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Latin America Natural Resources: Copper, Lithium and Oil

Author:

Juan David Montoya

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Lago patagónico rodeado de montañas nevadas

Latin America is one of the richest regions on Earth in natural resources: it holds the world’s largest tropical rainforest (the Amazon, home to at least 10% of all known species), the largest proven oil reserves (Venezuela, some 303 billion barrels), more than half of the world’s identified lithium resources in the Chile-Argentina-Bolivia “triangle”, and the world’s top producers of copper (Chile) and silver (Mexico). So what exactly are Latin America’s natural resources, and which countries hold them?

From the mineral deserts of the Andes to the green immensity of the Amazon basin, the natural resources of Latin America make up an environmental and economic inheritance of planetary scale. The region brings together strategic minerals, vast energy reserves, huge forests, some of the mightiest rivers on Earth and biodiversity without equal. South America alone holds more than 40% of the planet’s biodiversity and more than a quarter of its forests, according to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD/UNEP).

That abundance is not evenly spread: each country contributes a different mix. Chile and Peru dominate copper mining; Mexico leads in silver; Brazil in iron ore and forests; Venezuela in oil; and together Chile, Argentina and Bolivia hold the lithium driving the energy transition. This article works through the region’s main natural resources — mineral, energy, forest, water and biological — using verified data from sources such as the USGS, the FAO, OPEC and United Nations bodies, and links to our country guides so you can go deeper on any case.

Patagonian lake ringed by snow-capped mountains

Which minerals and metals make the region a world power? Where are the largest oil and lithium reserves? Why does the Amazon matter so much to the global climate? And which megadiverse countries hold this biological wealth? Let’s start by defining precisely what we are talking about.

Natural Resources

Natural resources are materials or energy sources provided by or found on Earth that are useful to humans. Every product we manufacture is made up of natural resources.

  • Renewable resources: these can be restored by natural processes faster than the rate at which they are consumed. Examples include solar radiation, wind, hydroelectric power, water when used properly, and plant and animal life.
  • Non-renewable resources: once extracted, these are depleted and cannot regenerate. Examples include hydrocarbons, metals and minerals.

Latin America and the Caribbean in figures: environmental indicators

Total and average for the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean with comparable data, calculated from each country’s figures.

Countries included33 with comparable data
Land area20,044,409 km²
Forest cover46,1 % of the territory2023
Forest area9,241,671 km²2023
Protected land area24,4 % of the territory2025
Annual change in forest area−24,417 km² per year (2018–2023)
Agricultural area32,9 % of the territory2023
Forest area, 2000–2023The group lost 0.91 million km² of forest over the period.
2000 · 10.15 M km²2023 · 9.24 M km²

Mineral resources: copper, lithium, silver and iron

Latin America is the mining heart of the world. Chile is the world’s largest copper producer, with around 5.3 million tonnes in 2024, close to a quarter of global output (USGS 2024). Peru sits consistently among the planet’s top two or three producers, so between them the two Andean countries supply a decisive share of the copper the world’s electrification depends on. There is more detail in our guides to the natural resources of Chile and the natural resources of Peru.

The other headline resource is lithium, the key mineral for batteries. The so-called “lithium triangle” — the salt flats of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia — holds more than half of the world’s identified lithium resources (USGS 2025). Bolivia, with the vast Salar de Uyuni, has one of the largest known deposits, though its production is still in its early stages; Chile and Argentina, by contrast, already rank among the world’s leading exporters. Read more on the natural resources of Bolivia and the natural resources of Argentina.

Salar de Uyuni at sunset in Bolivia

In precious metals, Mexico is the world’s largest silver producer, with some 6,300 tonnes in 2024, almost double the second-placed country (USGS 2024). Peru is also on the global silver podium. In iron, Brazil is the world’s second largest iron ore producer and one of its great exporting powers: its reserves come to some 34 billion tonnes of contained iron (USGS 2024). Add gold, zinc, tin, bauxite and a long list of minerals spread across the region. More in the natural resources of Mexico and the natural resources of Brazil.

Energy resources: oil, gas and hydropower

In hydrocarbons, Latin America holds an unbeatable card: Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, estimated at around 303 billion barrels, roughly 17% of the world total and ahead of Saudi Arabia (OPEC/EIA 2024). Most of it lies in the Orinoco Belt, as heavy crude that is more expensive to extract. Find out more in the natural resources of Venezuela.

Brazil has established itself as a major producer thanks to its pre-salt fields, while Mexico, Colombia, Argentina (with the Vaca Muerta unconventional oil and gas formation) and Ecuador round out a diverse energy map. On top of that sits enormous renewable potential: the region has some of the largest hydroelectric plants on the planet — Itaipú, between Brazil and Paraguay, among them — and a growing solar and wind fleet. See the natural resources of Colombia, the natural resources of Ecuador and the natural resources of Paraguay.

Largest proven oil reserves (billions of barrels) Venezuela 303 Saudi Arabia 267 Iran 209 Canada 163 Iraq 145 Source: OPEC / EIA, reserves at end-2024.
Venezuela tops the world ranking of proven crude oil reserves.

Forest resources: the Amazon and the region’s forests

The Amazon is the largest tropical rainforest in the world: it spreads across some 6.7 million square kilometers over nine countries and is home to at least 10% of all known species on the planet (Conservation International). It is also a carbon sink that is essential to regulating the global climate. At the regional scale, Brazil alone contains 12.2% of the world’s forests and is one of the five countries that between them hold more than half of the world’s forest area (FAO 2020).

Aerial view of the Amazon River winding through the rainforest

South America is the region of the world with the highest share of its forests inside protected areas (around 31%), according to the FAO’s Global Forest Resources Assessment (FAO 2020). Deforestation — driven by cattle ranching, agriculture and mining — nevertheless remains the region’s main environmental challenge, even though the rate of net forest loss in South America has fallen to roughly half that of the previous decade. The forests of Central America, in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, complete this forest mosaic.

Water resources: the mightiest rivers on the planet

Fresh water is perhaps Latin America’s most underrated resource. The Amazon is the largest river in the world by discharge: with an average flow of some 209,000 m³/s, it alone accounts for close to 15% of all the fresh water that rivers discharge into the world’s oceans (some estimates put it at 20%) (USGS). Its flow exceeds that of the next seven rivers combined. Alongside the Amazon basin sit other colossal systems such as the Orinoco, the Paraná and the Río de la Plata system.

The Amazon River cutting through the Peruvian rainforest

This water wealth underpins agriculture, hydroelectric generation and the drinking supply of hundreds of millions of people. Andean lakes such as Titicaca (shared by Peru and Bolivia), and great aquifers such as the Guaraní (beneath Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay), reinforce the region’s standing as one of the world’s largest fresh water reserves. Find out more in the natural resources of Uruguay.

Biodiversity: a megadiverse region

Latin America’s most extraordinary resource may well be its biodiversity. Six of the world’s seventeen megadiverse countries are in the region: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela (CBD/UNEP). Taken together, the megadiverse countries hold close to 70% of the planet’s biological diversity while covering barely 10% of its land surface.

Jaguar in its natural South American habitat

Colombia and Peru lead the world ranking for birds; Brazil tops plant and amphibian diversity; and Ecuador, despite its small size, packs in one of the highest concentrations of species per square kilometer anywhere, thanks to the Andes, the Amazon and the Galápagos Islands. Caribbean reefs, Andean páramos, mangroves and wetlands complete an irreplaceable biological heritage. Explore the natural resources of Panama, the natural resources of Guatemala and the natural resources of Honduras.

Natural resources of Latin America, country by country

Every nation combines minerals, energy, forests, water and biodiversity in its own way. See our individual guides for a detailed look at the natural resources of each country in the region:

Organizations and environmental challenges

Managing this wealth involves international bodies such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the FAO and ECLAC, along with numerous national ministries and agencies. Latin America’s great challenge is to use its resources without destroying the natural capital that sustains them: halting deforestation, minimizing the impact of mining, protecting river basins and conserving biodiversity. The global energy transition — which depends on the region’s copper, lithium and other minerals — makes this balance between development and sustainability more urgent than ever.

Sources used

The natural resources of Latin America are, in the end, a treasure of global dimensions: minerals that feed the technology revolution, energy for the planet, forests that regulate the climate, rivers that give life and a biodiversity found nowhere else. The real challenge is not simply to measure this wealth but to manage it with a long-term view, so that the generations to come — inside and outside the region — keep benefiting from it. Knowing these resources, country by country, is the first step to valuing and protecting them.

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Last updated: July 25, 2026

Comparte este Recurso:

Juan David Montoya

Written and reviewed by

Juan David Montoya

Economist from the Universidad de Antioquia (Medellín, Colombia), covering the environment and sustainable development since 2013. The work here begins with hands-on research in the databases of the major international research institutions — the World Bank, FAO, the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the United Nations and the OECD — the source of every indicator published on this site, each one cross-checked. The aim is to turn that data into a simple, visual format: tables, maps and visualizations that make each country's environmental situation clear at a glance.

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