Rare Earths, the 21st-Century Resource that Colombia has Yet to Fully Explore

Rare earths are, at their core, not very “rare,” except for their name, which makes them appear to be a scarce resource, a privilege of some countries such as China. But they are abundant throughout the world, and Colombia also has them, although it has not made substantial progress in a market with powerful buyers such as the United States, which is seeking who can supply them.

In reality, they are a group of 17 chemical elements in the periodic table: the 15 lanthanides (from lanthanum to lutetium), plus scandium and yttrium. Although their name may be misleading, these elements are not necessarily scarce in the Earth’s crust, but they are difficult to extract, since they usually appear mixed and in low concentrations within other minerals.

Neodymium and dysprosium stand out, used to manufacture powerful magnets used in electric motors and wind turbines; or europium and terbium, essential for some lighting systems and screens.

Colombia could be an emerging player in the global market

Global interest in these minerals continues to grow. Recently, Europe announced the discovery of one of the continent’s largest deposits of rare earths, valued at around 64 billion euros and with the potential to cover up to 33% of European demand. In this new global race, Colombia is beginning to ask itself whether it will remain only a traditional exporter of raw materials, or whether it will attempt to become a strategic player in the 21st-century technological economy.

“While China restricts the sale of strategic minerals and the United States seeks new countries to supply them, in Colombia the discussion is growing about the country’s potential in rare earth deposits, key minerals for manufacturing electric vehicles, wind turbines, batteries and chips,” experts from the National University of Colombia (UNAL) said, as quoted in an institutional bulletin.

These are academics, geologists, and mining experts who met at the Faculty of Mines of UNAL’s Medellin campus as part of the knowledge dialogue of the Center for Thought on Responsibility and Sustainability in the Mining Industry, where they warned that Colombia could become an emerging player in this global market, provided it manages to build a stable, modern, and technically sound mining policy.

“Rare earths are not just minerals, they are the strategic infrastructure of the 21st century,” said professor Jorge Leon Perez from the Faculty of Mines. “Currently, China controls about 60% of known global reserves and around 80% of global refining capacity, which has turned these minerals into a top-tier geopolitical issue. Whoever has critical minerals has power in the global market.”

Where rare earths are being explored in Colombia

Global rare earth reserves are estimated at around 130 million tons, and Latin America is now emerging as a key region for new exploration. In this context, Colombia is beginning to draw attention due to its still poorly studied geological potential, explained professor Oscar Jaime Restrepo Baena, from the Department of Materials and Minerals at the Faculty of Mines of the university, also quoted in a bulletin from the UNAL News Agency.

One of the projects that has recently generated the most interest is Minastyc, in Vichada, led by the Canadian company Auxico. The initiative is advancing through phases of prospecting for critical minerals and rare earths associated with shallow alluvial sands, located only three to four meters underground. This would translate into lower extraction costs and greater economic viability, by reducing the need for deep drilling or blasting.

There are also other possible findings in Caldas, Antioquia, Boyaca and Cundinamarca, which UNAL hopes to continue exploring in the future, the text adds.

During the knowledge dialogue, the document “Mining in Colombia: analysis of its current state and programmatic proposals for the comprehensive and sustainable management of mining in Colombia 2026–2030” was presented, in which researchers note that mining represents around 2% of national GDP, contributes about 13% of foreign direct investment, and generates around 350,000 direct jobs.

However, the sector faces structural problems: informality, illicit extraction, environmental conflicts, weak institutional coordination, and low trust between communities and companies. Faced with this scenario, experts insist that the country must avoid repeating the historical mistakes of disorganized exploitation.

They added that “the debate can no longer be limited to extracting minerals, but to defining what development model Colombia wants to build. There must be a ceiling, which is trust and security. It is time to take academic control and recover a mining country.”

The researchers also warned that Colombia is arriving late compared to other Latin American countries, since while Chile and Peru attract large investments in strategic minerals, Colombia faces a scenario of disinvestment and a lack of venture capital for exploration projects.

However, research in Antioquia shows promising signs. Professor Luis Hernan Sanchez, from UNAL’s Medellin campus, presented results from geochemical mapping and sediment sampling in northeastern Antioquia, where significant values of neodymium were found, one of the most sought-after elements for the manufacture of wind turbines and electric vehicle motors.