35 materials shown. Production and reserves are USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · 2025 estimates, contained metal or gross weight as the source defines for each commodity · source ↗
Scroll the table sideways for the remaining columns.
| Material | Shelf | World production 2025 | World reserves | Leading producer | U.S. imported | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argon Almost one percent of the air you are breathing, and the cheapest way to keep oxygen away from… | Industrial Minerals | not published | — | — | — | Ar |
| Asbestos A group of naturally fibrous minerals that are strong, fireproof, cheap — and cause fatal lung… | Industrial Minerals | 960,000metric tons · Mine production | 150,000,000 | — | 100% | |
| Barite critical A very heavy, soft mineral used mostly to weigh down drilling mud so an oil well does not blow… | Industrial Minerals | 8,700thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | India — 34% of world production | 75% | |
| Boron critical An element that makes glass resist thermal shock, fibreglass strong, and — with iron and… | Industrial Minerals | not published | — | Turkey — W% of world production | — | B |
| Bromine The only non-metal that is liquid at room temperature, pulled out of very salty water. | Industrial Minerals | 430,000metric tons · Production | — | — | 25% | Br |
| Cement Powdered limestone and clay cooked at 1,450 C, which sets hard when mixed with water — the glue… | Industrial Minerals | 3,800,000thousand metric tons · Cement production | — | — | 21% | |
| Clays Soft, fine-grained rock made of microscopic plates that slide over each other when wet — which… | Industrial Minerals | 20,000thousand metric tons · Mine production: Bentonite, rounded | — | — | — | |
| Construction Sand & Gravel The most-mined material on Earth by weight, and the one nobody thinks of as mining. | Industrial Minerals | not published | — | — | — | |
| Crushed Stone Rock blasted and broken to size — limestone, granite, trap rock — and, with sand, the largest… | Industrial Minerals | not published | — | — | — | |
| Diamond (Industrial) Diamond used not as a gem but as a cutting edge — most of it grown in a press rather than dug… | Industrial Minerals | 38.00million carats · Mine production | 1,700 | — | — | |
| Diatomite Rock made from the glass skeletons of microscopic algae, so porous that a lump of it floats on… | Industrial Minerals | 2,500thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | |
| Dimension Stone Rock cut into blocks and slabs rather than crushed — granite, marble, limestone, slate — sold… | Industrial Minerals | not published | — | — | 85% | |
| Feldspar & Nepheline Syenite The most abundant mineral group in the crust, used as the flux that lets glass and ceramic melt… | Industrial Minerals | 31,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | 95% | |
| Fluorspar critical Calcium fluoride, the mineral that every fluorine atom in industry ultimately comes from —… | Industrial Minerals | 10,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | 330,000 | China — 60% of world production | 100% | |
| Garnet (Industrial) A hard, sharp-edged mineral more familiar as a gemstone, used industrially as the grit in… | Industrial Minerals | 730,000metric tons · Mine production | — | — | 71% | |
| Gypsum A soft white rock that becomes plasterboard — the interior surface of most buildings in the… | Industrial Minerals | 160,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | |
| Helium The only element cold enough to keep an MRI magnet superconducting, and the only one light… | Industrial Minerals | 190.0million cubic meters · Helium Production | — | — | — | He |
| Industrial Sand & Gravel Sand selected for what it is made of rather than what size it is — nearly pure quartz, for… | Industrial Minerals | 430,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | |
| Iodine A purple-black element that turns straight from solid to vapour, extracted from ancient nitrate… | Industrial Minerals | 34,000metric tons · Mine production | 6,300,000 | — | 50% | I |
| Iron Oxide Pigments Rust, refined — the reds, yellows, browns and blacks that have coloured paint and pottery since… | Industrial Minerals | not published | — | — | — | |
| Kyanite & Related Minerals Blue-bladed crystals that expand rather than shrink when fired, which makes them the backbone… | Industrial Minerals | not published | — | — | — | |
| Lime Limestone burned until it becomes quicklime — a chemical used to purify steel, treat water and… | Industrial Minerals | 420,000thousand metric tons · Production | — | — | — | |
| Magnesium Compounds Magnesia and its relatives, made from magnesite rock or extracted from seawater, which survive… | Industrial Minerals | 21,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | 7,800,000 | — | 59% | |
| Mica A mineral that splits into sheets so thin you can see through them, and that resists both heat… | Industrial Minerals | not published | — | — | — | |
| Perlite A volcanic glass with water trapped inside it that pops like popcorn when heated, expanding to… | Industrial Minerals | 4,600thousand metric tons · Production | — | — | 23% | |
| Pumice & Pumicite Volcanic froth — rock so full of gas bubbles that it floats — quarried for lightweight concrete… | Industrial Minerals | 20,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | |
| Salt Sodium chloride — the seasoning on a table, and the feedstock for the chlorine and caustic soda… | Industrial Minerals | 270,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | 31% | |
| Silicon Carbide & Abrasives Man-made grit — silicon carbide and fused alumina — harder than almost every natural mineral… | Industrial Minerals | not published | — | — | — | |
| Soda Ash Sodium carbonate, mined from trona rock or made from salt, and the second ingredient in almost… | Industrial Minerals | 19,000thousand metric tons · Mine production: natural, rounded | 25,000,000 | — | — | |
| Strontium A soft metal whose salts burn bright red, which is why every red firework contains it. | Industrial Minerals | 450,000metric tons · Mine production | — | — | 100% | Sr |
| Sulfur A yellow element stripped out of oil and gas to stop it polluting, then turned into sulfuric… | Industrial Minerals | 84,000thousand metric tons · Production, all forms | — | — | — | S |
| Talc & Pyrophyllite The softest mineral there is — a fingernail scratches it — used as a filler that makes plastics… | Industrial Minerals | 6,900thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | |
| Vermiculite A mica-like mineral that unfolds into a concertina when heated, becoming light, fireproof and… | Industrial Minerals | 460.0thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | 25% | |
| Wollastonite A needle-shaped white mineral used as a safe replacement for asbestos fibre in brakes, boards… | Industrial Minerals | 860,000metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | |
| Zeolites (Natural) Minerals full of molecule-sized cages that trap specific ions and gases and let everything else… | Industrial Minerals | 1,300,000metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — |
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Argon
Almost one percent of the air you are breathing, and the cheapest way to keep oxygen away from hot metal.
Asbestos
A group of naturally fibrous minerals that are strong, fireproof, cheap — and cause fatal lung disease decades after…
Barite
A very heavy, soft mineral used mostly to weigh down drilling mud so an oil well does not blow out.
Boron
An element that makes glass resist thermal shock, fibreglass strong, and — with iron and neodymium — the strongest…
Bromine
The only non-metal that is liquid at room temperature, pulled out of very salty water.
Cement
Powdered limestone and clay cooked at 1,450 C, which sets hard when mixed with water — the glue that holds concrete…
Clays
Soft, fine-grained rock made of microscopic plates that slide over each other when wet — which is why it can be shaped…
Construction Sand & Gravel
The most-mined material on Earth by weight, and the one nobody thinks of as mining.
Crushed Stone
Rock blasted and broken to size — limestone, granite, trap rock — and, with sand, the largest tonnage humans move.
Diamond (Industrial)
Diamond used not as a gem but as a cutting edge — most of it grown in a press rather than dug out of the ground.
Diatomite
Rock made from the glass skeletons of microscopic algae, so porous that a lump of it floats on water.
Dimension Stone
Rock cut into blocks and slabs rather than crushed — granite, marble, limestone, slate — sold for what it looks like.
Feldspar & Nepheline Syenite
The most abundant mineral group in the crust, used as the flux that lets glass and ceramic melt at a workable…
Fluorspar
Calcium fluoride, the mineral that every fluorine atom in industry ultimately comes from — including the fluorine in…
Garnet (Industrial)
A hard, sharp-edged mineral more familiar as a gemstone, used industrially as the grit in waterjet cutting and…
Gypsum
A soft white rock that becomes plasterboard — the interior surface of most buildings in the developed world.
Helium
The only element cold enough to keep an MRI magnet superconducting, and the only one light enough to escape Earth's…
Industrial Sand & Gravel
Sand selected for what it is made of rather than what size it is — nearly pure quartz, for glass, foundries and…
Iodine
A purple-black element that turns straight from solid to vapour, extracted from ancient nitrate deposits and from…
Iron Oxide Pigments
Rust, refined — the reds, yellows, browns and blacks that have coloured paint and pottery since the first cave walls.
Kyanite & Related Minerals
Blue-bladed crystals that expand rather than shrink when fired, which makes them the backbone of refractory brick.
Lime
Limestone burned until it becomes quicklime — a chemical used to purify steel, treat water and neutralise acid.
Magnesium Compounds
Magnesia and its relatives, made from magnesite rock or extracted from seawater, which survive heat that would destroy…
Mica
A mineral that splits into sheets so thin you can see through them, and that resists both heat and electricity.
Perlite
A volcanic glass with water trapped inside it that pops like popcorn when heated, expanding to many times its size.
Pumice & Pumicite
Volcanic froth — rock so full of gas bubbles that it floats — quarried for lightweight concrete and abrasives.
Salt
Sodium chloride — the seasoning on a table, and the feedstock for the chlorine and caustic soda that most of the…
Silicon Carbide & Abrasives
Man-made grit — silicon carbide and fused alumina — harder than almost every natural mineral, used to cut and grind…
Soda Ash
Sodium carbonate, mined from trona rock or made from salt, and the second ingredient in almost every sheet of glass.
Strontium
A soft metal whose salts burn bright red, which is why every red firework contains it.
Sulfur
A yellow element stripped out of oil and gas to stop it polluting, then turned into sulfuric acid — the most-produced…
Talc & Pyrophyllite
The softest mineral there is — a fingernail scratches it — used as a filler that makes plastics stiffer and paper…
Vermiculite
A mica-like mineral that unfolds into a concertina when heated, becoming light, fireproof and full of air.
Wollastonite
A needle-shaped white mineral used as a safe replacement for asbestos fibre in brakes, boards and plastics.
Zeolites (Natural)
Minerals full of molecule-sized cages that trap specific ions and gases and let everything else pass.