By LCN Business Desk
Three South American governments are betting that refining lithium at home, not just mining it, will decide who profits from the energy transition, Latin Times reported on Monday. Refined battery metals sold for three to four times the price of raw ore in 2022, according to UN Trade and Development research cited in the same report, and lithium demand is projected to rise 353 per cent between 2024 and 2040.
Guyana is at an earlier stage of the same question. It is still establishing, by aircraft and drill, which of these minerals lie in its mining districts.
What are Chile, Argentina and Brazil doing?
| Country | Approach | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Chile | State majority: Codelco holds 51% of NovaAndino Litio with SQM; up to 85% of lithium profits accrue to the state from 2031. Controlled 46% of world refined-lithium exports in 2025 | The Rio Times; Latin Times |
| Argentina | Deregulation: the RIGI regime locks in 30 years of tax, customs and currency stability. 116,000 tonnes produced in 2025, 90% exported as unprocessed carbonate | Latin Times |
| Brazil | Congress passed PL 2780/2024 in September 2026: a R$2 billion guarantee fund, R$5 billion in tax credits over five years, and a federal council to classify critical and strategic minerals | MINING.COM |
| Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru | Joint declaration on strategic minerals signed in Santiago on 28 August 2026 to coordinate investment and supply chains | Streetwise Reports, citing MINING.COM |
Sources: Latin Times, The Rio Times, MINING.COM, Streetwise Reports. Critics of Brazil's bill fear the new council could bring heavy government intervention, MINING.COM reported. Latin America absorbed more mining-related arbitration claims than any other region last year, according to Latin Times.
Does Guyana have lithium?
Not yet established. GGMC's national Mineral Occurrence Map records gold, diamonds, manganese, columbite-tantalite, uranium, rare earth elements and semi-precious stones, according to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission; lithium is not among the occurrences it lists. Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat said in 2023 that the government was seeking investors to explore for lithium and other rare earth elements, and that "lithium will probably be the next gold, or will probably be more expensive than gold a few years from now", iNews Guyana reported.
Establishing whether Guyana has lithium is one of the stated aims of its national mineral mapping. "This project here, part of this project is to look to see if we have those critical minerals in Guyana. Which includes lithium," Bharrat told the National Assembly during the budget estimates, adding that the contractor would drill to verify deposits, the Guyana Times reported.
What is Guyana's mineral mapping programme?
- Contract: awarded in mid-2024 to the US firm Global Venture Consulting, the first national-scale aerial mineral mapping since 1968, according to the US International Trade Administration; G$400 million was allocated in Budget 2024, the Guyana Times reported.
- Where: four districts with most of the mineralisation: North West, Mazaruni, Potaro and Puruni, Bharrat said (Guyana Times).
- Airborne survey: launched on 2 October 2025 with AGF and Xcalibur Smart Mapping, collecting magnetic, radiometric and gravity data over more than 14,000 square kilometres, staged from Ogle, according to the launch release.
- Handover: GGMC staff are being trained to run the programme when the contract ends (Guyana Times).
- Now: two specialised aircraft are collecting data that could identify copper, lithium, rare earth elements and other critical minerals, to go into a national repository available to small and medium-scale Guyanese miners, Bharrat said on 17 September 2026 (EIN Presswire), as La Caribeña News reported.
Insufficient information on deposits, limited road access and high energy costs have held back large-scale exploration and processing in Guyana, according to the US International Trade Administration, which lists lithium, copper, nickel and rare earth elements among the critical minerals Guyana is exploring for.
What has Guyana said it wants from its minerals?
Value added, and data for small miners. "We must move towards value added, which helps to create more business opportunities and direct and indirect employment as well," Bharrat said on 17 September of forestry, and the ministry applies the same emphasis on value creation to mining, where it is tightening gold traceability and regularising operations, according to EIN Presswire. The launch release for the survey frames the inventory around the Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030: low-impact mining, better royalty collection and investment de-risking (release).
Its recent mineral deals point the same way on investment. The United States took an equity stake in a Guyanese bauxite mine this year, as La Caribeña News reported; Guyana has promised five mining companies that it will compensate them if the law changes, under stability clauses; it charges a single royalty for every grade of bauxite; and the US Deputy Secretary of State came to Georgetown in August to discuss critical minerals. The Dominican Republic has since dated its first rare-earth export to 2028, reported in The Dominican Republic Dated Its First Rare-Earth Export.
Does Guyana have a critical-minerals law?
On the public record this newspaper can find, no. Guyana's minerals are governed by the Mining Act of 1989 and the agreements made under it, and there is no published critical-minerals or rare-earth law, list or strategy of the kind Brazil has just legislated or Chile adopted in its National Lithium Strategy of 2023.
The regional choices are now visible: state majority ownership in Chile, long-term investor guarantees in Argentina, and a public fund and council in Brazil. Guyana's mapping will say what it has. The rules for who processes it, and where, are not yet written.
What the title card shows
- 353 per cent: projected rise in lithium demand, 2024 to 2040, per UN Trade and Development. Source: Latin Times.
- Three to four times: price of refined battery metals over raw ore, 2022. Source: Latin Times.
- R$2 billion: Brazil's critical-minerals guarantee fund. Source: MINING.COM.
- 14,000 km²: Guyana's airborne survey coverage from October 2025. Source: launch release.
- 1968: the last national-scale aerial mineral mapping of Guyana before this one. Source: ITA.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Guyana have lithium deposits?
It has not been established. Lithium is not among the occurrences on GGMC's national mineral map, and finding whether Guyana holds lithium and other critical minerals is a stated aim of the mineral mapping programme under way since 2024.
What is Guyana's mineral mapping programme?
A national mineral inventory by the US firm Global Venture Consulting for the Ministry of Natural Resources, including an airborne geophysics survey of more than 14,000 km² launched in October 2025, focused on the North West, Mazaruni, Potaro and Puruni districts. GGMC is to take it over when the contract ends.
Does Guyana have rare earth elements?
GGMC's Mineral Occurrence Map records rare earth element occurrences, along with columbite-tantalite and uranium. Their extent is what the mapping is meant to establish.
What did Brazil's critical minerals law do?
PL 2780/2024, passed by Congress in September 2026, creates a R$2 billion guarantee fund, R$5 billion in tax credits over five years and a federal council to classify critical and strategic minerals. It awaits presidential signature.