Elon Musk Rejects Bolsonaro’s Offer to Explore Niobium and Graphene, Preferring Brazil’s Lithium Reserves, the Seventh Largest in the World

Brazil Has Potential to Become One of the World’s Largest Lithium Producers, and Elon Musk May Be Interested

Elon Musk was in Brazil last Friday (20) and met with top federal government officials, some major entrepreneurs, and ministers to discuss matters related to the Amazon and the implementation of Starlink in the north of the country. However, Bolsonaro also discussed other issues such as the supply of metals and minerals like niobium and graphene, which would serve for Tesla’s car batteries, of which Elon Musk is the owner. However, the billionaire did not show much interest in the exploration of these metals, as he has already made it clear, on other occasions, his strong desire to participate in lithium mining.

Experts and researchers point out that Brazil has the seventh largest lithium reserve in the world, with a good portion of it in the Amazon, and this could make the country one of the largest producers and exporters of the metal. According to studies, a total of 95 thousand tons are estimated to be available for immediate exploration in national territory, through the use of technology. However, when factoring in the still inaccessible reserves, Brazil reaches an impressive mark of 470 thousand tons. This data comes from the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Learn More About Elon Musk’s Visit to Brazil and His Meeting with Bolsonaro in the Video Below

Musk’s Interest in Lithium Is Not New, and He Has Already Declared It Openly on Social Media

In April 2022, close to finalizing negotiations for the purchase of Twitter, Elon Musk had already expressed his interest in lithium mining, as it is the metal most used in batteries. A tweet from World of Statistics pointed to a 1,753% increase in the price of lithium per ton compared to 2012, and Elon Musk replied to it expressing his interest in mining the metal because the price “has reached insane levels” in the market.

According to the billionaire, lithium is found almost everywhere on earth, so the problem is not scarcity, but the extraction and refining process that is very time-consuming. Thus, he hinted at his interest in entering this field to promote the development of batteries for Tesla’s electric vehicles.

Although some studies have shown excellent effectiveness with sodium-ion batteries, nothing surpasses the lightness and energy density that lithium offers, which justifies Elon Musk’s interest.

Bolsonaro Mentioned Niobium as a Potential Battery Metal, but Elon Musk Did Not Show Great Interest at the Moment

President Jair Bolsonaro made a statement saying that he had discussed Brazil’s significant potential for niobium and graphene exploration with Elon Musk, which could be materials for the production of even more powerful batteries. However, the billionaire did not show much interest in niobium at this time, but perhaps in graphene.

They think they need to wait a bit longer to invest in this area. I said that Brazil is the only country in the world that currently holds 98% of the niobium reserves. So he believes that, at the moment, it is not time to invest in this type of battery.

Jair Bolsonaro (2022)

However, the president seemed optimistic, stating that if the ongoing study yields promising results, Elon Musk will likely turn his attention to the new niobium and graphene batteries, investing in the field. After all, according to Bolsonaro, this would be a significant revolution for the automotive industry seeking renewable energy for mobility.