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Éléments de terres rares · 18Matériaux pour l'aérospatiale & la défense · 10Minéraux agricoles · 3Matériaux de batteries · 5Matériaux cuivre et électricité · 4Matières premières énergétiques · 7Minéraux industriels · 35Matières nucléaires · 5Métaux précieux · 10Matériaux pour semiconducteurs · 11Acier et métaux d'alliage · 13
Minéral critique · 63Stratégique · 36Sous-produit uniquement · 27Transition énergétique · 26Construction · 25Défense · 24Chaîne des puces · 17Recyclable à grande échelle · 8Chaîne des aimants · 8Chaîne alimentaire · 6Chaîne du réseau · 2
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Production mondiale
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121 matériaux affichés. La production et les réserves sont USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · Estimations 2025, métal contenu ou poids brut selon la définition retenue par la source pour chaque produit · source ↗
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| Matériau | Rayon | Production mondiale 2025 | Réserves mondiales | Principal producteur | États-Unis importé | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alumina critique A fine white powder of aluminium oxide, the halfway product between bauxite rock and aluminium… | Matériaux cuivre et électricité | 150,000thousand metric dry tons · Alumina, refinery production | — | — | 71% | |
| Aluminium critique A light silvery metal made by passing an enormous electric current through dissolved bauxite —… | Matériaux cuivre et électricité | 74,000thousand metric tons · Smelter production | — | — | 60% | Al |
| Antimony critique A brittle, silvery metalloid used mostly to stop things burning, and in the primers and tracer… | Matériaux pour l'aérospatiale & la défense | 110,000metric tons · Mine production | 2,000,000 | China — 36% of world production | — | Sb |
| Argon Almost one percent of the air you are breathing, and the cheapest way to keep oxygen away from… | Minéraux industriels | non publié | — | — | — | Ar |
| Arsenic critique Famous as a poison, but in ultra-pure form it is half of gallium arsenide, the compound behind… | Matériaux pour semiconducteurs | 61,000metric tons · Production (arsenic trioxide, gross weight) | — | Peru — 49% of world production | 100% | As |
| Asbestos A group of naturally fibrous minerals that are strong, fireproof, cheap — and cause fatal lung… | Minéraux industriels | 960,000metric tons · Mine production | 150,000,000 | — | 100% | |
| Barite critique A very heavy, soft mineral used mostly to weigh down drilling mud so an oil well does not blow… | Minéraux industriels | 8,700thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | India — 34% of world production | 75% | |
| Bauxite critique A reddish soil-like rock, formed where tropical rain has rotted rock for millions of years, and… | Matériaux cuivre et électricité | 440,000thousand metric dry tons · Bauxite, mine production | 29,000,000 | — | 75% | |
| Beryllium critique A very light, very stiff metal that is transparent to X-rays and dangerous to breathe as dust. | Matières nucléaires | 430.0metric tons · Mine production | — | United States — 53% of world production | — | Be |
| Bismuth critique A heavy metal that is, unusually, not very toxic — which is why it replaces lead in solders… | Matériaux pour l'aérospatiale & la défense | 16,000metric tons · Refinery production | — | China — 88% of world production | 92% | Bi |
| Boron critique An element that makes glass resist thermal shock, fibreglass strong, and — with iron and… | Minéraux industriels | non publié | — | Turkey — W% of world production | — | B |
| Bromine The only non-metal that is liquid at room temperature, pulled out of very salty water. | Minéraux industriels | 430,000metric tons · Production | — | — | 25% | Br |
| Cadmium A toxic soft metal recovered from zinc refining, now used mainly in thin-film solar panels… | Acier et métaux d'alliage | 23,000metric tons · Refinery production | — | — | 25% | Cd |
| Caesium critique The softest metal, liquid on a warm day, and the element that defines the second. | Matériaux pour l'aérospatiale & la défense | non publié | — | — | 100% | Cs |
| Cement Powdered limestone and clay cooked at 1,450 C, which sets hard when mixed with water — the glue… | Minéraux industriels | 3,800,000thousand metric tons · Cement production | — | — | 21% | |
| Cerium critique The most abundant rare earth — more common in the crust than copper — mostly used as a… | Éléments de terres rares | non publié | — | — | — | Ce |
| Chromium critique The element that makes stainless steel stainless — at about eleven percent chromium, steel… | Acier et métaux d'alliage | 51,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | 540,000 | South Africa — 45% of world production | 79% | Cr |
| Clays Soft, fine-grained rock made of microscopic plates that slide over each other when wet — which… | Minéraux industriels | 20,000thousand metric tons · Mine production: Bentonite, rounded | — | — | — | |
| Cobalt critique A hard, bluish metal that keeps a battery's cathode stable so it does not overheat, and that… | Matériaux de batteries | 310,000metric tons · Mine production | 12,000,000 | Congo (Kinshasa) — 74% of world production | 79% | Co |
| Construction Sand & Gravel The most-mined material on Earth by weight, and the one nobody thinks of as mining. | Minéraux industriels | non publié | — | — | — | |
| Copper critique The reddish metal that carries electricity better than anything except silver, and which humans… | Matériaux cuivre et électricité | 23,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | 980,000 | Chile — 23% of world production | — | Cu |
| Crude Oil Ancient marine plankton, cooked underground for millions of years into a liquid that carries… | Matières premières énergétiques | non publié | — | — | — | |
| Crushed Stone Rock blasted and broken to size — limestone, granite, trap rock — and, with sand, the largest… | Minéraux industriels | non publié | — | — | — | |
| Diamond (Industrial) Diamond used not as a gem but as a cutting edge — most of it grown in a press rather than dug… | Minéraux industriels | 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… | Minéraux industriels | 2,500thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | |
| Dimension Stone Rock cut into blocks and slabs rather than crushed — granite, marble, limestone, slate — sold… | Minéraux industriels | non publié | — | — | 85% | |
| Dysprosium critique A heavy rare earth added in small amounts to magnets so they keep working when they get hot. | Éléments de terres rares | non publié | — | — | — | Dy |
| Erbium critique The rare earth that amplifies light inside a fibre-optic cable without ever turning it back… | Éléments de terres rares | non publié | — | — | — | Er |
| Europium critique The rare earth that glows red under ultraviolet light, and which for decades put the red in… | Éléments de terres rares | non publié | — | — | — | Eu |
| Feldspar & Nepheline Syenite The most abundant mineral group in the crust, used as the flux that lets glass and ceramic melt… | Minéraux industriels | 31,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | 95% | |
| Fluorspar critique Calcium fluoride, the mineral that every fluorine atom in industry ultimately comes from —… | Minéraux industriels | 10,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | 330,000 | China — 60% of world production | 100% | |
| Gadolinium critique A rare earth that absorbs neutrons better than almost anything, and that makes MRI scans easier… | Éléments de terres rares | non publié | — | — | — | Gd |
| Gallium critique A silvery metal that melts in your hand, and the basis of the compound semiconductors in fast… | Matériaux pour semiconducteurs | 900,000kilograms · Primary production | — | China — 100% of world production | 100% | Ga |
| Garnet (Industrial) A hard, sharp-edged mineral more familiar as a gemstone, used industrially as the grit in… | Minéraux industriels | 730,000metric tons · Mine production | — | — | 71% | |
| Gemstones Minerals people want because of how they look — hardness, clarity and colour, priced on rarity… | Métaux précieux | 69,000 thousands of carats · Mine production | 2,000,000 | — | 99% | |
| Germanium critique The element the very first transistors were made from, now used mainly for infrared lenses and… | Matériaux pour semiconducteurs | non publié | — | China — NA% of world production | 50% | Ge |
| Gold The metal that does not tarnish, does not corrode and never runs out once mined — which is why… | Métaux précieux | 3,300metric tons · Mine production | 66,000 | — | — | Au |
| Graphite critique Pure carbon in soft, slippery sheets — the same stuff as pencil lead — and the material that… | Matériaux de batteries | 1,800,000metric tons · Mine production | 310,000,000 | China — 78% of world production | 100% | C |
| Gypsum A soft white rock that becomes plasterboard — the interior surface of most buildings in the… | Minéraux industriels | 160,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | |
| Hafnium critique Zirconium's chemical shadow — always found with it, almost impossible to separate from it, and… | Matières nucléaires | non publié | — | — | — | Hf |
| Helium The only element cold enough to keep an MRI magnet superconducting, and the only one light… | Minéraux industriels | 190.0million cubic meters · Helium Production | — | — | — | He |
| High-Purity Quartz Quartz sand so free of other elements that it can be melted into the crucible a silicon crystal… | Matériaux pour semiconducteurs | non publié | — | — | — | |
| Holmium critique The rare earth with the strongest magnetic moment of any element, used in the pole pieces of… | Éléments de terres rares | non publié | — | — | — | Ho |
| Indium critique A soft metal whose oxide is both transparent and electrically conductive — the invisible wiring… | Matériaux pour semiconducteurs | 1,100metric tons · Refinery production | — | China — 69% of world production | 100% | In |
| Industrial Sand & Gravel Sand selected for what it is made of rather than what size it is — nearly pure quartz, for… | Minéraux industriels | 430,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | |
| Iodine A purple-black element that turns straight from solid to vapour, extracted from ancient nitrate… | Minéraux industriels | 34,000metric tons · Mine production | 6,300,000 | — | 50% | I |
| Iridium critique The most corrosion-resistant metal known, and the second densest — a litre of it weighs about… | Métaux précieux | non publié | — | — | — | Ir |
| Iron & Steel Iron with a little carbon in it, and the most-produced manufactured material on the planet. | Acier et métaux d'alliage | 360.0million metric tons · world iron slag production was estimated to be between 330 million and 390 million tons, | — | — | — | |
| Iron & Steel Scrap Old steel collected to be melted into new steel — the largest recycling stream on the planet by… | Acier et métaux d'alliage | non publié | — | — | — | |
| Iron Ore Rust-coloured rock that is roughly one-third to two-thirds iron, and the single largest tonnage… | Acier et métaux d'alliage | 2,600,000thousand metric tons · Mine production: Usable ore, rounded | 87,000 | — | — | Fe |
| Iron Oxide Pigments Rust, refined — the reds, yellows, browns and blacks that have coloured paint and pottery since… | Minéraux industriels | non publié | — | — | — | |
| Krypton A rare noble gas, about one part per million of the air, separated only where enough air is… | Matériaux pour semiconducteurs | 110.0million liters · Rare gases production, (million liters) | — | — | 93% | Kr |
| Kyanite & Related Minerals Blue-bladed crystals that expand rather than shrink when fired, which makes them the backbone… | Minéraux industriels | non publié | — | — | — | |
| Lanthanum critique The first of the rare earths, used by the tonne in the catalysts that crack crude oil into… | Éléments de terres rares | non publié | — | — | — | La |
| Lead critique A soft, dense, blue-grey metal that blocks radiation and stores charge cheaply — and that is… | Acier et métaux d'alliage | 4,500thousand metric tons · Mine production | 95,000 | China — 42% of world production | — | Pb |
| Lime Limestone burned until it becomes quicklime — a chemical used to purify steel, treat water and… | Minéraux industriels | 420,000thousand metric tons · Production | — | — | — | |
| Lithium critique A soft, silvery metal so light it floats on water, and the element that lets a rechargeable… | Matériaux de batteries | 290,000metric tons · Mine production | 37,000,000 | Australia — 32% of world production | 50% | Li |
| Lutetium critique The last and densest rare earth, used in the crystals that detect gamma rays inside a PET… | Éléments de terres rares | non publié | — | — | — | Lu |
| Magnesium Compounds Magnesia and its relatives, made from magnesite rock or extracted from seawater, which survive… | Minéraux industriels | 21,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | 7,800,000 | — | 59% | |
| Magnesium Metal critique The lightest structural metal, about a third lighter than aluminium, and the ingredient that… | Acier et métaux d'alliage | 1,100thousand metric tons · Smelter production | — | — | 75% | Mg |
| Manganese critique A brittle grey metal that steel cannot be made without, and that is now being used to stretch… | Matériaux de batteries | 20,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | 1,700,000 | South Africa — 37% of world production | 100% | Mn |
| Mercury The only metal that is liquid at room temperature, and one of the most tightly regulated… | Acier et métaux d'alliage | 210.0metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | Hg |
| Metallurgical Coal Coal of the specific quality that, when baked without air, turns into coke — the hard carbon… | Matières premières énergétiques | non publié | — | — | — | |
| Mica A mineral that splits into sheets so thin you can see through them, and that resists both heat… | Minéraux industriels | non publié | — | — | — | |
| Molybdenum A silvery metal added to steel so it keeps its strength at high temperature and under pressure. | Acier et métaux d'alliage | 260,000metric tons · Mine production | 17,000 | — | — | Mo |
| Natural Gas Mostly methane, the lightest hydrocarbon, and the source of nearly all the hydrogen used by… | Matières premières énergétiques | non publié | — | — | — | |
| Neodymium critique The rare earth at the heart of the strongest magnet ever made — the kind in headphones, hard… | Éléments de terres rares | non publié | — | — | — | Nd |
| Neon A noble gas so unreactive it forms no compounds at all, separated out of ordinary air in tiny… | Matériaux pour semiconducteurs | 800.0million liters · Rare gases production, (million liters) | — | — | 52% | Ne |
| Nickel critique A silvery metal that resists rust, which is why it goes into stainless steel — and, more… | Matériaux de batteries | 3,900,000metric tons · Mine production | 140,000,000 | Indonesia — 67% of world production | 41% | Ni |
| Niobium critique A metal that makes steel much stronger when added in tiny amounts — a few hundred grams per… | Matériaux pour l'aérospatiale & la défense | 112,000metric tons · Mine production | 21,000,000 | — | 100% | Nb |
| Nitrogen (Ammonia) Nitrogen pulled out of the air and joined to hydrogen under pressure — the invention that… | Minéraux agricoles | 160,000thousand metric tons · Plant production | — | — | — | N |
| Oil Sands & Bitumen Sand soaked in oil so thick it will not flow — it has to be mined like ore or heated… | Matières premières énergétiques | non publié | — | — | — | |
| Osmium The densest naturally occurring element, and one of the least used — most of it sits unrefined… | Métaux précieux | non publié | — | — | — | Os |
| Palladium critique Platinum's cheaper cousin for most of the twentieth century, then briefly more expensive than… | Métaux précieux | 190,000kilograms · Mine production: Palladium, rounded | — | Russia — 44% of world production | 57% | Pd |
| Peat Half-rotted plant matter from waterlogged bogs — the first stage on the road from a swamp to a… | Matières premières énergétiques | 17,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | 13,000,000 | — | 80% | |
| Perlite A volcanic glass with water trapped inside it that pops like popcorn when heated, expanding to… | Minéraux industriels | 4,600thousand metric tons · Production | — | — | 23% | |
| Petroleum Coke The solid carbon left at the bottom of an oil refinery, and the raw material for both aluminium… | Matières premières énergétiques | non publié | — | — | — | |
| Phosphate Rock critique Rock full of the element phosphorus — the P in fertiliser, and now the P in the LFP batteries… | Minéraux agricoles | 250,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | 73,000,000 | China — 44% of world production | — | P |
| Platinum critique A dense, unreactive metal that speeds up chemical reactions without being consumed by them. | Métaux précieux | 170,000kilograms · Mine production: Platinum, rounded | — | South Africa — 71% of world production | 89% | Pt |
| Platinum-Group Metals critique Six metals — platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium — that occur together… | Métaux précieux | non publié | 76,000,000 | — | — | |
| Potash critique Potassium salts mined from ancient dried-up seas — the K in NPK fertiliser, which plants need… | Minéraux agricoles | 49,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | 10,000,000 | Canada — 31% of world production | 92% | K |
| Praseodymium critique Neodymium's near-twin, so alike that magnet makers usually do not bother separating the two and… | Éléments de terres rares | non publié | — | — | — | Pr |
| Promethium The one rare earth with no stable form at all — every atom of it is radioactive and decays… | Éléments de terres rares | non publié | — | — | — | Pm |
| Pumice & Pumicite Volcanic froth — rock so full of gas bubbles that it floats — quarried for lightweight concrete… | Minéraux industriels | 20,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | |
| Rare Earths (all) critique A family of seventeen metals that are not actually rare in the ground, but are hard to separate… | Éléments de terres rares | 390,000metric tons · Mine production | 85,000,000 | — | — | |
| Rhenium critique One of the rarest metals in the crust, recovered from molybdenum roasting, and the ingredient… | Matériaux pour l'aérospatiale & la défense | 81,000kilograms · Mine production | — | Chile — 37% of world production | 75% | Re |
| Rhodium critique The rarest of the metals traded in any volume, produced in tens of tonnes a year, and the only… | Métaux précieux | non publié | — | — | — | Rh |
| Rubidium critique Caesium's cheaper neighbour, recovered from the same rare deposits, and the basis of the atomic… | Matériaux pour l'aérospatiale & la défense | non publié | — | — | 100% | Rb |
| Ruthenium critique A hard platinum-group metal used in tiny quantities inside hard drives and increasingly in chip… | Métaux précieux | non publié | — | — | — | Ru |
| Salt Sodium chloride — the seasoning on a table, and the feedstock for the chlorine and caustic soda… | Minéraux industriels | 270,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | 31% | |
| Samarium critique The rare earth in the magnet that works where neodymium cannot: very hot, or very cold, or in a… | Éléments de terres rares | non publié | — | — | — | Sm |
| Scandium critique A light metal that makes aluminium dramatically stronger and weldable — and which is produced… | Éléments de terres rares | 80.00metric tons · global production | — | China — NA% of world production | 100% | Sc |
| Selenium An element recovered from copper refinery slimes, used in glass, in animal feed and in… | Acier et métaux d'alliage | 3,800metric tons · Refinery production | — | — | 50% | Se |
| Silicon critique The second-most-common element in the Earth's crust — ordinary sand — purified until only one… | Matériaux pour semiconducteurs | 5,000thousand metric tons · Ferrosilicon | — | China — 87% of world production | — | Si |
| Silicon Carbide & Abrasives Man-made grit — silicon carbide and fused alumina — harder than almost every natural mineral… | Minéraux industriels | non publié | — | — | — | |
| Silver critique The best electrical conductor there is, and the metal that has been used as money for longer… | Métaux précieux | 26,000metric tons · Mine production | 610,000 | Mexico — 24% of world production | 77% | Ag |
| Soda Ash Sodium carbonate, mined from trona rock or made from salt, and the second ingredient in almost… | Minéraux industriels | 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. | Minéraux industriels | 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… | Minéraux industriels | 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… | Minéraux industriels | 6,900thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | |
| Tantalum critique A dense metal whose oxide layer stores charge extremely reliably, which is why it is in the… | Matériaux pour l'aérospatiale & la défense | 2,500metric tons · Mine production | — | Congo (Kinshasa) — 52% of world production | 100% | Ta |
| Tellurium critique A brittle, silvery element recovered from the slime at the bottom of a copper refinery tank… | Matériaux pour semiconducteurs | 1,000metric tons · Refinery production | — | China — 80% of world production | 25% | Te |
| Terbium critique The scarcest of the four magnet rare earths, used in tiny quantities to make a magnet survive… | Éléments de terres rares | non publié | — | — | — | Tb |
| Thallium A soft, extremely toxic metal recovered in tiny amounts from smelter dusts. | Matériaux pour semiconducteurs | non publié | — | — | — | Tl |
| Thermal Coal Coal burned to make steam and therefore electricity — still, despite everything, one of the… | Matières premières énergétiques | non publié | — | — | — | |
| Thorium A weakly radioactive metal three to four times more common than uranium, which can be bred into… | Matières nucléaires | non publié | — | — | — | Th |
| Thulium critique The least abundant stable rare earth, used in portable X-ray sources and in surgical lasers. | Éléments de terres rares | non publié | — | — | — | Tm |
| Tin critique A soft metal with a low melting point, which is why nearly every electrical joint in every… | Acier et métaux d'alliage | 290,000metric tons · Mine production | 6,000,000 | China — 24% of world production | — | Sn |
| Titanium critique A metal as strong as steel at about half the weight, which does not corrode in seawater or in… | Matériaux pour l'aérospatiale & la défense | 370,000metric tons · Titanium sponge metal production | — | — | — | Ti |
| Titanium Mineral Concentrates critique Black beach sand — ilmenite and rutile — that is the starting point both for titanium metal and… | Matériaux pour l'aérospatiale & la défense | 9,400thousand metric tons · Mine production: ilmenite, rounded | 490,000 | — | 88% | |
| Tungsten critique The metal with the highest melting point of them all — you can heat it to 3,400 C before it… | Matériaux pour l'aérospatiale & la défense | 85,000metric tons · Mine production | 4,700,000 | China — 79% of world production | 50% | W |
| Uranium A heavy, faintly radioactive metal whose nucleus can be split, releasing about two million… | Matières nucléaires | non publié | — | — | — | U |
| Vanadium critique A metal that makes rebar dramatically stronger in tiny doses, and that can also store… | Acier et métaux d'alliage | 110,000metric tons · Mine production | 21,000 | China — 75% of world production | 41% | V |
| Vermiculite A mica-like mineral that unfolds into a concertina when heated, becoming light, fireproof and… | Minéraux industriels | 460.0thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | 25% | |
| Wollastonite A needle-shaped white mineral used as a safe replacement for asbestos fibre in brakes, boards… | Minéraux industriels | 860,000metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | |
| Xenon The rarest stable gas in the atmosphere — under one part in ten million — and the heaviest… | Matériaux pour semiconducteurs | 12.00million liters · Rare gases production, (million liters) | — | — | 98% | Xe |
| Ytterbium critique A rare earth used in the fibre lasers that cut steel in factories, and in some of the most… | Éléments de terres rares | non publié | — | — | — | Yb |
| Yttrium critique Counted as a rare earth even though it sits elsewhere on the periodic table, because it behaves… | Éléments de terres rares | 12,500metric tons · mine production of Y2O3 equivalent contained in rare-earth mineral concentrates | — | China — NA% of world production | 100% | Y |
| Zeolites (Natural) Minerals full of molecule-sized cages that trap specific ions and gases and let everything else… | Minéraux industriels | 1,300,000metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | |
| Zinc critique The metal that steel is dipped in so it does not rust — a sacrificial coating that corrodes… | Acier et métaux d'alliage | 13,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | 240,000 | China — 32% of world production | — | Zn |
| Zirconium critique A metal that barely absorbs neutrons, which is why nuclear fuel rods are wrapped in it, and… | Matières nucléaires | 1,200thousand metric tons · Zirconium mineral concentrates, mine production (thousand metric tons, gross weight) | 70,000 | — | — | Zr |
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Alumina
A fine white powder of aluminium oxide, the halfway product between bauxite rock and aluminium metal.
Aluminium
A light silvery metal made by passing an enormous electric current through dissolved bauxite — which is why people call…
Antimony
A brittle, silvery metalloid used mostly to stop things burning, and in the primers and tracer rounds of ammunition.
Argon
Almost one percent of the air you are breathing, and the cheapest way to keep oxygen away from hot metal.
Arsenic
Famous as a poison, but in ultra-pure form it is half of gallium arsenide, the compound behind high-frequency radio…
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.
Bauxite
A reddish soil-like rock, formed where tropical rain has rotted rock for millions of years, and the only ore aluminium…
Beryllium
A very light, very stiff metal that is transparent to X-rays and dangerous to breathe as dust.
Bismuth
A heavy metal that is, unusually, not very toxic — which is why it replaces lead in solders, plumbing brass and stomach…
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.
Cadmium
A toxic soft metal recovered from zinc refining, now used mainly in thin-film solar panels rather than in the batteries…
Caesium
The softest metal, liquid on a warm day, and the element that defines the second.
Cement
Powdered limestone and clay cooked at 1,450 C, which sets hard when mixed with water — the glue that holds concrete…
Cerium
The most abundant rare earth — more common in the crust than copper — mostly used as a polishing powder and in…
Chromium
The element that makes stainless steel stainless — at about eleven percent chromium, steel grows an invisible film that…
Clays
Soft, fine-grained rock made of microscopic plates that slide over each other when wet — which is why it can be shaped…
Cobalt
A hard, bluish metal that keeps a battery's cathode stable so it does not overheat, and that holds its strength when…
Construction Sand & Gravel
The most-mined material on Earth by weight, and the one nobody thinks of as mining.
Copper
The reddish metal that carries electricity better than anything except silver, and which humans have been smelting for…
Crude Oil
Ancient marine plankton, cooked underground for millions of years into a liquid that carries more energy per litre than…
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.
Dysprosium
A heavy rare earth added in small amounts to magnets so they keep working when they get hot.
Erbium
The rare earth that amplifies light inside a fibre-optic cable without ever turning it back into electricity.
Europium
The rare earth that glows red under ultraviolet light, and which for decades put the red in every colour television.
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…
Gadolinium
A rare earth that absorbs neutrons better than almost anything, and that makes MRI scans easier to read.
Gallium
A silvery metal that melts in your hand, and the basis of the compound semiconductors in fast chargers, radar and LEDs.
Garnet (Industrial)
A hard, sharp-edged mineral more familiar as a gemstone, used industrially as the grit in waterjet cutting and…
Gemstones
Minerals people want because of how they look — hardness, clarity and colour, priced on rarity rather than on tonnage.
Germanium
The element the very first transistors were made from, now used mainly for infrared lenses and fibre-optic glass.