Metals
29 topics
Gold
Over 3,000 tonnes are mined yearly, with China, Australia, Russia, and Canada leading, and demand splits jewelry, investment bars ...
Silver
Mine supply runs near 25,000 tonnes a year, over half of it a byproduct of lead, zinc, copper, and gold mining, so supply answers ...
Platinum
About 180 tonnes a year come mostly from deep South African mines, costlier to run than any peer, with Russia and Zimbabwe roundin...
Palladium
Around 200 tonnes a year come from Norilsk in Russia and the South African Bushveld, so sanctions talk and mine disruptions domina...
Rhodium
Under 30 tonnes a year come to market, almost entirely as a byproduct of platinum and palladium mining, so no producer chases the ...
Copper
Chile, Peru, China, and Congo lead mine supply of around 22 million tonnes a year, and refined cathode trades on the LME, whose wa...
Aluminum
Around 70 million tonnes of primary metal are produced yearly, with China smelting near 60 percent and India, Russia, and the Gulf...
Iron Ore
Around 1.4 billion tonnes trade seaborne yearly, with BHP, Rio Tinto, Vale, and Fortescue shipping the bulk from the Pilbara and C...
Zinc
About 13 million tonnes of refined metal are produced yearly, China the top producer, with Peru, Australia, and India following. A...
Nickel
Class one, over 99 percent pure and LME deliverable, and class two, ferronickel and nickel pig iron, split the market: stainless s...
Lithium
Supply comes from hard rock spodumene, Australia the leader, and continental brines in Chile and Argentina, with China refining mo...
Cobalt
Around 200,000 tonnes a year come to market, over 70 percent from DR Congo as a byproduct of copper mining, with Indonesian mixed ...
Rare Earth Elements
The family splits light and heavy, with neodymium and praseodymium powering permanent magnets, dysprosium and terbium added for he...
Tin
Some 350,000 tonnes a year come from Indonesia, China, Myanmar, Peru, and Bolivia, with Indonesian independent smelters and the po...
Lead
Refined output runs near 13 million tonnes a year with recycled material supplying more than half, since lead acid batteries come ...
Manganese
Tens of millions of tonnes of ore ship yearly, South Africa dominant in volume, with Australia and Gabon supplying high grades, an...
Molybdenum
Roughly 300,000 tonnes a year come to market, around 80 percent as a byproduct of copper mining in China, Chile, and North America...
Graphite
Natural flake graphite is mined mostly in China, with Mozambique, Madagascar, and Brazil adding supply, while synthetic graphite i...
Silicon Metal
Silicon metal smelts quartz with carbon in arc furnaces, China dominant by far, with Brazil, Norway, and the US producing the rest...
Steel
World output runs near 1.9 billion tonnes, China half of it, and derivatives follow rebar and hot rolled coil on Chinese exchanges...
Iridium
Iridium is among the rarest elements in the crust and is produced only as a byproduct of platinum mining, mostly in South Africa, ...
Titanium
The titanium minerals ilmenite and rutile are mined in countries including Australia, South Africa, Mozambique and China, but most...
Tungsten
Tungsten has the highest melting point of any metal, and most of it is used as tungsten carbide in cutting tools, drill bits and w...
Vanadium
Most vanadium goes into steel, where small additions of ferrovanadium strengthen rebar and high strength alloys. Supply comes main...
Chromium
Chromite ore is smelted into ferrochrome, and the great majority of it goes into stainless steel, which needs at least about 10.5 ...
Magnesium
China produces the large majority of primary magnesium, mainly through the energy intensive Pidgeon process in Shaanxi province, w...
Gallium
Gallium is recovered in small quantities as a byproduct of alumina refining and zinc processing, and China produces nearly all of ...
Germanium
Germanium is recovered from zinc ore processing and from certain coal ashes, with China the leading producer. It is used in fiber ...
Antimony
Antimony is mined mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite, with China the largest producer and refiner and countries including Taji...