A convergence of high-commodity prices and low valuations, on the back of a structural deficit in exploration and discoveries, has set the perfect scene for increased M&A. The leverage is particularly high for acquisitions in Latam North and the Caribbean, where stocks do not command the high premiums of tier-one jurisdictions. But M&A is only a quick fix to the global resource replenishment crisis. 

Buoyed by bullish markets for gold, copper, and silver, explorers are venturing beyond traditional strongholds. The Andean copper belt is drawing attention to places like Ecuador and Jamaica. Gold companies are shifting their gaze from mature jurisdictions like Canada to underexplored belts in Colombia and across the Guiana Shield in Guyana and Suriname. Meanwhile, silver players in Mexico are revisiting both established and emerging regions, such as the Sierra Madre Occidental. 

Featuring 10 countries, the Latam North and Caribbean is a particularly vast and varied geography. Mexico, the world’s top silver producer, ninth-largest gold producer, and tenth-largest copper producer, certainly does not fly under the radar of investors, yet, in some ways, it is still avoided, so to speak, with FDI plummeting in recent years. However, the new president is hoped to bring much-needed clarity, something explored in the report. 

Colombia, the second most established mining jurisdiction in the region after Mexico and Latam’s biggest coal producer, is marked by contradictions: On one hand, the country wants to become a leading player in the energy transition, on the other, the current regulatory framework for mineral development is far from encouraging such development. Simultaneously, while efforts to phase out coal mining align with global decarbonization goals, the move risks undercutting a major backbone of the country’s economy. Inspired by Colombia’s economic transformation since the landmark agreement with FARC, our article looks at its mining transformation.

While Colombia’s lack of presence at the PDAC Convention in Toronto this year was expected and Mexico’s iconic booth was noticeably missing, Ecuador and Guyana attracted significant attention. Ecuador has delivered a proof of concept and even a proof of value, but it is yet to show proof of scale by turning more exploration stories into producing operations to validate its coming of age as a mining nation. In Guyana, a major oil discovery catalyzed a real-life economic El Dorado for the country, and now Guyana is incorporating mining as part of its new resource economy. 

Panama and the Dominican Republic feature strongly on the world’s mining map, each feted for the region’s top tier assets, in copper and gold, respectively. They could have easily served as lodestars for investment in the region, but their journeys to success have been fraught with obstacles. In Panama, First Quantum Minerals (FQM)’s multi-billion operation has been suspended, while in the Dominican, Barrick Mining has been carefully advancing the expansion of the Pueblo Viejo gold mine, which involves a sensitive resettlement.

Investors are also warming up to more uncertain but geologically enticing Suriname, Jamaica, Nicaragua and Guatemala, each enlivened by recent activity.

In the last part of the report, we look at how services and suppliers serve these decentralized markets, often enacting a “mining services without borders” model, adapting to cultural, logistical, and security challenges, as well as a mixed bag of market conditions. Regardless of these regional differences, overarching trends unite the region and its service providers alike. One of these is the need for international compliance.