Mining in Venezuela

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Venezuela is a major producer and exporter of minerals, notably bauxite, coal, gold, iron ore, and oil, and the state controls most of the country's vast mineral reserves.[1] In 2003 estimated reserves of bauxite totaled 5.2 million tons.[1]

The third largest producer of coal in Latin America, after Colombia and Brazil, Venezuela produced 5.8 million short tons (1 short ton=2,000 pounds) in 2002, as compared with 9.3 million short tons in 2000, and exported most of it to other countries in the region, the eastern United States, and Europe.[1] Known reserves for coal total 10.2 billion tons, of which approximately 528 million short tons are recoverable bituminous coal.[1]

The main coalfields are located in the western

Zulia State, on the border with Colombia.[1] Other known reserves include natural bitumen (42 billion tons).[1] Exploitable gold reserves, located mostly in the southeast, total an estimated 10,000 tons.[1] In 2003 production totaled 20 million grams (or 20 tons), including 6 million grams attributed to unofficial mining activities, marking a sharp increase from 1999, when only 5.9 million grams were produced.[1] In 2003 Venezuela's estimated reserves of iron ore totaled 14.6 million tons.[1] Proven reserves total 4.1 billion tons, of which 1.7 billion tons are high-grade.[1] Production has been increasing and totaled a record 19.2 million tons in 2003, two-thirds of which were exported.[1] Iron-ore reserves are concentrated in the southeast.[1]

With 77,800,000,000 barrels (1.237×1010 m3) of proven

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)-agreed oil production targets.[1] Hugo Chávez maintained a policy of strict adherence to OPEC quotas and played a leading role in shifting OPEC from a volume-oriented strategy to one of controlling prices.[1]

Gold

Venezuela has experienced an oil dependency for an extended part of their history, but in the recent years, their focus has shifted over to gold.

Gold Reserve, a Canadian mining company, the government entered into a joint venture to exploit the Brisas mine and Las Cristinas goldmines.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Country Profile: Venezuela" (PDF). Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. March 2005. Retrieved November 5, 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  2. S2CID 236341365
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  3. ^ Rachel Boothroyd Rojas (February 26, 2016). "Venezuela and Canadian Company Sign $5 Billion Gold Mining Deal". nsnbc international. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016. ...Venezuela is also estimated to possess the planet's second greatest gold reserves...
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