critical raw materials

Of the 34 critical raw materials on the EU’s list of CRM, 25 are extracted in Latin America. According to the World Trade Organization, Chile – with which the EU has just updated a trade agreement – is the world’s leading exporter of critical minerals, accounting for 11 % of global exports in 2022, followed by South Africa (10 %), Australia, Peru and the Russian Federation (all at 6 %). Latin America, in particular South America, is primarily rich in lithium and copper. The region has also the largest reserves of niobium, natural graphite, fluorspar and rare earth elements. According to a 2023 European Commission study on CRM, Brazil is, with over 90 %, the world’s largest supplier of niobium (Figure 1), a metal mainly used to enhance steel products’ strength, flexibility and lightness