Nuclear Materials

4 materials shown. Figures are from USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · as each source defines it for each commodity · source ↗

Scroll the table sideways for the remaining columns.

Material	Shelf	World production 2025	World reserves	Leading producer
☆UraniumA heavy, faintly radioactive metal whose nucleus can be split, releasing about two million…	Nuclear Materials	not published	—	—
☆Zirconium criticalA metal that barely absorbs neutrons, which is why nuclear fuel rods are wrapped in it, and…	Nuclear Materials	1,200thousand metric tons · Zirconium mineral concentrates, mine production (thousand metric tons, gross weight)	70,000	Australia33% of world production†
☆Hafnium criticalZirconium's chemical shadow — always found with it, almost impossible to separate from it, and…	Nuclear Materials	not published	—	—
☆Beryllium criticalA very light, very stiff metal that is transparent to X-rays and dangerous to breathe as dust.	Nuclear Materials	430.0metric tons · Mine production	—	United States53% of world production

† Worked out from the USGS production table: the leading country’s output divided by the world total. Where the USGS publishes the share itself, that figure is shown instead.