MINERÍA la mejor puerta de acceso al sector minero EDICIÓN 576 / SEPTIEMBRE 2025 34 Figura 1. Nomenclatura de USA para minerales críticos y estratégicos. Figure 1. Us nomenclature for critical and strategic minerals. Under these definitions, the world is living today in the Age of Strategic Minerals. The current debate, however, is focused almost exclusively on the energy transition, and politics perceives it as a much smaller problem than the real one. This perception is a mirage, a myopia of civilizational proportions. Critical minerals have become the "black swan" of decarbonization, an unforeseen factor that now conditions the feasibility and pace of change. The energy transition, however massive its demand, is only the visible part of a much deeper and more complex iceberg that we will uncover below. This article proposes to unveil the submerged forces that constitute the true mass of future mineral demand and that are redefining the global geopolitical map. These other forces are the digital transition, the national security transition and, most fundamental of all, the sociodemographic transition to 2050 (Figure 2). We argue that the narrative of a "green" or "digital" economy as synonymous with dematerialization is a fallacy. On the contrary, we are witnessing a profound rematerialization of the global economy. The material basis of our civilization is mutating, shifting from an axis of hydrocarbons to a new axis of metals and non-metallic minerals. An electric vehicle requires six times more mineral inputs than a conventional one, and an onshore wind plant requires nine times more mineral resources than a gas-fired power plant. The physical infrastructure of the digital age, from data centers to 5G networks, has a massive and intensely growing material footprint. In this new material order, Latin America, and Peru in particular, are not peripheral players, but the geological and strategic epicenter. The region's resource endowment, already recognized by institutions such as the Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Institute (Ingemmet), is no longer a mere comparative advantage but a position of strategic centrality for the 21st century. This is the ideal moment for the leading institutions of the Peruvian mining sector, taking advantage of the PERUMIN platform, to position themselves at the forefront of the global debate, offering a vision that transcends the conventional and articulates a strategy for the future. The Four Transitions: Mapping the Hidden Demand To understand the true scale of the challenge and opportunity, it is imperative to dive into each layer of the iceberg. Quantifying its impact. Uncovering interconnections and multipliers. Internalizing the size of an aggregate demand unprecedented in human history. The Visible Tip: The Energy Transition A low-carbon society is a high-metal society. The energy transition is an extractive transition: from coal to
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0Mzk2