Federal Government wants to buy the largest niobium mine in the world

Federal Government plans to buy Codemig, a niobium company controlled by the state of Minas Gerais. Bolsonaro fears that other countries may have strategic reserves of niobium.

The President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro, said on Monday (6) that the Federal Government intends to buy shares in Codemig, a company that is being sold by the governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema (Novo). Bolsonaro claims that there is an interest of the Union to prevent the brazilian niobium fall into the hands of other countries. Earlier this year, in February, the Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais (ALMG) rejected the urgent request to veto the sale of Codemig.

Minas Gerais plans to privatize Codemig

According to Bolsonaro, when Zema spoke of selling the shares of Codemig, the Federal Government began to negotiate so that it could assume these actions. It is important to remember that, last year, Minas Gerais announced its intention to privatize Codemig. So far, however, state legislators have yet to evaluate the process.

The company receives royalties from the manufacture of niobium, which is used in super conductors, steel, among others. Bolsonaro, in an interview with the AgroMais channel, an arm of the Bandeirantes group focused on issues in the agribusiness sector, commented on the meeting with Elon Musk, South African billionaire controller of Tesla, electric car company.

INDUSTRY AND TRADE – FREE MARKET

The Brazilian president once again insisted that graphene niobium batteries would be the future of the vehicle industry and also praised the fact that a large part of the niobium is in national territory. According to Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil has 98% of the world's niobium, a raw material produced by Codemig. Catalan was sold to another country in the last government. In Araxá, niobium is part of the government of Minas Gerais, with whom the Federal Government is conducting negotiations.

Federal Government defends that country should stop commodity exports

The strategy, already revealed to members of the Minas government, is that the BNDES could keep the shares. old representatives of the state government consider that niobium does not have all the strategic importance that Bolsonaro points out and, therefore, they think it is a good deal to dispose of the shares.

In the interview, the president also defended that Brazil should stop exporting the raw material and start working on the industrialization of the material while still in the country, as there is a risk that other countries are making strategic reserves of the product.

Brazil also has, in the region of the Six Lakes, in the Amazon, large volumes of niobium. It had been dealt with by the American government, still under Donald Trump's regency, how this could be exploited to add greater value.

Bolsonaro pointed out that it is unfair to export niobium from Codemig and other mining companies in nature. In Araxá, there are several companies from other countries that import Brazilian niobium. It is also possible to see that there are countries that do not have any technology. What the president suggests is that they are making reservations for the future.

Get to know Codemig

Codemig was founded in December 2003, after changing the corporate name of Companhia Mineradora de Minas Gerais (Comig) and the incorporation of Companhia de Distritos Industriais de Minas Gerais (CDI/MG) and Empresa Mineira de Turismo, in addition to the assets of the extinct Companhia de Desenvolvimento Urbano de Minas Gerais.

Until 2018, the company was responsible for several projects and actions to encourage the economic development of the State, which were then taken over by its majority shareholder, Companhia de Desenvolvimento de Minas Gerais.