The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is located along the Caribbean coast of South America. Its neighboring countries are Brazil and Columbia. 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 petroleum, 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 the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Statistical review by World Energy revealed that proven oil reserves in Venezuela were about 300 billion barrels (4.8x1010m3) per 1 January 2014.
However, the 2019 BP Statistical Review of World Energy reveals that Venezuela’s total proven reserves rose to 303.3 billion barrels, slightly more than Saudi Arabia (297.7 billion barrels).
In addition to conventional oil reserves, Venezuela has oil sands deposits similar in size to Canada’s in the Orinoco belt. They roughly correspond to the world’s reserves of conventional oil.
It is reported that about 100 billion barrels to 270 billion barrels are the recoverable reserves in the Orinoco belt. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Orinoco belt alone contains 900-1,400 billion barrels of heavy crude oil in proven and unproved deposits.
Of this, only 380-652 billion barrels can be technically recoverable. This makes the country’s total reserves (proved and unproved) among the largest in the world.
Gold
Venezuela has significant gold resources, mainly located in the Guiana Shield in the southeast of the country. Mining of gold began in the 19th century, and by the early 1970s, around 187 tonnes had officially been produced. The El Callao district is Venezuela’s most crucial gold area, having produced over 124 tons of gold and was once the world’s leading gold mine. 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 over 90% of diamond production in the period 1975-1980.
Iron
Venezuela also has significant iron resources, mainly in banded iron formations (BIFs) of the Archean Imataca Complex. Currently, high-grade reserves have exceeded 1,866 million tons at Cerro Bolivar, San Isidro and Los Barrancos, grading about 63% iron. In combination with lower grade materials, the total reserves can reach up to 8,000-10,000 million tons.
Aluminum
After oil, Venezuela’s alumina industry is the second largest foreign exchange earner. In 1987, the country produced about 1,347,000 mt of alumina and 428,000 mt of aluminum metal. Significant deposits are found at Los Pijiguaos, Upata, Nuria, Los Guaicas and Gran Sabana. Los Pijiguaos alone contains around 700 million mt of proven and potential reserves.
Manganese
Manganese deposits are present in the greenstone belts of the Archaean Imataca Complex at sites such as San Cristobal, La Esperanza, El Palmar, Guacuripia, Upata and El Pao. The ores are secondarily enriched, containing pyrolusite, cryptomelane and psilomelane, with total reserves in the Upata-El Palmar-Guacuripia area around 1 million mt, averaging 20-25% Mn.
Tin
Tin occurs in placer, eluvial and lode deposits in western Bolivar State and the Federal Territory of Amazonas, especially around Cano Aguamena. In addition to tin, associated minerals include cassiterite, tantalum, niobium, zirconium and titanium minerals. Although resources are not well defined, drill tests show 0.01-0.77% tin in heavy minerals.
Niobium, Tantalum, Rare Earth Minerals (REE)
These are primarily associated with pegmatites of the Parguaza Granite and the Imataca Complex, with the richest occurrence at Cerro Impacto, a weathered carbonatite. Lateritic soil here is enriched with Fe, Mn, Al, Ba, Th, Nb, Ti and REE (Cerium, Lanthanum and Neodymium). Other minerals include gorceixite, goyazite, florencite, bastanaesite and monazite. The main source is Cerro Impacto.
Uranium
Uranium deposits are scattered, primarily as radiometric anomalies in the Guyana Shield. Key areas include the Churuata Ring Structure and parts of the Roraima Group.
Venezuela is endowed with abundant natural resources, including petroleum, minerals and metals, that offer significant economic potential, although many deposits remain underexplored and development varies across regions.
