ROME — The head of Latin America’s top development bank, Ilan Goldfajn of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), presented a case for rare earth mineral extraction to Pope Leo XIV this week, despite the Vatican’s established call to divest from the mining industry. Goldfajn’s pitch centered on a $4 billion pipeline of critical mineral projects in the region, three-quarters of which are with private companies, primarily in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. This direct appeal to the Vatican follows years of the institution’s firm stand against multinational mining corporations, particularly concerning their impact on Indigenous peoples in Latin America.
Goldfajn, speaking three days ago in Rome, argued that rare earth mining presents a “unique opportunity for the region” if conducted with “standards, the labor conditions, with the environmental conditions, the governance.” He asserted that the IADB possesses the necessary tools to ensure these conditions. His presentation at a finance conference, aimed at potential European investors, preceded his private meeting with the Pope two days ago.
The Cost of Extraction
The Vatican has consistently opposed multinational mining, especially in Latin America, advocating for Indigenous communities whose lands and livelihoods are frequently ravaged by extraction projects. The history of mining in Latin America spans centuries, marked by forced labor, displacement of Indigenous peoples, widespread deforestation, poisoning of waterways, and deadly dam collapses. Foreign companies have historically withdrawn vast wealth from the earth, failing to enrich local populations, much as silver and gold were sent across the ocean to adorn Catholic churches in colonial times.
Pope Leo XIV, who spent two decades as a missionary in Peru, is intimately familiar with the plight of Indigenous peoples in mining areas and the environmental devastation wrought by extraction industries. He ministered in Chulucanas, within the archdiocese of Piura, a region with extensive copper mining projects, and in Trujillo, known for its gold deposits. His final Peruvian posting, Chiclayo, serves as a major logistical hub for northern Peru’s extraction industries. Goldfajn suggested the Pope must have witnessed both the “promise” and the “challenges” during his time in Peru.
Capital's Influence and Resistance
The Pope held a private audience with top mining executives in January of the same year, which Goldfajn heard was “very constructive.” However, two months later, in March, the Vatican launched a campaign encouraging divestment from mining companies. This campaign, spearheaded by top officials at a Vatican news conference, highlighted the ecumenical Christian network known as the Church and Mining Network, which is particularly active in Latin America. The initiative aims to prompt local churches to review their investment strategies and divest where necessary, and to share critical information with Indigenous groups regarding the types of extraction occurring on their lands.
Bryan Harris, managing partner at Sabio, a Latin America-focused strategic advisory firm, noted that the Pope’s decades in Peru lend him personal credibility, and his messaging on mining influences how dioceses and parishes across the continent engage with mining companies. Harris stated that these local church groups often form the basis of local opposition movements to mining, giving the Pope considerable sway over whether relations become “confrontational or conciliatory.” Harris also warned that the processing of rare earths can be extremely polluting, involving heavy chemical use that can contaminate water resources without stringent monitoring of corporate sustainability commitments and enforcement by federal regulators.
Pope Leo XIV’s predecessor, Pope Francis, in his 2015 environmental encyclical “Praised Be” (now in its 11th year), specifically condemned the toll of mining, citing pollution of underground water systems from runoff, mercury pollution in gold mining, and sulfur dioxide pollution in copper mining. Francis emphasized the “essential” role of Indigenous communities as the principal dialogue partners when large projects affecting their land are under consideration. The Vatican did not provide a readout of Leo’s private audience with Goldfajn. In a separate audience two days ago, Pope Leo XIV denounced the “profit-at-all cost mentality” of those who plunder the earth “at the expense of the most vulnerable and enhances the risk of dehumanization.” Brazil holds the second-largest reserves of the world’s 75 million tons of rare earth oxides.