Mining by country

Mining in Costa Rica

Mining in Costa Rica: the public figures we hold so far. The World Bank puts mineral rents close to zero (2021) and ores and metals at 1.4% of merchandise exports (2024). No world production share, mine or listed company project is recorded here yet.

Mineral rents0%of GDP, 2021. Higher than 0% of countries.
Ores and metals1.4%of merchandise exports, 2024.
Governance, World Bank WGI 2025
  • Rule of law+0.60above 72% of countries
  • Political stability+1.22above 88% of countries
  • Regulatory quality+0.54above 73% of countries
  • Control of corruption+0.69above 75% of countries
Estimates from −2.5 to +2.5; the bar sits at the country's score.

Mining in Costa Rica at a glance

Defining moment
Open-pit metal mining ban law, 1 December 2010. The law bars new open-pit metal mining; Abangares small-scale gold mining continued under transitional rules. Source: Bufete de Costa Rica
Mining law
Mining Code (Law 6797) (1982). Mining Code law No. 6797 of 1982 (USGS). Source: USGS

Mining employment from the ILO usually counts all of mining and quarrying, often with oil and gas; national shares of GDP and exports are as each source defines them.

History of mining in Costa Rica

What the ground holds. cement, limestone, crushed stone, diatomite, gold and sand and gravel. Source: USGS

How prospectors changed the worldThe full mining timeline

Mining elsewhere in North America

United StatesCanadaMexicoGreenlandJamaicaDominican RepublicGuatemalaNicaraguaCubaHonduras

World shares: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, latest year per mineral. Mineral rents, exports and governance: World Bank WDI and WGI. Trade: CEPII BACI. Projects: listed companies' announcements.

Keep exploring

Stories from Costa Rica and its minerals

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All mining storiesThe world runs on rockAll mineralsMining by country

Cover photos from Wikimedia Commons: The Big Hole by Rudolph Botha, CC BY-SA 3.0.