Mining by country

Mining in Belgium

What Belgium mines: indium (1.7% of world output, #6).

Mineral rents0%of GDP, 2021. Higher than 0% of countries.
Ores and metals4.1%of merchandise exports, 2025.
Biggest world roleIndium1.7% of world mine output, #6, 2025.
World top-3 producer of0minerals we track.
Governance, World Bank WGI 2025
  • Rule of law+1.27above 87% of countries
  • Political stability+0.17above 51% of countries
  • Regulatory quality+1.21above 89% of countries
  • Control of corruption+1.36above 89% of countries
Estimates from −2.5 to +2.5; the bar sits at the country's score.

Mining in Belgium at a glance

Mining in GDP0.1%2019. Mining and quarrying share of GDP in 2019 per the National Bank of Belgium via USGS.Source: USGS
First recorded mining
Neolithic flint mines of Spiennes. ICOMOS dates underground flint mining at Spiennes, near Mons, to between 4400 and 4200 BCE, one of the oldest mining sites in Europe. Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre / ICOMOS…
Defining moment
Marcinelle (Bois du Cazier) mine fire, 8 August 1956. 262 miners died, mostly from carbon monoxide; only 13 of 275 underground that morning survived. Source: Amsab Institute of Social History
Mining law
Regional regimes: Flemish Parliament Act on Surface Mineral Resources; Walloon Town and Country Planning and Heritage Code; Continental Shelf Act of 13 June 1969 (offshore sand and gravel). Mineral resource management is a regional responsibility; only the North Sea shelf is federal. Source: USGS
UNESCO mining heritage
Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes (2000); Major Mining Sites of Wallonia (2012). Spiennes is among the best-known prehistoric flint mining sites in Europe; the Wallonia group covers four coal mining sites. Source: ICOMOS / UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Official sitesGeological survey

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.

Share of world mine production

MineralWorld shareWorld rankYear
Indium1.7%62025

Indium mining in Belgium

Belgium mined 1.7% of the world's indium in 2025, ranking #6 (USGS).

History of mining in Belgium

What the ground holds. clay, loam, sand and gravel, quarry products, refined arsenic, selenium, indium, cobalt, copper, lead and zinc (processed, not mined) and steel. Source: USGS

Did you know

Spiennes

Underground flint mining at Spiennes in Belgium began between 4400 and 4200 BCE, making it one of the oldest mining sites in Europe.

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre / ICOMOS…

Famous mines in Belgium

People who shaped mining in Belgium

Turning points

  1. Bois du Cazier fire at Marcinelle

    · 262 deaths

    A fire at the Bois du Cazier coal mine at Marcinelle on 8 August 1956 killed 262 miners.

    Source: European Trade Union Institute, IndustriALL Global Union

How prospectors changed the worldThe full mining timeline

Mining elsewhere in Europe

RussiaSpainSwedenGermanyNorwayPolandAustriaPortugalFranceUkraine

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 Belgium and its minerals

History of miningThe first miners: ochre, flint, copper and silver25000 BC-AD 400History of miningThe cost underground: mining disasters and the laws they forced1887-2020The world runs on rockThe BatteryInside a lithium-ion cellThe Big Hole at Kimberley, South Africa, seen from above, with water at the bottomMining historyThe Big Hole, KimberleyDiamonds · South Africa

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. Pictures: Timna in de Negevwoestijn; rotspartij "de zuilen van Salomo", Poll, Willem van de / Europeana (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Mijnramp Bois du Caizier, Marcinelle, België. Schacht, Rossem, Wim van / Anefo / Europeana (Public Domain Mark 1.0).