U.S. Tariff Exemptions Make Brazil’s Rare Earths a Must-Watch Play: Origen Resources
CEO.CA Aug 27, 2026 10:29
Summary
Rare earth appetite in Brazil is heating up: a peer IPO raising $20 million signals a strong funding pool for the sector.
Schellenberg says Origen staked more than 68,000 hectares of ionic clay and phosphate-hosted rare earth ground, with airborne geophysics contracted.
Ionic clay deposits — the guest’s preferred target — can be developed fast and mined open pit or in situ, without hauling ore.
Brazil is believed to hold the world’s second largest rare earth reserves but stays under-explored, with government incentives for newcomers.
Schellenberg reads the U.S. tariff exemption for Brazilian rare earths, plus a new $2 billion US investment, as a strategic endorsement.
Gary Schellenberg's takeaways
- Top takeaway Top point: he reads a $20 million IPO by another Brazil rare earth name as evidence of a race to fund the sector, and argues Origen is not far from that same position and should be able to tap the same appetite, especially from US investors.
- He says he has looked at rare earths since around 2008 and that the company deliberately targets ionic clay projects, choosing to enter commodities before they become the flavor of the month - which is what led it to Brazil.
- On the jurisdiction: he argues Brazil holds the world's second-largest rare earth reserves, is relatively underexplored, and that incentives plus local geological and government partners make it favourable for junior explorers.
- He interprets new US tariffs that exempt rare earth metals and compounds, alongside a reported $2 billion US government investment in rare earth projects worldwide, as a signal that Brazil is seen as a likely next rare earth superpower.
- He acknowledges there is a lot to watch out for, but frames the company's early move into Brazil as having caught the opportunity on a rising tide, which he credits partly to luck and partly to 15-plus years of work.