Venezuela possesses vast oil reserves. Additionally, it holds another resource that is important to the United States.

Venezuela's Mineral Wealth and Global Interest

Heavy machinery transports soil at a mining operation run by CVG Ferrominera Orinoco, located on Bolivar Hill near Ciudad Piar, Venezuela, July 9, 2015. Photo: Meridith Kohut/Bloomberg/Getty Images/File

President Donald Trump recently announced that American companies will be able to tap into Venezuela’s extensive oil reserves. However, the administration’s interest extends beyond oil, as Venezuela is also home to a variety of other valuable resources.

According to specialists, Venezuela possesses unconfirmed reserves of minerals, metals, and possibly rare earth elements. These materials are crucial for sectors ranging from defense to technology, and US officials have repeatedly emphasized their strategic significance.

Despite Washington’s ambitions to secure access to these essential resources, experts caution that achieving this goal would be difficult and would not significantly strengthen the US supply chain.

The actual size and profitability of Venezuela’s mineral deposits remain unclear. Additionally, companies face considerable dangers operating in the country without reliable security measures.

Many mining areas are controlled by guerrilla fighters and armed groups involved in illegal gold extraction. Furthermore, mining rare earth elements is highly energy-intensive and can cause significant environmental damage.

Reed Blakemore, research director at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center, noted, “The administration recognizes that Venezuela’s natural resources go far beyond oil.”

He added, “However, the circumstances required to extract and market these minerals are far more complex—and, in many ways, even more challenging than those for oil.”

A miner in Venezuela, wearing a shirt with Uncle Sam’s image, works to extract gold for sale in El Callao, Bolivar State, August 29, 2023. Photo: Magda Gibelli/AFP/Getty Images

China's Dominance in Rare Earth Processing

Even if US firms were able to mine rare earths in Venezuela, extraction is only the first step. The majority of these materials are shipped to China for processing.

The International Energy Agency reports that, as of 2024, China was responsible for over 90% of the world’s rare earth refining. This near monopoly is the result of years of government support, industry growth, and lenient environmental policies.

Rare earth elements have become a major point of contention in trade disputes between the US and China. Last year, China imposed export restrictions on these materials, heightening concerns about the vulnerability of US supply chains.

Joel Dodge, director of industrial policy and economic security at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, stated, “China continues to dominate rare earth processing, and overcoming this industrial and geopolitical advantage will take considerable time.”

Understanding Critical Minerals and Rare Earths

The US Geological Survey has identified 60 “critical minerals” that are essential for the nation’s economy and security.

• These include metals such as aluminum, cobalt, copper, lead, and nickel.
• The list also features 15 rare earth elements, including cerium, dysprosium, neodymium, and samarium. Rare earths refer to a group of 17 specific metallic elements.

These resources are vital for manufacturing everyday technology—like smartphones, batteries, and televisions—as well as military hardware such as lasers, fighter jets, and missiles.

According to Julie Klinger, a geographer and associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the term “rare earths” is misleading, as these elements are relatively common in the Earth’s crust. The real challenge lies in extracting and refining them.

US lawmakers have expressed concern over the country’s dependence on imports for these crucial materials. While there have been initiatives to boost domestic mining and processing, such projects often require years, if not decades, to come to fruition.

Venezuela's Critical Minerals Landscape

The USGS does not currently list Venezuela among countries with rare earth element reserves; nations such as China, the United States, Brazil, and Greenland are included.

Experts attribute the lack of comprehensive data on Venezuela’s resources to over 25 years of governance by Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, which has left significant information gaps.

Nonetheless, specialists believe Venezuela contains deposits of minerals like coltan—which yields tantalum and niobium—and bauxite, a source of aluminum and gallium. All these are classified as critical minerals by the USGS.

In 2009, Chávez highlighted the nation’s natural wealth, including “blue gold” (coltan). That year, he announced the discovery of a significant coltan reserve, as reported by Reuters.

In 2016, President Maduro created the Orinoco Mining Arc, a region designated for mineral exploration and production. However, this area has been plagued by illegal mining activities.

Sung Choi, a metals and mining analyst at BloombergNEF, commented, “Although Venezuela possesses substantial mineral deposits, it faces significant obstacles such as inadequate geological data, a shortage of skilled workers, organized crime, insufficient investment, and unstable policies.”

Choi added, “Given these challenges, Venezuela is unlikely to become a significant player in the critical minerals market for at least the next ten years.”