Critical and strategic minerals employ 129 thousand people in Brazil

Activities related to the critical and strategic minerals sector (MCE) for Brazil totaled 129,423 jobs in 2025, equivalent to 57% of the 226,634 jobs in the country's mineral extractive industry.

When compared to the same job market recorded in 2023, there was growth of 8.6% in the period.

The data is available on the Critical and Strategic Minerals Portal, launched last week by the National Mining Agency (ANM).

The federation units that employ the most are Minas Gerais (62,631 jobs); Pará (27,047); and Bahia (9,147).

In addition to data on jobs, the panel allows you to consult information on the profile of workers, average remuneration and the 21 substances related to these activities, including aluminum, gold, iron, copper, rare earths, niobium, titanium and lithium.

The analysis of the formal labor market in the platform's mineral extractive industry was carried out using microdata from the Annual List of Social Information (Rais) and the New General Register of Employed and Unemployed People (Novo Caged), made available by the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE).

Workers' profile

According to data from the portal, male participation (100,765 jobs) is equivalent to 78% of the total jobs related to critical and strategic minerals (129,423). Women occupy the remaining 22%, 28,658 positions.

In the jobs chart, related to MCE, 51,714 are qualified labor, equivalent to 23% of all jobs.

Workers with higher education total 30,707, which represents 14%. Of these more than 30 thousand jobs, 19,060 are held by men and 11,647 by women.

When considering the jobs generated by type of mineral, the extractivism that employs the most is iron (70,027 jobs). Followed by precious metals which account for 21,313 jobs.

Compensation

In 2025, the average earnings of workers with primary, secondary and higher education levels were respectively R$3,218; R$4,142 and R$11,856.

Locations

The portal also shows the territorial distribution of producing municipalities with a geospatial map.

Among the municipalities with the highest number of workers in activities related to MCE are Parauapebas (PA), with 8,234 jobs; Nova Lima (MG), with 8,218; and Congonhas (MG), with 7,114.

In Parauapebas, there are 8,234 workers (71.4% male and 28.6% female), 1,851 of whom have higher education.

In Nova Lima, of the 8,218 employees (63.3% male and 36.7% female), 4,776 have higher education.

In Congonhas, there are 7,114 workers (73.2% male and 26.8% female), of which 1,234 workers have higher education.

Production

To contribute to transparency and dissemination of information about mining performance in the country, the website presents information on exploration, value invested and production and foreign trade.