Highlights
- Bolivia hosts 31 of 38 US-classified critical minerals including antimony, niobium, and lithium (21M tonnes), but most remain geological resources rather than proven reserves.
- New state institutions created in 2022-2024 are advancing REE exploration at key sites like Cerro Manomó and Rincón del Tigre, though no commercial mine yet operates.
- Bolivia favors state-led partnerships with non-Western players, awarding China's CATLCMOC a $1B+ lithium deal while courting Europe as a future strategic minerals supplier.
Bolivia—long celebrated for silver, tin, and now lithium—is steadily emerging as one of South America’s most intriguing frontiers for rare earth elements (REEs) and other critical minerals. While no commercial REE mine is yet operating, the past 15 years have laid meaningful groundwork: geological mapping, targeted exploration, new institutions ,and growing international interest. The result is a country still early in the curve—but positioned for a potentially transformational decade ahead.
Table of Contents
From Geological Promise to Active Exploration
Bolivia’s REE story gained traction around 2010–2011 during the global push to diversify supply beyond China. Early studies and foreign prospecting—particularly in southern Bolivia—flagged notable rare earth occurrences. Since then, Bolivia’s Geological Service (SERGEOMIN) (opens in a new tab) and state miner COMIBOL have significantly expanded the map.
Key exploration zones now span Cochabamba, Potosí, and Santa Cruz, with standout prospects including Cerro Manomó and Rincón del Tigre in eastern Bolivia. Hundreds of positive samples from these areas indicate the presence of rare earths alongside strategic metals such as niobium, nickel, cobalt, chromium, and thorium. Additional work at San Javier (Santa Cruz) has targeted a diverse suite of technology metals—rubidium, cesium, tantalum, tungsten, and REEs, including lanthanum, neodymium, and europium.
Importantly, Bolivia has moved beyond ad hoc exploration. In 2022, it created a Vice Ministry of Technological Minerals and Rare Earth Elements, followed in 2024 by COMIBOL’s National Directorate for Technological Minerals & REEs. Dedicated field campaigns are now focused on quantifying resources and moving prospects toward feasibility. Results are still pending, but the institutional architecture is firmly in place.
A Country Rich in Resources—Not Yet Reserves
Bolivian officials are candid: most REE and critical mineral occurrences remain classified as geological resources, not proven economic reserves. That distinction matters. Rare earths are technically complex to extract and refine, requiring capital, processing know-how, and stable long-term investment frameworks.
Still, the scale of opportunity is striking. Former mining officials note that Bolivia hosts 31 of the 38 minerals classified as “critical” by the United States, spanning antimony, bismuth, niobium, REEs, and battery metals. The challenge is not geology—it is execution.
Partners, Politics, and Strategic Alignment
Geopolitics looms large. Bolivia’s resource strategy has favored state-led, sovereign partnerships, often tilting toward non-Western players. The clearest example is lithium. Holding an estimated 21 million tonnes of lithium resources—among the world’s largest—Bolivia selected a Chinese consortium (opens in a new tab) (CATL–CMOC) in 2023 to invest over $1 billion in direct lithium extraction plants, each targeting 25,000 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate.
This decision sidelined U.S. bidders but underscored Bolivia’s preference for partners willing to accept strong state participation. At the same time, La Paz has actively courted European interest, positioning Bolivia as a future supplier of strategic minerals for the energy transition. Chinese firms are already entrenched across Bolivian mining—from gold to iron ore—bringing both capital and controversy, particularly around environmental and Indigenous impacts. These dynamics will almost certainly shape any future REE development.
Beyond REEs: A Broad Critical Minerals Platform
Rare earths are only part of the picture. Bolivia is a global heavyweight in antimony reserves, historically significant in tungsten and bismuth, and increasingly prospective in nickel and cobalt—notably at Rincón del Tigre, long considered a world-class laterite system. Major base-metal projects continue to reveal valuable by-products, reinforcing Bolivia’s reputation as a multi-mineral jurisdiction.
The cautionary tale is Mallku Khota (opens in a new tab)—a vast silver–indium resource nationalized in 2012 after social unrest. While still undeveloped, it illustrates both Bolivia’s extraordinary endowment and the importance of social license and legal clarity.
Outlook: A Decade of Opportunity
As of the start of 2026, Bolivia’s rare earth ambitions are aspirational but definitely credible. The country has mapped its resources, built institutions, and aligned its strategy with surging global demand for EVs, renewables, and advanced electronics. If Bolivia can pair its mineral wealth with investment-friendly frameworks, modern processing technology, and durable community agreements, it could emerge within 10–15 years as a meaningful supplier of rare earths and critical materials.
The upside is compelling: diversification of global REE supply, new industrial revenue streams, and a fresh chapter in Bolivia’s mining history. The next phase will determine whether Bolivia converts promise into production—but the trajectory is unmistakably upward.
Last time I checked USGS aacknowleged 23 million tons of lithium resources