Mar 13, 2026
3 min read
The MoU envisages the first meeting between experts from the two countries in the next two weeks to discuss cooperation plans in the field of extraction and processing.
Chile and the United States have agreed to launch a cooperation mechanism to coordinate actions in the supply of important minerals and rare earths, strategic resources for the technology industry and the energy transition.
The understanding was formalized through a joint statement signed after a meeting between Chilean President José Antonio Kast and US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau who led the Washington delegation to the inauguration ceremony of the new president.
The agreement established the opening of the technical consultation between the two governments to analyze the work of cooperation around the extraction, processing and supply of natural resources intended for industrial development.According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile, the first meeting between the technical partners will be held in the next fifteen days.
The purpose of these recommendations is to develop a system to strengthen the supply chain of essential minerals and rare earths and identify joint strategies to address gaps in the supply of these materials.Official documents say that the discussion will also address the waste management of these minerals and the investigation of state and private vehicles for investment projects in the area.
"The text recognizes that mutual support in the supply of critical minerals is critical to the national security and commercial industries of both countries," Chile's foreign ministry said in a statement detailing the scope of the agreement.
The collaboration aims to promote "actions that support the resilience and security of supply chains," the document says.
Critical minerals include elements such as lithium, copper, cobalt and nickel, as well as rare earth elements.These resources are used in the production of electric vehicles, wind turbines, electronic devices, industrial magnets and other energy transition technologies.
Chile occupies an important place in this sector due to its production of raw materials.The country is the largest producer of copper in the world and concentrates about a third of global reserves of lithium, a key mineral for the production of batteries used in electric mobility and energy storage.
Rare earth elements, in turn, consist of a set of 17 chemical elements that have properties necessary for multiple technological applications.Although they are widespread in different regions of the planet, their exploitation on a large scale presents technical and economic problems.
The announced collaboration comes amid global competition for access to these resources.Precious minerals have gained importance in energy, defense and technology-related industries.
At the geopolitical level, the agreement comes as the United States and China are fighting over their control over access to raw materials.China is the world's leading supplier of the material and its manufacturing capacity is primarily used to produce industrial magnets.
In recent years, the United States has launched various programs to increase the production of precious minerals.In February, Washington signed similar agreements with eleven countries including Argentina, Paraguay and Ecuador.
In addition, the US government recently announced the creation of a $12 billion strategic stockpile of essential minerals and rare earths for emergency civilian use.
The meeting between Kast and Landau took place during the official visit of the US delegation to the presidential change of command ceremony in Chile.The meeting was also attended by Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco Perez Mackenna and representatives of the US government.
Chile has trade agreements with the United States and China and has economic ties with both countries.Along with Peru and Costa Rica, it is part of a group of Latin American countries that have free trade agreements with both partners.
The announced consultation mechanism seeks to consolidate a permanent framework of cooperation around the development of projects and the coordination of policies related to the supply of critical minerals.Chilean authorities indicated that the objective of this process is to institutionalize technical dialogue between the two countries.
(With information from EFE)
