Mineral resources and commodities have been a blessing and a curse for Latin America since the Spanish began extracting silver in Potosì, Bolivia, in 1545.
The region’s economic fortune has been partially dependent on commodities: improving with surging demand and worsening when demand, and prices, fell. The region is rich in minerals such as lithium, copper, silver, bauxite, zinc and nickel, among others. Many are key components in strategic industries, such as renewable energies and e-mobility.
