In 2025, Latin America’s largest economy extracted 293.18 million tons of iron, 73.63 million tons of gold, 56.86 million tons of aluminum, 7.06 million tons of niobium, 3.56 million tons of silver, 2.96 million tons of manganese, and 2.31 million tons of graphite. Full Speed AheadLatin America wants to accelerate mining development to expand production of critical minerals and become part of the value chain for cleaner technologies. Since 2023, Colombia has maintained a list of 17 critical minerals, including copper, lithium, cobalt, nickel, and gold. Last January, Chile published its National Critical Minerals Strategy, listing copper, lithium, molybdenum, gold, and silver. The US government has signed bilateral agreements with Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru, and reached an agreement with Mexico to develop a Critical Minerals Action Plan.