On May 31, 2026, Deutsche Welle's Chinese-language website reported that while Brazil is emerging as a rare earth supplier backed by its rich reserves, there are long-term challenges to breaking China's monopoly. The article stated that as a countermeasure to U.S. President Trump imposing significant tariffs on Chinese products, China activated export restrictions on rare earth materials, leading to a shortage of critical rare earths in the global market. Amidst this, various countries with reserves, such as India, Vietnam, and Brazil, are embarking on developing their domestic industries, with Brazil, in particular, attracting international capital as an alternative supply source. It then introduced that Brazil's rare earth reserves are estimated at approximately 21 million tons, making it the world's second largest after China, which boasts 44 million tons. Based on data from Brazil's National Mining Agency, a total of 2,758 rare earth mining projects are currently underway. Furthermore, it mentioned, based on data from the Geological Survey of Brazil, that about 73% of the rare earth deposits nationwide belong to easily mined ion-adsorption type clay deposits. Andrew Tanks, Chairman of the Australian mining company Meteoric Resources, stated that Brazil's mines are fully powered by renewable energy and highlighted the advantage of enabling low-cost development. In addition, it introduced that USA Rare Earth of the United States acquired an operational rare earth mine in Brazil from the Brazilian resource development company Serra Verde for $2.8 billion (approximately 440 billion yen). Barbara Hampton, President of the company, stated, "This mine is the only one outside of Asia that can supply all four types of magnetic rare earths on a large scale," and it also touched upon the fact that the mine has signed a 15-year exclusive sales contract with numerous U.S. government agencies. On the other hand, the article introduced that China accounts for over 90% of the global rare earth refining market and reaches approximately 95% in the production of magnetic materials. It pointed out that for Brazil to break China's monopoly, it must not merely export raw materials but also process and add value domestically. Furthermore, it introduced that Chairman Tanks expressed the view that "Brazil can quickly increase its competitiveness in rare earth mining, but the production of materials will still take a long time. Achieving this goal will require a great deal of patience." (Edited and translated by Kawashiri)