Overview
- Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick promoted Venezuela’s long-dormant mining potential, pointing to the Orinoco Mining Arc as a possible source of bauxite, coltan, industrial diamonds, and gold.
- Trump administration officials signaled interest in Venezuelan critical minerals to trim reliance on China following the operation that removed Nicolás Maduro.
- Independent analysts from CSIS and SAFE cautioned that sanctions exposure, weak rule of law, insecurity in mining regions, and a lack of enforceable contracts would deter Western investment.
- The administration has moved to diversify critical-mineral supply chains through market and policy steps, including stakes in Lithium Americas and MP Materials, streamlined permitting, and new agreements with Asian partners.
- Coverage notes limited reliable data on Venezuela’s reserves, outside estimates that any contribution would take years to materialize, and parallel rhetoric about other resource-rich locations such as Greenland.