Appraising the mineral resources in Latin America

Abstract

Since colonial times, Latin America has had a tradition for supplying raw materials, which have contributed strongly to the economic development of other regions. Non-fuel minerals from Latin America, such as, iron, aluminum, gold, silver and copper have become high-value commodities in a globalized market. The exploitation of mineral resources in the region has produced social, environmental and political issues. This exploitation also implies the loss of mineral wealth in the region. The current work gathers information related to investigations about the quantitative assessment of the loss of mineral wealth from a non-traditional approach in twenty countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (AL&C). This research has been based on the Second Law of Thermodynamics and has enabled to identify aspects that are hidden in traditional analysis. The main result shows that the loss of mineral wealth in AL&C in 2013 was not compensated by the revenues coming for the sales of minerals in that year. This fact establishes a challenge for the region that maintains a considerable reserve of minerals required in a modern society for keeping today´s standard of living. A change towards a more sovereign positions on mineral resources in the region would be required if a more sustainable production of minerals is being sought in the region.