Record investments, key discoveries and public-private partnerships consolidate the region’s role as the global epicenter of critical minerals for batteries, clean energy and green technology.
May 15, 2025
[Santiago de Chile / Buenos Aires / Brasilia] – The week of May 10 to 15 marked a turning point for Latin America in the race for global energy sustainability. With strategic announcements from Chile, legislative advances in Argentina and new technological agreements in Brazil, the region is consolidated as the world heart of strategic minerals for the energy transition, especially lithium, copper, nickel, rare earths and cobalt.These raw materials are essential for electric car batteries, solar parks, wind turbines and green digital infrastructure, and their global demand has tripled in the last five years. Today, Latin America not only provides these minerals, but begins to lead the global conversation about responsible mining, technological innovation and sustainable supply chains.
🇨🇱 CHILE: A public-private roadmap that already bears fruit
The Ministry of Mining of Chile, in collaboration with Corfo and international companies, officially launched this week a new national plan to accelerate the exploration of lithium, rare earths and uranium, focusing on sustainability, blockchain traceability and local communities.
“Chile does not want to be just an exporter of resources, but a key player in global green manufacturing,” said Minister Aurora Ruiz during her speech at the Federico Santa María Technical University.
In addition, the company Lithium Dynamics, supported by CertiK, closed its first phase of raising capital to develop a technological center in the Atacama Region, integrating mining with artificial intelligence, energy storage and blockchain.
Among its goals are:
• Electrify 100% of the mining fleet by 2027.
• Use only renewable energy in your work before 2030.
• Train more than 1,500 technicians in clean extraction technologies.
🇦🇷 ARGENTINA: Legislative advances and discoveries in the north
Meanwhile, in Argentina, the Senate approved the bill “Incentive to Green Mining”, which establishes tax benefits and regulatory guarantees for investments that prioritize clean technologies, water recycling and satellite environmental monitoring.
At the same time, the Canadian McEwen Mining and the Argentine YPF Lithium announced new findings in the Salinas Grandes area, Jujuy, with lithium concentrations higher than 70% compared to previous campaigns. According to experts, this positions the country as one of the leaders of the lithium triangle.
“We have the opportunity to build a value-added industry, generating qualified jobs and attracting technological innovation to northern Argentina,” said Carolina Pérez, director of the National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI).
🇧🇷 BRAZIL: Alliances with Europe and focus on rare earths
Brazil, for its part, signed a bilateral agreement with Germany to develop a safe and low-carbon supply chain for rare earths and nickel, key minerals for European electromobility.
The agreement includes:
• Technology transfer for advanced separation processes.
• Joint funds for eco-processing startups.
• Installation of a research center in the state of Goiás.
According to the Minister of Industry and Trade, “this is just the beginning of a new era for Brazil as a strategic supplier of critical minerals, but with a sovereign and ecological development model.”
🔬 Innovation, governance and new actors
This week also highlighted the presence of startups and universities in the critical minerals scenario. From new water-free extraction methods in Chile, to intelligent sensors to reduce energy consumption in processing plants in Argentina, the Latin American ecosystem is taking firm steps towards a 4.0 mining model.
Companies such as Summit Technology, Eramet LatAm, and The New Energy Standard, are leading networking events, applied research and creation of technology hubs that interconnect governments, companies and investors around the green economy.
The world looks south: opportunities and challenges
Organizations such as the World Bank, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and BloombergNEF have highlighted in their latest reports the urgency of ensuring a stable and sustainable supply of strategic minerals to meet the 2030 climate goals.
And on that map, Latin America appears as a reliable partner, with vast natural resources, growing technical leadership and a clear vision of international integration, but with urgent challenges:
• Reduce bureaucracy and time to obtain permits.
• Increase investment in R&D and logistics infrastructure.
• Ensure that mining development is equitable and inclusive.
The great bet of the global south
The week of May 10 to 15, 2025 will be remembered as a milestone for the Latin American mining industry, not only for its economic announcements, but for its geostrategic vision.
From the perspective of a journalist specialized in green economy, this transformation is not cyclical, but structural: Latin America is projected as the new engine of the global energy transition, capable of balancing profitability, innovation and commitment to the planet.
Because today more than ever, the world’s energy future is written with the minerals of the south.
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