Brazil’s Serra Verde Pela Ema project, the country’s first operational large-scale rare earths mine, has become a focus of U.S. efforts to diversify supplies away from China. The Goiás facility produces neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium, making it the only current non-Asian operation producing all four critical magnet rare earth elements. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation provided a $565 million loan intended to help direct output to the United States and allied nations. In April 2026, USA Rare Earth announced an approximately $2.8 billion acquisition of the project backed by U.S. government financing, while the Department of War’s Economic Defense Unit offered up to $750 million in offtake support (funding tied to future production). Serra Verde began commercial production in early 2024 and is targeting annual output of 6,400 to 6,500 metric tons of rare earth oxides by 2027, with a projected 25-year mine life. China produces roughly 270,000 tons of rare earths annually, compared with about 2,000 tons in Brazil, despite Brazil holding approximately 21 million metric tons of reserves. Serra Verde’s ionic clay deposits contain heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium, which are difficult to source outside China and are used in high-performance permanent magnets. Brazil’s Viridis Mining & Minerals inaugurated a research and processing plant in May 2026 and is targeting commercial production of mixed rare earth carbonate by 2028, but large-scale domestic separation and refining capacity is not expected before 2030. Early Brazilian mine output will therefore likely be exported in partially processed form for final refining elsewhere. Serra Verde’s full output would remain a fraction of global demand but could provide a buffer against Chinese export restrictions or price manipulation. Its heavy rare earth production also complements Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths, the primary non-Chinese producer for years, whose deposits are dominated by light rare earths.