Tutti · 121
Elementi delle terre rare · 18Materiali per aerospazio e difesa · 10Minerali per l'agricoltura · 3Materiali per batterie · 5Rame e materiali elettrici · 4Materie prime energetiche · 7Minerali industriali · 35Materiali nucleari · 5Metalli preziosi · 10Materiali per semiconduttori · 11Acciaio e metalli da lega · 13
Minerale critico · 63Strategico · 36Solo sottoprodotto · 27Transizione energetica · 26Edilizia · 25Difesa · 24Filiera dei chip · 17Riciclabile su larga scala · 8Filiera dei magneti · 8Filiera alimentare · 6Filiera della rete elettrica · 2
Ordina:
Scafo
Nome
Produzione mondiale
Riserve
Dipendenza dalle importazioni degli Stati Uniti
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121 materiali visualizzati. Produzione e riserve sono USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · Stime 2025, metallo contenuto o peso lordo secondo la definizione della fonte per ciascuna commodity · fonte ↗
Scorrere la tabella lateralmente per visualizzare le colonne rimanenti.
| Materiale | Scafo | Produzione mondiale 2025 | Riserve mondiali | Produttore principale | Importato dagli Stati Uniti | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alumina critico A fine white powder of aluminium oxide, the halfway product between bauxite rock and aluminium… | Rame e materiali elettrici | 150,000thousand metric dry tons · Alumina, refinery production | — | — | 71% | |
| Aluminium critico A light silvery metal made by passing an enormous electric current through dissolved bauxite —… | Rame e materiali elettrici | 74,000thousand metric tons · Smelter production | — | — | 60% | Al |
| Antimony critico A brittle, silvery metalloid used mostly to stop things burning, and in the primers and tracer… | Materiali per aerospazio e difesa | 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… | Minerali industriali | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Ar |
| Arsenic critico Famous as a poison, but in ultra-pure form it is half of gallium arsenide, the compound behind… | Materiali per semiconduttori | 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… | Minerali industriali | 960,000metric tons · Mine production | 150,000,000 | — | 100% | |
| Barite critico A very heavy, soft mineral used mostly to weigh down drilling mud so an oil well does not blow… | Minerali industriali | 8,700thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | India — 34% of world production | 75% | |
| Bauxite critico A reddish soil-like rock, formed where tropical rain has rotted rock for millions of years, and… | Rame e materiali elettrici | 440,000thousand metric dry tons · Bauxite, mine production | 29,000,000 | — | 75% | |
| Beryllium critico A very light, very stiff metal that is transparent to X-rays and dangerous to breathe as dust. | Materiali nucleari | 430.0metric tons · Mine production | — | United States — 53% of world production | — | Be |
| Bismuth critico A heavy metal that is, unusually, not very toxic — which is why it replaces lead in solders… | Materiali per aerospazio e difesa | 16,000metric tons · Refinery production | — | China — 88% of world production | 92% | Bi |
| Boron critico An element that makes glass resist thermal shock, fibreglass strong, and — with iron and… | Minerali industriali | non pubblicato | — | Turkey — W% of world production | — | B |
| Bromine The only non-metal that is liquid at room temperature, pulled out of very salty water. | Minerali industriali | 430,000metric tons · Production | — | — | 25% | Br |
| Cadmium A toxic soft metal recovered from zinc refining, now used mainly in thin-film solar panels… | Acciaio e metalli da lega | 23,000metric tons · Refinery production | — | — | 25% | Cd |
| Caesium critico The softest metal, liquid on a warm day, and the element that defines the second. | Materiali per aerospazio e difesa | non pubblicato | — | — | 100% | Cs |
| Cement Powdered limestone and clay cooked at 1,450 C, which sets hard when mixed with water — the glue… | Minerali industriali | 3,800,000thousand metric tons · Cement production | — | — | 21% | |
| Cerium critico The most abundant rare earth — more common in the crust than copper — mostly used as a… | Elementi delle terre rare | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Ce |
| Chromium critico The element that makes stainless steel stainless — at about eleven percent chromium, steel… | Acciaio e metalli da lega | 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… | Minerali industriali | 20,000thousand metric tons · Mine production: Bentonite, rounded | — | — | — | |
| Cobalt critico A hard, bluish metal that keeps a battery's cathode stable so it does not overheat, and that… | Materiali per batterie | 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. | Minerali industriali | non pubblicato | — | — | — | |
| Copper critico The reddish metal that carries electricity better than anything except silver, and which humans… | Rame e materiali elettrici | 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… | Materie prime energetiche | non pubblicato | — | — | — | |
| Crushed Stone Rock blasted and broken to size — limestone, granite, trap rock — and, with sand, the largest… | Minerali industriali | non pubblicato | — | — | — | |
| Diamond (Industrial) Diamond used not as a gem but as a cutting edge — most of it grown in a press rather than dug… | Minerali industriali | 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… | Minerali industriali | 2,500thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | |
| Dimension Stone Rock cut into blocks and slabs rather than crushed — granite, marble, limestone, slate — sold… | Minerali industriali | non pubblicato | — | — | 85% | |
| Dysprosium critico A heavy rare earth added in small amounts to magnets so they keep working when they get hot. | Elementi delle terre rare | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Dy |
| Erbium critico The rare earth that amplifies light inside a fibre-optic cable without ever turning it back… | Elementi delle terre rare | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Er |
| Europium critico The rare earth that glows red under ultraviolet light, and which for decades put the red in… | Elementi delle terre rare | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Eu |
| Feldspar & Nepheline Syenite The most abundant mineral group in the crust, used as the flux that lets glass and ceramic melt… | Minerali industriali | 31,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | 95% | |
| Fluorspar critico Calcium fluoride, the mineral that every fluorine atom in industry ultimately comes from —… | Minerali industriali | 10,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | 330,000 | China — 60% of world production | 100% | |
| Gadolinium critico A rare earth that absorbs neutrons better than almost anything, and that makes MRI scans easier… | Elementi delle terre rare | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Gd |
| Gallium critico A silvery metal that melts in your hand, and the basis of the compound semiconductors in fast… | Materiali per semiconduttori | 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… | Minerali industriali | 730,000metric tons · Mine production | — | — | 71% | |
| Gemstones Minerals people want because of how they look — hardness, clarity and colour, priced on rarity… | Metalli preziosi | 69,000 thousands of carats · Mine production | 2,000,000 | — | 99% | |
| Germanium critico The element the very first transistors were made from, now used mainly for infrared lenses and… | Materiali per semiconduttori | non pubblicato | — | 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… | Metalli preziosi | 3,300metric tons · Mine production | 66,000 | — | — | Au |
| Graphite critico Pure carbon in soft, slippery sheets — the same stuff as pencil lead — and the material that… | Materiali per batterie | 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… | Minerali industriali | 160,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | |
| Hafnium critico Zirconium's chemical shadow — always found with it, almost impossible to separate from it, and… | Materiali nucleari | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Hf |
| Helium The only element cold enough to keep an MRI magnet superconducting, and the only one light… | Minerali industriali | 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… | Materiali per semiconduttori | non pubblicato | — | — | — | |
| Holmium critico The rare earth with the strongest magnetic moment of any element, used in the pole pieces of… | Elementi delle terre rare | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Ho |
| Indium critico A soft metal whose oxide is both transparent and electrically conductive — the invisible wiring… | Materiali per semiconduttori | 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… | Minerali industriali | 430,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | |
| Iodine A purple-black element that turns straight from solid to vapour, extracted from ancient nitrate… | Minerali industriali | 34,000metric tons · Mine production | 6,300,000 | — | 50% | I |
| Iridium critico The most corrosion-resistant metal known, and the second densest — a litre of it weighs about… | Metalli preziosi | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Ir |
| Iron & Steel Iron with a little carbon in it, and the most-produced manufactured material on the planet. | Acciaio e metalli da lega | 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… | Acciaio e metalli da lega | non pubblicato | — | — | — | |
| Iron Ore Rust-coloured rock that is roughly one-third to two-thirds iron, and the single largest tonnage… | Acciaio e metalli da lega | 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… | Minerali industriali | non pubblicato | — | — | — | |
| Krypton A rare noble gas, about one part per million of the air, separated only where enough air is… | Materiali per semiconduttori | 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… | Minerali industriali | non pubblicato | — | — | — | |
| Lanthanum critico The first of the rare earths, used by the tonne in the catalysts that crack crude oil into… | Elementi delle terre rare | non pubblicato | — | — | — | La |
| Lead critico A soft, dense, blue-grey metal that blocks radiation and stores charge cheaply — and that is… | Acciaio e metalli da lega | 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… | Minerali industriali | 420,000thousand metric tons · Production | — | — | — | |
| Lithium critico A soft, silvery metal so light it floats on water, and the element that lets a rechargeable… | Materiali per batterie | 290,000metric tons · Mine production | 37,000,000 | Australia — 32% of world production | 50% | Li |
| Lutetium critico The last and densest rare earth, used in the crystals that detect gamma rays inside a PET… | Elementi delle terre rare | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Lu |
| Magnesium Compounds Magnesia and its relatives, made from magnesite rock or extracted from seawater, which survive… | Minerali industriali | 21,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | 7,800,000 | — | 59% | |
| Magnesium Metal critico The lightest structural metal, about a third lighter than aluminium, and the ingredient that… | Acciaio e metalli da lega | 1,100thousand metric tons · Smelter production | — | — | 75% | Mg |
| Manganese critico A brittle grey metal that steel cannot be made without, and that is now being used to stretch… | Materiali per batterie | 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… | Acciaio e metalli da lega | 210.0metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | Hg |
| Metallurgical Coal Coal of the specific quality that, when baked without air, turns into coke — the hard carbon… | Materie prime energetiche | non pubblicato | — | — | — | |
| Mica A mineral that splits into sheets so thin you can see through them, and that resists both heat… | Minerali industriali | non pubblicato | — | — | — | |
| Molybdenum A silvery metal added to steel so it keeps its strength at high temperature and under pressure. | Acciaio e metalli da lega | 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… | Materie prime energetiche | non pubblicato | — | — | — | |
| Neodymium critico The rare earth at the heart of the strongest magnet ever made — the kind in headphones, hard… | Elementi delle terre rare | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Nd |
| Neon A noble gas so unreactive it forms no compounds at all, separated out of ordinary air in tiny… | Materiali per semiconduttori | 800.0million liters · Rare gases production, (million liters) | — | — | 52% | Ne |
| Nickel critico A silvery metal that resists rust, which is why it goes into stainless steel — and, more… | Materiali per batterie | 3,900,000metric tons · Mine production | 140,000,000 | Indonesia — 67% of world production | 41% | Ni |
| Niobium critico A metal that makes steel much stronger when added in tiny amounts — a few hundred grams per… | Materiali per aerospazio e difesa | 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… | Minerali per l'agricoltura | 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… | Materie prime energetiche | non pubblicato | — | — | — | |
| Osmium The densest naturally occurring element, and one of the least used — most of it sits unrefined… | Metalli preziosi | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Os |
| Palladium critico Platinum's cheaper cousin for most of the twentieth century, then briefly more expensive than… | Metalli preziosi | 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… | Materie prime energetiche | 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… | Minerali industriali | 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… | Materie prime energetiche | non pubblicato | — | — | — | |
| Phosphate Rock critico Rock full of the element phosphorus — the P in fertiliser, and now the P in the LFP batteries… | Minerali per l'agricoltura | 250,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | 73,000,000 | China — 44% of world production | — | P |
| Platinum critico A dense, unreactive metal that speeds up chemical reactions without being consumed by them. | Metalli preziosi | 170,000kilograms · Mine production: Platinum, rounded | — | South Africa — 71% of world production | 89% | Pt |
| Platinum-Group Metals critico Six metals — platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium — that occur together… | Metalli preziosi | non pubblicato | 76,000,000 | — | — | |
| Potash critico Potassium salts mined from ancient dried-up seas — the K in NPK fertiliser, which plants need… | Minerali per l'agricoltura | 49,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | 10,000,000 | Canada — 31% of world production | 92% | K |
| Praseodymium critico Neodymium's near-twin, so alike that magnet makers usually do not bother separating the two and… | Elementi delle terre rare | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Pr |
| Promethium The one rare earth with no stable form at all — every atom of it is radioactive and decays… | Elementi delle terre rare | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Pm |
| Pumice & Pumicite Volcanic froth — rock so full of gas bubbles that it floats — quarried for lightweight concrete… | Minerali industriali | 20,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | |
| Rare Earths (all) critico A family of seventeen metals that are not actually rare in the ground, but are hard to separate… | Elementi delle terre rare | 390,000metric tons · Mine production | 85,000,000 | — | — | |
| Rhenium critico One of the rarest metals in the crust, recovered from molybdenum roasting, and the ingredient… | Materiali per aerospazio e difesa | 81,000kilograms · Mine production | — | Chile — 37% of world production | 75% | Re |
| Rhodium critico The rarest of the metals traded in any volume, produced in tens of tonnes a year, and the only… | Metalli preziosi | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Rh |
| Rubidium critico Caesium's cheaper neighbour, recovered from the same rare deposits, and the basis of the atomic… | Materiali per aerospazio e difesa | non pubblicato | — | — | 100% | Rb |
| Ruthenium critico A hard platinum-group metal used in tiny quantities inside hard drives and increasingly in chip… | Metalli preziosi | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Ru |
| Salt Sodium chloride — the seasoning on a table, and the feedstock for the chlorine and caustic soda… | Minerali industriali | 270,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | 31% | |
| Samarium critico The rare earth in the magnet that works where neodymium cannot: very hot, or very cold, or in a… | Elementi delle terre rare | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Sm |
| Scandium critico A light metal that makes aluminium dramatically stronger and weldable — and which is produced… | Elementi delle terre rare | 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… | Acciaio e metalli da lega | 3,800metric tons · Refinery production | — | — | 50% | Se |
| Silicon critico The second-most-common element in the Earth's crust — ordinary sand — purified until only one… | Materiali per semiconduttori | 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… | Minerali industriali | non pubblicato | — | — | — | |
| Silver critico The best electrical conductor there is, and the metal that has been used as money for longer… | Metalli preziosi | 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… | Minerali industriali | 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. | Minerali industriali | 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… | Minerali industriali | 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… | Minerali industriali | 6,900thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | |
| Tantalum critico A dense metal whose oxide layer stores charge extremely reliably, which is why it is in the… | Materiali per aerospazio e difesa | 2,500metric tons · Mine production | — | Congo (Kinshasa) — 52% of world production | 100% | Ta |
| Tellurium critico A brittle, silvery element recovered from the slime at the bottom of a copper refinery tank… | Materiali per semiconduttori | 1,000metric tons · Refinery production | — | China — 80% of world production | 25% | Te |
| Terbium critico The scarcest of the four magnet rare earths, used in tiny quantities to make a magnet survive… | Elementi delle terre rare | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Tb |
| Thallium A soft, extremely toxic metal recovered in tiny amounts from smelter dusts. | Materiali per semiconduttori | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Tl |
| Thermal Coal Coal burned to make steam and therefore electricity — still, despite everything, one of the… | Materie prime energetiche | non pubblicato | — | — | — | |
| Thorium A weakly radioactive metal three to four times more common than uranium, which can be bred into… | Materiali nucleari | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Th |
| Thulium critico The least abundant stable rare earth, used in portable X-ray sources and in surgical lasers. | Elementi delle terre rare | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Tm |
| Tin critico A soft metal with a low melting point, which is why nearly every electrical joint in every… | Acciaio e metalli da lega | 290,000metric tons · Mine production | 6,000,000 | China — 24% of world production | — | Sn |
| Titanium critico A metal as strong as steel at about half the weight, which does not corrode in seawater or in… | Materiali per aerospazio e difesa | 370,000metric tons · Titanium sponge metal production | — | — | — | Ti |
| Titanium Mineral Concentrates critico Black beach sand — ilmenite and rutile — that is the starting point both for titanium metal and… | Materiali per aerospazio e difesa | 9,400thousand metric tons · Mine production: ilmenite, rounded | 490,000 | — | 88% | |
| Tungsten critico The metal with the highest melting point of them all — you can heat it to 3,400 C before it… | Materiali per aerospazio e difesa | 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… | Materiali nucleari | non pubblicato | — | — | — | U |
| Vanadium critico A metal that makes rebar dramatically stronger in tiny doses, and that can also store… | Acciaio e metalli da lega | 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… | Minerali industriali | 460.0thousand metric tons · Mine production | — | — | 25% | |
| Wollastonite A needle-shaped white mineral used as a safe replacement for asbestos fibre in brakes, boards… | Minerali industriali | 860,000metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | |
| Xenon The rarest stable gas in the atmosphere — under one part in ten million — and the heaviest… | Materiali per semiconduttori | 12.00million liters · Rare gases production, (million liters) | — | — | 98% | Xe |
| Ytterbium critico A rare earth used in the fibre lasers that cut steel in factories, and in some of the most… | Elementi delle terre rare | non pubblicato | — | — | — | Yb |
| Yttrium critico Counted as a rare earth even though it sits elsewhere on the periodic table, because it behaves… | Elementi delle terre rare | 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… | Minerali industriali | 1,300,000metric tons · Mine production | — | — | — | |
| Zinc critico The metal that steel is dipped in so it does not rust — a sacrificial coating that corrodes… | Acciaio e metalli da lega | 13,000thousand metric tons · Mine production | 240,000 | China — 32% of world production | — | Zn |
| Zirconium critico A metal that barely absorbs neutrons, which is why nuclear fuel rods are wrapped in it, and… | Materiali nucleari | 1,200thousand metric tons · Zirconium mineral concentrates, mine production (thousand metric tons, gross weight) | 70,000 | — | — | Zr |
Sfoglia per immagine
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.