Global mining mergers and acquisitions are accelerating, and the trend has overwhelmingly targeted Latin America, according to McKinsey’s latest research. Of the roughly $30 billion in global mining M&A recorded in the first three quarters of the year, 74% went toward Latin American assets.

Fueling the Commodity Cycle

The consultancy firm published these results in the Future Minerals Barometer Report. It was a study developed in partnership with the Future Minerals Forum, S&P Global Market Intelligence, Global AI, and Globe Scan.

The report found that mining deal values in Latin America have skyrocketed by more than 200% since 2021. The trend of capital chasing hard assets aligns with what many industry executives see as an ongoing commodity supercycle.

Latin America’s allure is understandable. The region has geology, scale, and relevance. It hosts some of the world’s largest copper endowments, led by Chile and Peru. Also, it became a core pillar of global lithium supply through Argentina’s rapidly expanding brine projects and favorable business climate under Javier Milei’s administration.

The Copper Rush

While lithium prices have collapsed since the 2022 bubble burst, copper tells a very different story. Structural deficits, driven by electrification, grid expansion, and electric vehicles, are pushing miners to lock in long-life copper assets before shortages become acute.

Separate research from law firm Dentons reinforces the findings. Its team found that the past 18 months marked a clear shift not just in the scale of mining transactions, but also in their frequency.

Unlike previous M&A cycles, which focused on rising prices, today’s deals face strategic urgency. Securing commodity supply for the industrial sector, managing geopolitical risk, and positioning portfolios for the energy transition.

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