This long-standing dependence on resource extraction created a pattern of economic vulnerability, where exports were prioritized over domestic industrialization, leaving the region exposed to external market fluctuations and exploitation. In the case of South America, the situation is particularly acute given that it possesses some of the largest mineral deposits in the planet. Scholars have extensively analyzed this phenomenon under the concept of extractivism The objective of this paper is to explore the opportunities for Latin America’s mining sector amid rising global demand for minerals driven by the transition to renewable energy. This analysis is based on trade data from UN Comtrade, as reported by the World Integrated Trade Solutions platform of the World Bank.