The BLOOM project team visited the AMG Brazil mine site in early February 2026, where our hosts introduced both the mining operations and processing facilities.
Learning about AMG’s processes was highly informative, and the BLOOM consortium greatly valued the opportunity to present the project’s objectives and discuss potential synergies between AMG Brazil as an end-user and BLOOM as a technology developer.
The AMG mine is located approximately four hours by road from Belo Horizonte. During the visit, the BLOOM consortium team stayed in São João del Rei. The delegation included representatives from Universitat Politècnica De Catalunya (UPC), the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Centre (TIC), and the Faculty of Engineering at the Federal University of Catalão (UFCAT), Brazil.
Originally classified as a tin operation, the mine later transitioned to tantalum production and is now primarily recognised as a lithium mine.
During the visit, the team observed feldspar extraction, tantalum ore production, and lithium production. We were also granted access to the mine’s control room, where we viewed CCTV monitoring of the production areas, as well as the computerised control systems and real-time production data.
Unfortunately, due to the wet season, we were unable to access certain parts of the site — including the rock face where explosives are placed along the pegmatite tantalum vein. Under drier conditions, we would have been able to observe more of the extraction process firsthand.
Overall, the visit — arranged by the TIC and made possible through the generosity of AMG — provided the BLOOM consortium with valuable insight into the operation of a commercial mine supplying several critical raw materials to Europe.
