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