the said rare earth contain a set of 17 items important for the generation of military defense, advanced technology and energy transition. Although they are not rare, since they are generally found on the earth’s crust, not all countries have sufficient deposits of this resource to take advantage of them.

Colombia is one of the countries capable of exploiting its rare earths, but it has never done so. It is for this reason that the multinational Resources Auxico Canada has found a perfect business opportunity and wants to become the first to take advantage of this precious resource in Colombia, according to the newspaper The weather.

Since 2019, this company has been striving to be able to take advantage of the country’s deposits, but it was not until 2020 that it was able to carry out its first exploration at a historic asteroid impact point in a rural area of Puerto CarrenoVichada, in a property called minastyc. There, with 23 sampling wells, they confirmed the presence of elements such as tantalum and niobium, also known as coltan.

In such a way that they did not take long to acquire the rights of the 189 hectares of the land and in 2021 they started trading another one called agualindaof 1,293 hectares and that it is right next to your first possession. In total, they add up 1,482 hectaresgiving them access to a million tons of rare earths, they said.

In addition to purchasing these lands in Colombian territory, the Canadian multinational also processed all the necessary permits from the National Mining Authority (ANM) and Orinoco Regional Autonomous Society (Corporinoquia) and now they have permission to extract 50,000 metric tons of rare earths per year.

The company’s cash flow projections show how profitable the business would be for it: it estimates that by 2040 it will generate approximately $3.9 billion, earning about 220 million a year. Daniel Bland, a Canadian specialist researcher, explained to The weather that the elements are in the alluvial sands, which implies that to reach them it would not be necessary to dig more than three or four meters, and therefore there would not be a lot of excavation costs.

As if that were not enough, the company would not limit itself only to exploiting the rare earths of the Vicadabut also announced the construction of a refinery of this resource in the free zone of Santa Marta which will have an area of ​​10,000 square meters. It should have an annual return of 36,000 tons and whose investment will be $116.2 million.

One of the challenges that the Canadian multinational will have to face is to guarantee that this project respects the required environmental standards and does not affect the environment. indigenous communities surrounding.

In 2021, the company applied for certification with the Management of the National Prior Consultation Body in which they replied that the closest ethnic community is 3.7 kilometers from the project and physically separated by alluvial deposits. This entity considered air quality, sound pressure levels, geological conditions and other factors.

However, as he told the aforementioned Bland newspaper, these impacts were only considered for the 189 hectares of the Minastyc property, and Auxico acquired 1,482.

Regardless, the company recognizes the importance of working with communities and has therefore started conversations with the community. warrawuanae of Maiporé macaw reserve to buy tin from their artisanal miners.

In addition, another challenge that the company will face will be that of guaranteeing the transparency of its supply, since only half an hour from its possessions, the SO and the FARC dissidents They control illegal mines in southern Venezuela. The rare earths exploited there could be laundered thanks to those of Colombian origin.