Brazil rare earth prospecting filings exploded in 2026, nearing a 45-year total in five months, as the global race for critical minerals heats up.

Brazil has renamed its Northern Military Command the Eastern Amazon Military Command, signaling focus on the Amazon river mouth and a new oil frontier.

A Brazilian-owned miner is betting up to $580m on a Brazil rare earths plant, a rare local challenger in a field dominated by foreign capital.