Chile Unveils National Critical Minerals Strategy Amid Global Demand Surge

Published: Jan 30, 2026 18:24

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Chile has released its National Critical Minerals Strategy, clearly positioning itself as a stable supplier of minerals. Currently, driven by artificial intelligence, the development of new technologies, and the energy transition, global demand for these critical minerals continues to grow.
The announcement of this strategy holds particular significance in the weeks before President Boric leaves office, highlighting Chile’s intention to transition from over-reliance on the copper industry toward adapting to a decarbonized economy and achieving resource diversification.
Chile has identified 14 critical minerals, specifically covering copper, lithium, molybdenum, rhenium, cobalt, rare earths, antimony, selenium, tellurium, gold, silver, iron ore, boron, and iodine.
Based on Chile’s current position in the global market, these 14 minerals are categorized into three groups:
The first category includes copper, lithium, molybdenum, and rhenium. Their respective shares in global supply are 23%, 20.4%, 14.6%, and 46.8%, and other major economies have also designated these minerals as critical.
The second category consists of minerals that are currently not produced or only produced in small quantities, including cobalt, rare earths, antimony, selenium, and tellurium.
The third category comprises minerals already produced domestically in Chile with the potential to expand their role in the global value chain, such as gold, silver, iron ore, boron, and iodine.

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