The Minerals Beneath Ecuador’s Rainforests Just Became a Frontline in the U.S.-China Resource War

Somewhere beneath Ecuador’s rainforests and volcanic highlands lies enough copper, lithium, and gold to rival anything in Peru or Chile. Almost none of it has been touched. Now Washington wants in — and what happens next matters far beyond South America. This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of Ecuador affairs and Latin American financial news.

On February 4, Secretary of State Rubio — flanked by Vice President Vance and Treasury Secretary Bessent — hosted 54 countries at the Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington.

The U.S. signed 11 bilateral frameworks that day, including with Ecuador, Argentina, Peru, the Philippines, the UAE, and Morocco. That brought the total past 20 in five months, adding to deals with Australia, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Frameworks with the EU and Mexico were unveiled the same week. Washington launched FORGE, a new multilateral body to coordinate mineral policy, and committed over $1 billion through its Development Finance Corporation — including $565 million for rare earth extraction in Brazil alone.

The target is clear: China controls processing of 19 out of 20 critical minerals. Washington wants an alternative network, fast.

Ecuador emerges in global minerals rivalry

Ecuador is the most revealing piece of that puzzle. Less than 1% of its territory has been geologically explored. Only two industrial mines operate — a Canadian gold mine and a Chinese copper project, Mirador, whose first shipment sailed straight to Beijing in 2020.

Yet mining already generated $3 billion in exports in 2024 and $1 billion in tax revenue. Eight major projects representing over $14 billion in investment are in development. The Mining Chamber projects $4 billion in exports for 2025.

The problem is that almost everything conspires to keep those resources in the ground. Indigenous communities halted the Mirador mine during the 2022 national uprising. No new concessions were granted in 2024. Illegal mining terrorizes legal operators across six provinces.

Pro-market voices say the U.S. deal brings investment with higher environmental standards than Chinese operators offer. Indigenous organizations and environmental groups counter that it swaps one extractive patron for another while local communities absorb the damage.

From Quito to Canberra to Riyadh, Washington is assembling a minerals bloc to rival Beijing’s three-decade head start. Ecuador is small on that map — but when supply chains decide who builds the future, no deposit is too remote to fight over.

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