Mining in Venezuela

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 oil reserves in 2004, Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in South America and the sixth largest in the world—more than Canada, Mexico, and the United States combined.[1] Venezuela's 2002 production of 2,800,000 barrels per day (450,000 m³/d) (bbl/d) of crude was a drop of 8.3 percent over 2001 and the country's lowest production figure since 1994.[1] In 2003, a year in which production was halted for a couple of months by a general strike and further disrupted by the firing of nearly half of the state oil company's work force, Venezuela's total oil production was an estimated 2,600,000 bbl/d (410,000 m³/d).[1] In 2004 oil production totaled about 3,000,000 bbl/d (480,000 m³/d), according to the government's estimate.[1] Prior to President Chávez's December 1998 election, Venezuela regularly exceeded its 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]