition metals, pointing to sharper competition for high-quality copper projects in the South American continent.
Also in the line of critical minerals, the Chinese group Baiyin Nonferrous, listed on the Shanghai stock exchange, now owns and operates Mineração Vale Verde, acquired from the Appian Capital Brazil group for an estimated price of up to US$ 500 million (the companies did not disclose the exact terms of the sale). MVV operates the Serrote copper mine and processing plant in Craíbas, in the state of Alagoas, with an installed capacity of 20,000 tons per year of copper contained in concentrate.
Also in copper, CoreX Holdings, owned by Turkish billionaire Robert Yuksel Yildirim, acquired BHP's copper assets in the Carajás complex for up to US$ 465 million, in one of the largest mining transactions of the year in Brazil. The deal represents another strategic move by Yilderim to build a metal supply chain independent of Chinese hegemony in the industry.
China Nonferrous Mining Corp. (CNMC) acquired Mineração Taboca from the Minsur group of Peru, for US$ 340 million. CNMC is a Chinese company with nonferrous metals operations in Asia and Africa. Mineração Taboca is Brazil's leading tin producer, operating the Pitinga mine in the municipality of Presidente Figueiredo, Amazonas, which in addition to tin also yields tantalum and niobium. Taboca also operates a metallurgy unit in Pirapora do Bom Jesus (SP), where it processes the concentrate from Pitinga, producing three alloys, iron-tantalum (FeTa), iron-niobium (FeNb), and iron-niobium-tantalum (FeNbTa).
In the precious metals area, specifically in gold, a highlight was the China Molybdenum Co. (CMOC) group's acquisition of Equinox Gold's gold assets in Brazil. The transaction included the Aurizona Mine, located in Maranhão, the Riacho dos Machados (RDM) mine in Minas Gerais, and the Bahia Complex, which comprises the Santa Luz and Fazenda Brasileiro operations in Bahia, consolidating China's presence in the Brazilian mining industry. The agreement includes a down payment of US$ 900 million in cash upon closing the transaction, scheduled for the first quarter of 2026, in addition to a contingent payment of up to US$ 115 million linked to output achieved one year later. CMOC has been present in Brazil since 2016, when it acquired Anglo American's niobium and phosphate operations for US$ 1.7 billion.
Also in gold mining, there has been PA Gold's acquisition of the Faina project, highlighting the movement of asset consolidation by medium-sized companies. PA Gold acquired a 15,000-hectare area (58 square miles) in Goiás that includes six mineral targets, notably the old Sertão mine. The new owner's strategy differs radically from that of previous operators: the focus will shift from open-pit mining to underground mining, aiming to access higher-grade ore bodies at greater depths.
The interest displayed by Chinese companies in Brazil also includes construction minerals. At the end of 2024, Huaxin Cement acquired Embu S.A., one of the main aggregate producers in the São Paulo metropolitan region, for US$ 186 million. In operation for over 60 years, Embu owns four quarries in the region: Itapeti (in Mogi das Cruzes), Embu (in Embu das Artes), Juruaçu (in Perus), and Viracopos (in Itupeva). The company's production capacity is 8.5 million tons a year of aggregates.
In zinc, Nexa Resources completed the sale of its Morro Agudo complex in Minas Gerais to Casa Verde Holding. The mine has provided around 5 percent of Nexa's zinc output but no longer held any declared mineral reserves. The sale to a smaller operator, capable of extracting residual value or reprocessing materials, allowed Nexa to avoid the immediate costs of mine closure, focusing instead on ramping up its new main operation at Aripuanã.
The glitter of gold
Gold mining experienced a renaissance in Brazil in 2025, driven by international prices at levels well above expectations, pushing through surpassing the US$ 4,000 per ounce barrier. One highlight was Aura Minerals, which has now established itself as one of the most consistently growing mining companies in the hemisphere. The company excelled with the implementation of the Borborema project in Rio Grande do Norte, built in just 19 months, on schedule and within budget (a capex of US$ 188 million), defying the global trend of cost overruns in investment projects. The operation stands out for its use of reclaimed water (treated sewage) from the city of Currais Novos, an innovative solution for operating in a semi-arid region.
GMining was another highlight, with the rapid maturation of its Tocantinzinho project in Pará. The company successfully completed the ramp-up to full commercial production, providing strong cash generation, motivating GMining to expand its operations with the acquisition of the Gurupi project (Centro Gold) from the BHP group, which will likely be GMining's next gold venture in Brazil. The company also began implementing a new project, named Oko West, in neighboring Guyana.
In brief, 2025 was a positive year for Brazilian mining. The industry displayed resilience in navigating a volatile commodity price environment, using capital discipline and technological efficiency to protect its margins. More importantly, Brazil took concrete and irreversible steps to diversify its mining portfolio. Critical minerals ceased to be merely the subject of PowerPoint presentations and materialized into effective projects.
For 2026, the outlook points to the continuation of this virtuous cycle, with the expansion projects initiated in 2025 becoming fully operational, while the geopolitical dispute over Brazilian assets is likely to intensify, placing the country in a privileged position in the new low-carbon global economy.