South American Nations Promote Mining Portfolios in Canada

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Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Latin American officials travelled to Toronto this week for the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention to tout their countries' mining portfolios. PDAC is a leading voice of the mineral exploration and development community; its convention drew more than 27,000 attendees.

The growing global emphasis on critical minerals and the transition to cleaner energy, which greatly depends on copper, lithium and rare earth minerals, highlight Latin America's potential to become an even more prominent player in the mining sector.

Electrifying the global economy demands large volumes of raw minerals, and that is where South American nations can come in.

Chile and Peru represent more than 30% of the global copper reserves and are currently the first- and third-largest producers worldwide. Meanwhile, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina account for over half of the world's estimated lithium resources.

Chile is currently solid as the world's second-largest lithium producer, while Argentina is moving closer with the startup of new plants.

Representatives from Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Peru presented their countries' prospects in Canada, hoping to attract investments.

Peru's minister of mines highlighted the country's portfolio of 84 exploration projects for this year and said that mining exploration investments for 2025 are forecasted at US$1 billion, compared to US$644 million reported last year.

In 2024, Peru lost to Congo its position as the world's second-largest copper producer. However, Peru has been working to reduce the bureaucracy surrounding mining projects to promote new developments.

Before travelling to Canada, Chile's minister of mines, Aurora Williams, highlighted her nation's vast resources, opportunities and its willingness to attract more investments.

"Chile has one of the portfolios of mining projects with the highest estimated value of the last few years, with a figure that exceeds (US$80 billion). At the same time, it is positioned as the fourth global destination and first in Latin America in investment in mining exploration," she said.

Finally, Argentina and Canada closed an agreement to collaborate on mining issues as part of the PDAC.

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