With relations between the US and Cuba thawing, interest is rising in the country’s mineral potential. A new report from the USGS, Recent Trends in Cuba’s Mining and Petroleum Industries, notes that President Obama has said that the US “would begin discussions to restore diplomatic relations with the Government of Cuba and embark on a longer term process of normalisation of relations between the two countries. On January 15, 2015, the U.S. Departments of Commerce and the Treasury published regulatory amendments to the Cuba sanctions in accordance with President Obama’s December 2014 policy announcement. These measures made changes in the implementation of the embargo but did not lift the embargo. Most transactions involving Cuba, including private and public investment in mineral production, continue to be prohibited.” But this will change.
In 2014, Cuba had a population of more than 11 million people and a land area of about 111,000 km2, which is comparable to the population and land area of the State of Ohio. In 2013, the USGS reports, “Cuba was estimated to be among the world’s top 10 producers of cobalt and nickel, which are the country’s leading mineral exports. Cuba exports ammonia, nitrogenous fertiliser, and zeolites to Europe and to other Latin America and Caribbean nations, but most other mineral commodities are consumed domestically. Production at most mineral processing facilities is significantly below those facilities’ design capacities, and the quantity of output is not sufficient to support an export market.
Nickel-cobalt facilities include Empresa Niquelífera Ernesto Che Guevara (Government, 100%) at Punta Gorda, Holguín Province; Moa Nickel S.A. (Government, 50%; Sherritt International Corp., 50%), Moa, Holguín Province; Empresa Niquelífera Comandante René Ramos Latour (Government, 100%), Nicaro, Holguín Province and Empresa Mixta Ferroniquel S.A. (Cubaniquel, 50%; Government of Venezuela, 50%), Cupey, Holguín Province. There is the Castellanos and Santa Lucia lead and zinc plant, Pinar del Rio Province. The zeolite operations of Empresa Geominera Holguín include the Tasajeras plant in Villa Clara Province; El Chorillo plant in Camagüey Province and its San Andrés plant in Holguín Province.
The USGS explains that In November 2014, Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment announced 246 development projects for which it was seeking $8 billion in foreign investment. It has specifically stated that Cuba will remain a state-driven economy dominated by large Government holding companies and that most foreign ventures will retain a majority Cuban ownership. Among the portfolio of projects, 86 are in the petroleum sector (the sector with the greatest number of prospective projects) and 10 projects each are in the manufacturing and mining sectors.