WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Trump administration is looking to expand U.S. involvement in Venezuela's natural resources beyond oil, seeking greater access to the country's minerals, including gold, according to three sources familiar with the discussions.

The effort could open Venezuela's mining sector to U.S. investment and give American companies access to minerals considered important for national security, the sources said on condition of anonymity.

The administration is considering several steps to increase U.S. participation in the sector, including a possible executive order focused on critical minerals. The order is still being drafted and the strategy could change, the sources said.

U.S. officials have also met companies to gauge their interest in investing in or otherwise participating in Venezuela's mining industry.

"We are all watching the oil situation closely and recognize there could be a parallel track with critical ⁠minerals," said one source, an executive at a critical minerals company who met with the administration about Venezuela.

Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman, said the U.S. and Venezuela are "benefiting from renewed cooperation between our governments and new investments by Western companies in Venezuela's key industries."

A White House official said there was no current need for an executive order and that the administration believes existing laws provide a solid framework for investment.

The effort follows the U.S. military's ouster of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a January raid and is part of President Donald Trump's push to align Venezuela's resources more closely with Washington's strategic and economic interests.

Maduro, who is being held in a federal jail in New York City on drug-trafficking charges that he denies, had developed strong economic and diplomatic ties with China. His former vice president and ally, Delcy Rodriguez, has increased cooperation with the U.S. since becoming Venezuela's interim president after his ouster.

The administration has already taken steps to open Venezuela's minerals sector to U.S. companies. In March, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control authorized certain transactions involving Venezuelan-origin gold, including activities connected to state-owned gold miner Minerven.

Later that month, Treasury expanded the authorization to Venezuelan-origin minerals, including gold, while allowing some mining-related services and negotiations over potential investment contracts.

Trump has also moved to reshape Venezuela's oil industry. Last week, he announced a deal under which the U.S. would take majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela's proven oil reserves, although the precise legal structure has not been disclosed.

There are fears within Venezuela, however, that Trump is turning the country into a modern-day colony.

Venezuela's mineral potential remains difficult to assess because much of its geological information is outdated and illegal groups control gold deposits in the Orinoco Mining Arc near the borders with Guyana and Brazil.

The country has produced gold, iron ore, bauxite and nickel, but analysts say mining companies and investors are likely to seek updated geological studies before making significant investments because of uncertain mineral estimates, weak infrastructure and widespread illegal mining.

In 2012, Venezuelan officials declined to renew Anglo American's concession for the Loma de Niquel nickel mine, then estimated to contain more than four million metric tons of nickel. The government took control of the assets and has since been trying to resume operations.

A 2018 Venezuelan government report estimated resources of 644 metric tons of gold, 14.68 billion metric tons of iron ore, 321.5 million metric tons of bauxite and 407,885 metric tons of nickel. However, it used "reserve" and "resource" interchangeably, making it difficult to determine how much could be economically extracted.

A 2021 government map based on 2009 data also identified deposits of copper, nickel, coltan, uranium and tungsten without providing volumes. Venezuela does not appear to have sizeable rare-earth reserves.

In April, Venezuelan lawmakers unanimously approved a mining law aimed at encouraging investment. It kept mineral deposits under government ownership and set a royalty tax of up to 13 percent of a mineral's gross production value.