Infographic: Latin America’s top miners may surprise

Latin America’s most mining-dependent countries are not always its biggest economies. Our latest infographic ranks the region first by mining’s share of total exports and then by the value of those exports.

The comparison shows where metals matter most to trade and where scale still rules, from copper giants Chile and Peru to smaller producers whose economies lean far more heavily on mining.

2026 is shaping to be a key year for Latin America, with resources at the centre of a growing global power struggle, as governments and investors focus on who controls critical minerals and the supply chains behind them. If the region matters to you, don’t miss MINING.COM’s Latin America series tracking the geopolitical forces reshaping it and why markets are increasingly driven by global alliances as much as local politics.

Countries in the series so far:

• Bolivia
• Chile
• Colombia