Prospector Trails
Minerals/Base metals
Zinc is mainly used for galvanising steel against corrosion, with die-casting, brass and chemicals making up most of the rest.
01 · Where it's mined
Mine output was about 13 Mt in 2025: China 4.1 Mt, Peru 1.5 Mt, Australia 1.1 Mt, then India, Mexico and the US. Reserves are about 240 Mt. Mining concentration is moderate (top three about 52%).
Mine production, Zn content, 2025. Columns on the globe show each country's share.
02 · A century of output
03 · Where it goes
Zinc ores and concentrates, 2024, by value
Arcs run from exporter to importer; thicker means more value. CEPII BACI reconciled trade data.
04 · What it's used for
Demand follows construction and steel output, especially in China.
05 · Who calls it critical
Critical for the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Korea; not on the EU critical list. Zinc smelters yield by-products (germanium, indium, gallium, cadmium) that are critical.
06 · Mines to know
Spikes mark mines with output in open data; height follows reported output. Where a public source says where a mine's product goes, an arc runs to that plant.
Every zinc mine and project, by countryThe detail
Mine output was about 13 Mt in 2025: China 4.1 Mt, Peru 1.5 Mt, Australia 1.1 Mt, then India, Mexico and the US. Reserves are about 240 Mt. Mining concentration is moderate (top three about 52%).
Demand follows construction and steel output, especially in China.
Critical for the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Korea; not on the EU critical list. Zinc smelters yield by-products (germanium, indium, gallium, cadmium) that are critical.
The estimated value of zinc mined in 2025 was $2.2 billion. Zinc was mined in five States at six mining operations by five companies. Two smelter facilities, one primary and one secondary, operated by two companies, accounted for most of the commercial-grade zinc metal produced in the United States. Of the total reported zinc consumed, most was used to produce galvanized steel, followed by brass and bronze, zinc-base alloys, and other uses.
U.S. zinc mine production was estimated to have decreased by 12% in 2025 compared with that in 2024, mostly owing to a decrease in production at the Red Dog Mine in Alaska owing to lower ore grades as the operation approached the end of its mine life. Operations at the Middle Tennessee zinc mines have been suspended since November 2023. During the closure, drilling work was conducted to define additional zinc, germanium, and gallium resources. Development advanced for several domestic zinc mine projects, including the restart of the Bunker Hill Mine in Idaho and the opening of the Hermosa project in Arizona. Domestic refined production was estimated to have remained essentially unchanged in 2025 compared with that in 2024, and apparent consumption increased slightly alongside an estimated increase in net imports of refined zinc. Galvanized steel was the leading use of refined zinc in the United States, which was used widely in the automobile and construction end markets. The annual average LME cash price for Special High Grade (SHG) zinc was projected to increase by 3% in 2025 from that in 2024. After decreasing in 2024 and 2023, the annual average North American premium to the LME cash price was projected to increase in 2025 by 6%. According to the International Lead and Zinc Study Group,8 estimated global refined zinc production in 2025 was forecast to increase slightly to 13.8 million tons mostly owing to the commissioning of a significant amount of refining capacity in China, and estimated metal consumption was forecast to increase slightly to 13.7 million tons, resulting in a production-to-consumption surplus of 85,000 tons.
Aluminum and plastics substitute for galvanized sheet in automobiles; aluminum alloys, cadmium, paint, and plastic coatings replace zinc coatings in other applications. Aluminum- and magnesium-base alloys are major substitutes for zinc-base diecasting alloys. Many elements are substitutes for zinc in chemical, electronic, and pigment uses.
Refined zinc produced in the United States was recovered from secondary materials at both primary and secondary smelters. These secondary materials included galvanizing residues and crude zinc oxide recovered from electric arc furnace dust.
Identified zinc resources of the world are about 1.9 billion tons.