What is it?
Blue-bladed crystals that expand rather than shrink when fired, which makes them the backbone of refractory brick.
Why does it matter?
Refractories are the containers that every high-temperature industry runs inside. Kyanite, andalusite and sillimanite are what stop them cracking.
Deeper written sections for this material have not been published yet. Everything below is drawn straight from the source datasets and is complete.
Who produces it
See it on a map →Mine production
Mine productionmetric tons 2025 (estimated)
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · Gross weight; kyanite, andalusite and sillimanite reported together. · source ↗
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| Country | Production | Share of world |
|---|---|---|
| World total | Not available | 100% |
Mine production: andalusite
Mine production: andalusitemetric tons 2025 (estimated)
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · Gross weight; kyanite, andalusite and sillimanite reported together. · source ↗
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| Country | Production | Share of world |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 120,000 | — |
| France | 60,000 | — |
| Peru | 40,000 | — |
Mine production: andalusite, crude ore
Mine production: andalusite, crude oremetric tons 2025 (estimated)
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · Gross weight; kyanite, andalusite and sillimanite reported together. · source ↗
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| Country | Production | Share of world |
|---|---|---|
| China | 50,000 | — |
Mine production: kyanite
Mine production: kyanitemetric tons 2025 (estimated)
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · Gross weight; kyanite, andalusite and sillimanite reported together. · source ↗
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| Country | Production | Share of world |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 80,000 | — |
Mine production: kyanite and sillimanite
Mine production: kyanite and sillimanitemetric tons 2025 (estimated)
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · Gross weight; kyanite, andalusite and sillimanite reported together. · source ↗
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| Country | Production | Share of world |
|---|---|---|
| India | 2,500 | — |
“Withheld” means the USGS suppressed the figure to avoid disclosing an individual company's data — it does not mean zero. Country rows do not always sum to the world total because the source rounds each figure independently and does not always break out an “other countries” line.
Who holds the reserves
Reserves
Reservesmetric tons 2025
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · source ↗
| Country | Reserves | Share of world |
|---|---|---|
| World total | Not available | 100% |
Reserves: andalusite
Reserves: andalusitemetric tons 2025
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · source ↗
| Country | Reserves | Share of world |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | Not applicable | — |
| France | Not applicable | — |
| Peru | Not applicable | — |
Reserves: andalusite, crude ore
Reserves: andalusite, crude oremetric tons 2025
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · source ↗
| Country | Reserves | Share of world |
|---|---|---|
| China | 5,000,000 | — |
Reserves: kyanite
Reserves: kyanitemetric tons 2025
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · source ↗
| Country | Reserves | Share of world |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Large | — |
Reserves: kyanite and sillimanite
Reserves: kyanite and sillimanitemetric tons 2025
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · source ↗
| Country | Reserves | Share of world |
|---|---|---|
| India | 9,100,000 | — |
Price
average unit value of exports (free alongside ship), dollars per metric ton
Annual averagedollars per metric ton
Basis: average unit value of exports (free alongside ship), dollars per metric ton. Annual averages as published in USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · source ↗. These are reference annual averages, not a live market quote.