Minerals, from open data

The minerals
behind everything.

Batteries, chips, steel, wiring and food all start in a few hundred mines. Follow 36 minerals from the ground, across borders, to what they become.

Every arc is one of the largest trade flows of a mineral, 2024.
19 of 34minerals here have China as the largest producer at the stage USGS reports
–bilateral trade flows drawn, from CEPII BACI 2024
–national critical-mineral lists compared

Pick a mineral

36 stories, one globe.

Hover to see a mineral's trade on the globe above; open one for its full story: where it's mined, a century of output, where it goes, what it's used for and who calls it critical.

Battery metals

The cathode, anode and electrolyte of a lithium-ion cell.

LiLithiumAustralia 31.7%CoCobaltDem. Rep. Congo 74.2%NiNickelIndonesia 66.7%CGraphite (natural)China 77.8%MnManganeseSouth Africa 38%

Base metals

The wiring, plumbing and galvanising of the economy.

CuCopperChile 23%ZnZincChina 31.5%PbLeadChina 42.2%AlAluminium and bauxiteGuinea 34.1%

Technology metals

Small tonnages, outsized importance: chips, magnets, alloys and electronics.

SnTinChina 24.5%WTungstenChina 78.8%TaTantalumDem. Rep. Congo 52%NbNiobiumBrazil 92.9%REERare earthsChina 69.2%GaGalliumChina 100%GeGermaniumChina 67.9%InIndiumChina 69.1%SbAntimonyChina 36.4%BiBismuthChina 87.5%BeBerylliumUnited States of America 53.5%CsCaesium 

Steel and alloy metals

What makes steel stainless, hard or light.

VVanadiumChina 74.5%CrChromiumSouth Africa 45.1%MoMolybdenumChina 37.3%TiTitanium mineralsChina 34%ZrZirconium (zircon)Australia 33.3%MgMagnesiumChina 86.4%SiSiliconChina 70%

Precious metals

Stores of value that are also industrial catalysts and conductors.

PGMPlatinum group metalsRussia 44.2%AuGoldChina 11.5%AgSilverMexico 24.2%

Energy

Fuel for nuclear power.

UUranium 

Bulk minerals

Mined by the billion tonnes.

FeIron oreAustralia 37.5%

Industrial minerals

Chemistry feedstocks.

CaF2FluorsparChina 60%

Fertiliser minerals

The nutrients behind the world's harvests.

K2OPotashCanada 30.6%P2O5Phosphate rockChina 44%

Concentration

How much comes from one country.

Share of world production held by the largest producer, latest year USGS reports. Hover a row for the country.

Guides

Lists, mines and countries.

Critical minerals lists by country Mining by country Periodic table of mined minerals Infographics, drawn in numbers Where lithium is mined

See the mines themselves.

The Prospector Trails globe puts these minerals' mines, drill projects and trade on one live map, with a guided tour of each mineral's story.

Open the globeAbout Prospector Trails