Overview
- The two governments formalized a March 12–13 joint declaration on critical minerals and rare earths, signed by U.S. Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau and Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna before President José Antonio Kast.
- The pact initiates immediate meetings to identify priority projects and to design new public–private financing that supports secure sourcing for defense, electronics and clean energy.
- The initiative targets diversification of processing away from concentrated hubs, with reporting noting China’s lead in rare‑earth and graphite refining.
- A new Inter‑American Development Bank analysis underscores the region’s stakes, estimating Chile’s copper reserves at 526% of GDP and Bolivia’s lithium resources at 3,647% of GDP.
- The IDB warns that large mineral endowments are a double‑edged prospect that demands strong governance and value‑added strategies to translate windfalls into lasting development.