Chile Resource Reserves (2026)

1980

2025

What to know

As of 2023, coal dominated Chile's reserves at 1.3 billion short tons recoverable. It also held 0.150 billion barrels of oil and 3.460 trillion cubic feet of gas. Over the last decade, coal reserves held roughly steady. EIA stopped publishing oil and gas proved reserves in 2023; the figures above use the latest archived release, while coal continues to update through 2023. Beyond fossil fuels, Chile is the world's largest producer of Copper and a top-five producer of Lithium, part of a critical-minerals base spanning 5 commodities tracked by USGS.

Key reserves

Oil reserves (2021)

0.15 B bbl

Natural gas reserves (2021)

3.46 TCF

Coal reserves (2023)

1.3 B ST

Lithium reserves (2025)

9.2 Mt

Copper reserves (2025)

180.0 Mt

Potash reserves (2025)

100.0 Mt

Key terms

Proved reserves: — Quantities of crude oil or natural gas that geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty are recoverable under existing economic and operating conditions.
Recoverable reserves: — Coal that can be technically and economically extracted with current mining methods at current prices. Excludes inaccessible deposits.
Billion barrels (B bbl): — Unit for oil reserves. One barrel equals 42 US gallons or about 159 litres.
Trillion cubic feet (TCF): — Unit for natural gas reserves. One TCF is roughly 28.3 billion cubic metres.
Million short tons (M ST): — Unit for coal reserves. One short ton equals 2,000 lb or 907 kg.

Crude oil proved reserves

In 2021, Chile had 0.150 billion barrels of proved crude oil reserves. Over the prior decade, those reserves held roughly steady.

Natural gas proved reserves

In 2021, Chile held 3.460 trillion cubic feet of proved natural gas reserves. Reserves held roughly steady over the prior decade.

Coal recoverable reserves

As of 2023, Chile's recoverable coal reserves totaled 1.3 billion short tons. That held roughly steady compared with a decade earlier.

The bottom line

Chile's reserve base was dominated by coal, the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel by energy content.

Critical minerals (USGS)

Chile produces Lithium, Copper, Iron Ore, and Potash among USGS-tracked critical minerals.

USGS marks 2025 production figures and all reserve estimates as estimated; some earlier production years are USGS estimates as well. Each commodity below charts its own mine-production history, with the 2025 reserve shown beneath its chart.

Lithium production

Copper production

Gold production

Iron Ore production

Potash production

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration · Updated June 2026

What to know

Key reserves

Oil reserves (2021)

0.15 B bbl

Natural gas reserves (2021)

3.46 TCF

Coal reserves (2023)

1.3 B ST

Lithium reserves (2025)

9.2 Mt

Copper reserves (2025)

180.0 Mt

Potash reserves (2025)

100.0 Mt

Key terms

Proved reserves: — Quantities of crude oil or natural gas that geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty are recoverable under existing economic and operating conditions.
Recoverable reserves: — Coal that can be technically and economically extracted with current mining methods at current prices. Excludes inaccessible deposits.
Billion barrels (B bbl): — Unit for oil reserves. One barrel equals 42 US gallons or about 159 litres.
Trillion cubic feet (TCF): — Unit for natural gas reserves. One TCF is roughly 28.3 billion cubic metres.
Million short tons (M ST): — Unit for coal reserves. One short ton equals 2,000 lb or 907 kg.

The bottom line

Chile's reserve base was dominated by coal, the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel by energy content.

Critical minerals (USGS)

Chile produces Lithium, Copper, Iron Ore, and Potash among USGS-tracked critical minerals.

Argentina

Peru

Bolivia

What to know

Key reserves

The bottom line

Critical minerals (USGS)

Argentina

Peru

Bolivia

What to know

Key reserves

The bottom line

Critical minerals (USGS)