The mineral resources of Venezuela comprise 1.07% of the Gross Domestic Product. Among the most abundant are iron, gold, coal, bauxite, nickel, titanium, zinc, copper, and diamond.
This South American country has one of the richest soils in the world, with reserves of mineral and energy resources. The minerals that underlie Venezuelan soil are classified as ferrous or non-ferrous metallic, and non-metallic.
Venezuela has between 10 and 23% of the world's reserves of the main minerals such as copper, iron and gold, and most of the deposits are in Guayana, in the Andes or around the Cordillera de la Coast.
Most of the mineral exploitations are aimed at export, since Venezuela still does not have enough transformation plants to produce industrial parts.
For a decade, Venezuela has nationalized the companies that exploit mineral resources and has strengthened relations with other Latin American countries to sell them its main resources.
What are the most abundant mineral resources in Venezuela?
1- Iron
Iron is, after oil, the mineral resource with the highest production in Venezuela.
Iron began to be exploited in 1950 by the Iron Mines Company, and its main deposits are in the Guiana iron belt.
This mineral resource is the basic raw material for various iron and steel industrial processes; Through these processes, parts and materials are obtained, mainly for the manufacture of machinery.
The iron industry was nationalized in 1975 and the government created the National Ferrominera Orinoco CA Company. Iron extraction in Venezuela covers internal demand and, in addition, it is exported to some countries in Europe and Latin America.
2- Copper
Copper in its pure state has a reddish appearance, and acquires other characteristics when it is alloyed with other minerals. It is a resistant, recyclable material with great thermal and electrical conductivity.
Its main deposits in Venezuela are in Loma de Hierro, located in the Serranía del Interior in the vicinity of Tiara, in the state of Aragua.
Copper is used in the manufacture of products such as cables, sheets, pipes, and electrical parts.
3- Bauxite
Bauxite extraction places Venezuela among the top 15 countries with the capacity to generate this mineral.
It is a rock that is in a soft or hard state, and is composed of hydrated aluminum oxides.
Bauxite can be found in the Bolívar state, essentially in the areas of Upata, Nuria and the Serranía de los Guaicas, in the southern region of the Gran Sabana and Los Pijiguaos.
4- Coal
Venezuela has a coal reserve of 10 billion metric tons. Coal is a black rock, composed of carbon and other elements, which is used in the production of electrical energy.
The states with coal deposits are Zulia, Táchira and Anzoátegui. Coal is exported to Latin American countries, such as the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Peru.
5- Nickel
Nickel is a metal that varies between white and slightly yellow in color; it is an excellent conductor of electricity and heat.
It is widely used to coat other metals, such as iron, aluminum and steel. It is found in the Cordillera de la Costa, in the states of Miranda and Aragua, and also in the Serranía del Interior.
6- Coltan
Coltan is made up of the minerals columbite and tantalite, and has a black, opaque appearance.
In composition with other minerals, it becomes the raw material for the manufacture of laptops and cell phones, digital sound devices, video devices, satellite location systems and game consoles.
Venezuela has a wide area of coltan mines in areas of difficult geography; given the precarious state of the roads, it is very difficult to commercialize them.
As in the rest of the world, coltan fever has generated deep social problems in the places where it is extracted, due to the illegal mining activity in the hands of armed groups that act outside the law.
The main coltan deposit is located south of the Orinoco River.
7- Gold
Venezuela is one of the countries with the largest gold reserves in Latin America; it is estimated that it has around 3,500 tons.
The activity of the extraction and commercialization of gold generates around 250,000 jobs. Along with other mining companies, the gold activity was nationalized in 2008.
It is possible to find the main gold deposits in Bolívar state in four areas: the gold areas of Tumeremo, El Callao, El Dorado and El Manteco; in the Cuyuní river basin; and in the regions drained by the Yuruarí, Botanamo, Caroní, Venamo and other rivers.
8- Diamond
Diamond mining in Venezuela produces around $ 30 million annually; however, in recent decades this activity has become informal and illegal, and national income has been diminished.
It is possible to find diamonds along the Caroni river basin, in the Guayana area.
9- Zinc
The physical appearance of zinc is bluish white. Its extraction can be carried out in the open pit, -that is, on the surface of the ground- or in underground deposits, such as mines.
It is immune to dry air, but in the face of humidity it protects itself from corrosion with a superficial layer of oxide or basic carbonate.
Zinc is found in the Loma de Hierro and Santa Isabel, in the state of Aragua; and in the Sierra de Aroa, in the state of Yaracuy.
10- Titanium
Titanium is a metal very resistant to corrosion, almost at the level of steel; For this reason, its use is common in the manufacture of airplanes, helicopters, armor, warships, spacecraft and missiles.
The main deposits are in Guayana, in the Andes or around the Cordillera de la Costa.
References
- Söderholm P., Svahn N. (2015) Mining, regional development and benefit-sharing in developed countries. Resources Policy, Volume 45.
- Graham A. Davis et al. (2005). The resource curse. Volume 29, pp. 233–242
- Kesler Stephen and al. (2015). Mineral Resources, Economics and the Environment. pp: 7-10
- Egaña, Manuel R. (1979). Venezuela and its mines. Central Bank of Venezuela, pp: 124-134
- Mora C. Jesús (2002). The Property Law of Hydrocarbons in Venezuela: origin and legal tradition. Venezuelan Journal of Economics and Social Sciences. V.8. No. 2. pp: 219-235