Rare earths and critical minerals

Like Chile, its southern neighbour, Peru has a long history of mining production and expertise. A recent report from consultancy KPMG says Latin America is emerging as a supply-side challenger to Chinese rare earth dominance in production and refining. By KPMG’s assessment Brazil has rare earth proven reserves of approximately 21m tonnes, followed in second place by Argentina with 3.3m tonnes, and Peru as a player with “high geological potential”. Juan Carlos Mejía, energy and natural resources lead for KPMG Peru, says the challenge isn’t just to exploit rare earth reserves, but to “transfer their role within the value chain”.