The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is located along the Caribbean coast of South America. Its neighboring countries are Brazil and Colombia. With a total area of 912,050 km2 and a land area of 882,050 km2, Venezuela is enriched with natural resources.
Natural resources include oil, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, diamonds and other minerals.
Oil
The country has one of the largest oil reserves in the world and is a founding member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
The Statistical Review of World Energy revealed that Venezuela’s proven oil reserves were around 300 billion barrels (4.8x1010m3) as of January 1, 2014.
However, BP’s 2019 World Energy Statistical Review reveals that Venezuela’s total proven reserves increased to 303.3 billion barrels, slightly more than Saudi Arabia (297.7 billion barrels).
In addition to conventional oil reserves, Venezuela has tar sands deposits similar in size to Canada’s in the Orinoco Belt. They are approximately equivalent to the world’s conventional oil reserves.
It is reported that between 100 billion and 270 billion barrels are recoverable reserves of the Orinoco Belt. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Orinoco Belt alone contains between 900 and 1,400 billion barrels of heavy crude oil in proven and unproven deposits.
Of this figure, only between 380,000 and 652,000 million barrels can be technically recoverable. This makes the country’s total reserves (proven and unproven) among the largest in the world.
Gold
Venezuela has important gold resources, located mainly in the Guiana Shield in the southeast of the country. Gold mining began in the 19th century, and by the early 1970s, around 187 metric tons had been officially produced. The El Callao district is the most important gold-bearing area in Venezuela, having produced more than 124 metric tons of gold and was once the most important gold mine in the world. Other districts, such as Kilometer 88, Lo Increíble and Marwani, also contain gold in similar geological settings.
Diamond
Venezuela is also naturally endowed with diamonds. Its Guiana Shield is the central diamond-producing region. The Quebrada Grande area and the San Salvador de Paul mine have historically been the most prominent producers, reportedly accounting for more than 90% of diamond production in the period 1975-1980.
Iron
Venezuela also has important iron resources, mainly in banded iron formations (BIF) of the Imataca Archaic Complex. Currently, high-grade reserves have exceeded 1,866 million metric tons at Cerro Bolívar, San Isidro and Los Barrancos, with a grade of around 63% iron. Combined with lower quality materials, total reserves can reach between 8 and 10 billion metric tons.
Aluminum
After oil, Venezuela’s alumina industry is the second largest source of foreign currency. In 1987, the country produced about 1,347,000 tons of alumina and 428,000 tons of aluminum metal. Important deposits are found in Los Pijiguaos, Upata, Nuria, Los Guaicas and Gran Sabana. Los Pijiguaos alone has around 700 million tons of proven and potential reserves.
Manganese
Manganese deposits are present in the greenstone belts of the Imataca Archaic Complex, in places such as San Cristóbal, La Esperanza, El Palmar, Guacuripia, Upata and El Pao. The minerals are enriched second and contain pyrolusite, cryptomelane and psilomelane, with total reserves in the Upata-El Palmar-Guacuripia area of around 1 million tonnes, averaging 20-25% Mn.
Tin
Tin is found in placer, eluvial and vein deposits in western Bolívar state and the Amazon Federal Territory, especially around Caño Aguamena. In addition to tin, associated minerals include cassiterite, tantalum, niobium, zirconium, and titanium. Although the resources are not well defined, drill samples show between 0.01% and 0.77% tin in heavy minerals.
Niobium, tantalum, rare earth minerals (REE)
These are mainly related to pegmatites in the Parguaza granite and the Imataca Complex, with the richest deposit at Cerro Impacto, an eroded carbonatite. The lateritic soils here are enriched in Fe, Mn, Al, Ba, Th, Nb, Ti and REE (cerium, lanthanum and neodymium). Other minerals include gorceixite, goyazite, florencite, basanesite and monazite. The most important source is Cerro Impacto.
Uranium
Uranium occurrences are scattered, mainly as radiometric anomalies in the Guiana Shield. Key areas include the Churuata ring structure and parts of the Roraima Group.
Venezuela is endowed with abundant natural resources, including oil, minerals and metals, that offer significant economic potential, although many deposits remain unexplored and development varies by region.
