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Behind the Venezuela crisis, a US-China tussle over critical minerals
Venezuela, Greenland and Colombia all have large deposits of rare earths and other minerals needed by US technology and defence companies
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Washington’s abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro last week has been characterised by many – including US President Donald Trump – as an attempt to gain control over the South American nation’s oil industry.
But analysts said the crisis was also about Washington’s need to secure access to critical minerals – and that other resource-rich nations should be on guard.
In addition to its vast oil reserves, Venezuela has significant deposits of an array of precious metals and other valuable resources, including rare earth elements that are vital inputs for the US technology and defence industries.
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The country’s southern Guayana Shield region has “vast mineral richness”, with the area laced with deposits of gold, diamonds, iron ore and bauxite, as well as rare earths and other critical minerals, according to a 1993 report by the US Geological Survey, one of the few overviews of Venezuela’s mineral resources made publicly available.
These minerals have become the subject of an intense tussle between the US and China in recent months, as Beijing has weaponised its dominance of global rare earth supplies by placing export controls on the resources to gain leverage in its trade war with Washington.
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Though China suspended some of those controls after agreeing a trade truce with Washington in November, the US is still striving to reduce its reliance on China for key resources, signing minerals deals with a slew of countries including Australia, Malaysia and Thailand in recent months.
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