Latin America and the Caribbean is a major supplier of critical minerals, supported by a large and diverse resource base. The region holds significant shares of global resources of lithium, copper, silver and graphite, alongside important reserves of molybdenum and tin, and established production of specialty minerals such as niobium and rhenium. This endowment underpins the region’s strategic importance for a wide range of technologies, including those central to the energy transition as well as high‑technology, aerospace and defence applications.

The region also has significant potential to help diversify highly concentrated global mineral supply chains while strengthening its own economic development. Expanding processing and downstream activities could enable the region to capture greater value from its mineral resources. In 2025, countries in the region refined on average just 20% of the key energy minerals they extracted, excluding lithium. Based on the distribution of the base case project pipeline, the region has the opportunity to capture around USD 185 billion of economic value by 2035. Of this, only one‑fifth is expected to come from refining, as most extracted material is exported for processing abroad. An analytical case study that assumes all mined lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and rare earths and two‑thirds of mined copper are refined locally suggests that local refining can significantly increase benefits for local economies. If local refining were to be expanded to its full potential, the economic benefit would rise to around USD 220 billion in 2035. Additional regional refining capacity would also help narrow projected supply gaps and enhance resilience against disruptions.

Structural advantages such as low-emission energy mix, broad resources and established mining expertise and ecosystems give the region a strong foundation to expand its role as a global reliable supplier of critical minerals. However, targeted policies could further help in addressing challenges such as high financing cost, environmental management, regulatory uncertainty, infrastructure gaps and technology and skill constraints, and the need to maintain stronger engagement with local stakeholders. Many countries of the region have recently updated their policies to address these risks, and further regional integration provides opportunities to strengthen investment attractiveness, develop shared infrastructure, foster technology transfer and skills development to build more competitive and resilient critical mineral value chains.