Latin America Holds Critical Minerals but Captures Less Than 1% of Rare-Earth Refining

Highlights

• Latin America produces ~40% of mined copper and ~30% of lithium, yet its rare-earth mining and refining share remains at 1% or less.
• 62% of the region's critical-mineral exports are raw materials, meaning industrial value consistently leaves with the ore.
• Brazil holds an estimated 21 million tonnes of rare-earth reserves—about one-quarter of the global total—but produced only ~2,000 tonnes in 2025.
• The U.S. DFC committed $565 million to Serra Verde's Pela Ema expansion, yet its output still requires downstream separation and conversion.
• Without separation capacity, metallization, magnet IP, and committed Western buyers, regional cooperation alone cannot close the value-chain gap.