All · 146
Rare Earth Elements · 18Aerospace & Defence Materials · 10Agricultural Minerals · 3Battery Materials · 5Copper & Electrical Materials · 4Energy Raw Materials · 7Industrial Minerals · 35Nuclear Materials · 5Precious Metals · 10Semiconductor Materials · 11Steel & Alloy Metals · 13Wood & Forest Products · 25
Critical Mineral · 63Strategic · 36Construction · 35Byproduct Only · 27Energy Transition · 26Defence · 24Chip Chain · 17Forest Product · 12Recyclable at Scale · 9Magnet Chain · 8Hardwood · 8Softwood · 7Renewable · 6Food Chain · 6Engineered Wood · 4Grid Chain · 2
27 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 | U.S. imported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Rhenium criticalOne of the rarest metals in the crust, recovered from molybdenum roasting, and the ingredient…
|
Aerospace & Defence Materials | 81,000kilograms · Mine production | — | Chile37% of world production | 75% |
|
Bismuth criticalA heavy metal that is, unusually, not very toxic — which is why it replaces lead in solders…
|
Aerospace & Defence Materials | 16,000metric tons · Refinery production | — | China88% of world production | 92% |
|
Rubidium criticalCaesium's cheaper neighbour, recovered from the same rare deposits, and the basis of the atomic…
|
Aerospace & Defence Materials | not published | — | — | 100% |
|
Cobalt criticalA hard, bluish metal that keeps a battery's cathode stable so it does not overheat, and that…
|
Battery Materials | 310,000metric tons · Mine production | 12,000,000 | Congo (Kinshasa)74% of world production | 79% |
|
Petroleum CokeThe solid carbon left at the bottom of an oil refinery, and the raw material for both aluminium…
|
Energy Raw Materials | not published | — | — | — |
|
HeliumThe only element cold enough to keep an MRI magnet superconducting, and the only one light…
|
Industrial Minerals | 190.0million cubic meters · Helium Production | — | United States43% of world production† | — |
|
SulfurA yellow element stripped out of oil and gas to stop it polluting, then turned into sulfuric…
|
Industrial Minerals | 84,000thousand metric tons · Production, all forms | — | China23% of world production† | — |
|
ArgonAlmost one percent of the air you are breathing, and the cheapest way to keep oxygen away from…
|
Industrial Minerals | not published | — | — | — |
|
Hafnium criticalZirconium's chemical shadow — always found with it, almost impossible to separate from it, and…
|
Nuclear Materials | not published | — | — | — |
|
Silver criticalThe best electrical conductor there is, and the metal that has been used as money for longer…
|
Precious Metals | 26,000metric tons · Mine production | 610,000 | Mexico24% of world production | 77% |
|
Rhodium criticalThe rarest of the metals traded in any volume, produced in tens of tonnes a year, and the only…
|
Precious Metals | not published | — | — | — |
|
Iridium criticalThe most corrosion-resistant metal known, and the second densest — a litre of it weighs about…
|
Precious Metals | not published | — | — | — |
|
Ruthenium criticalA hard platinum-group metal used in tiny quantities inside hard drives and increasingly in chip…
|
Precious Metals | not published | — | — | — |
|
OsmiumThe densest naturally occurring element, and one of the least used — most of it sits unrefined…
|
Precious Metals | not published | — | — | — |
|
Scandium criticalA light metal that makes aluminium dramatically stronger and weldable — and which is produced…
|
Rare Earth Elements | 80.00metric tons · global production | — | Chinashare not published | 100% |
|
Gallium criticalA silvery metal that melts in your hand, and the basis of the compound semiconductors in fast…
|
Semiconductor Materials | 900,000kilograms · Primary production | — | China100% of world production | 100% |
|
Germanium criticalThe element the very first transistors were made from, now used mainly for infrared lenses and…
|
Semiconductor Materials | not published | — | Chinashare not published | 50% |
|
Indium criticalA soft metal whose oxide is both transparent and electrically conductive — the invisible wiring…
|
Semiconductor Materials | 1,100metric tons · Refinery production | — | China69% of world production | 100% |
|
Tellurium criticalA brittle, silvery element recovered from the slime at the bottom of a copper refinery tank…
|
Semiconductor Materials | 1,000metric tons · Refinery production | — | China80% of world production | 25% |
|
Arsenic criticalFamous as a poison, but in ultra-pure form it is half of gallium arsenide, the compound behind…
|
Semiconductor Materials | 61,000metric tons · Production (arsenic trioxide, gross weight) | — | Peru49% of world production | 100% |
|
NeonA noble gas so unreactive it forms no compounds at all, separated out of ordinary air in tiny…
|
Semiconductor Materials | 800.0million liters · Rare gases production, (million liters) | — | United States14% of world production† | 52% |
|
KryptonA rare noble gas, about one part per million of the air, separated only where enough air is…
|
Semiconductor Materials | 110.0million liters · Rare gases production, (million liters) | — | United States1% of world production† | 93% |
|
XenonThe rarest stable gas in the atmosphere — under one part in ten million — and the heaviest…
|
Semiconductor Materials | 12.00million liters · Rare gases production, (million liters) | — | United States1% of world production† | 98% |
|
ThalliumA soft, extremely toxic metal recovered in tiny amounts from smelter dusts.
|
Semiconductor Materials | not published | — | — | — |
|
MolybdenumA silvery metal added to steel so it keeps its strength at high temperature and under pressure.
|
Steel & Alloy Metals | 260,000metric tons · Mine production | 17,000 | China37% of world production† | — |
|
CadmiumA toxic soft metal recovered from zinc refining, now used mainly in thin-film solar panels…
|
Steel & Alloy Metals | 23,000metric tons · Refinery production | — | China41% of world production† | 25% |
|
SeleniumAn element recovered from copper refinery slimes, used in glass, in animal feed and in…
|
Steel & Alloy Metals | 3,800metric tons · Refinery production | — | China53% of world production† | 50% |
† 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.
Photographs on this page · 28
- Azurite-malachite-specimen.jpg Mineral specimen featuring azurite, mala… · Δανάη Κωτσιομύτη · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Rhenium metal.jpg · Keresluna · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Bismuth crystal Créer le cristal n01.jpg · Marie-Lan Taÿ Pamart · CC BY 4.0
- Rb5.JPG · Dnn87 · CC BY 3.0
- Cobaltite (GeoDIL number - 1151).jpg · Darla Sondrol · CC0
- Petrolkoks IMG 6166.jpg · romanm ( talk ) · CC BY-SA 2.5 si
- ISS Magnet.jpg · Ordan, Julien Marius · CC BY 4.0
- Union Sulphur Co Reserve Sulphur Storage in Louisiana.jpg · Underwood and Underwood · Public domain
- US Navy 090715-N-5821P-002 Aviation Support Equipment Technician Airman… · U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialis… · Public domain
- Hafnium (Element - 72) 2.jpg · James St. John · CC BY 2.0
- Native silver 1.jpg · Parent Géry · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Rhodium powder pressed melted.jpg · Alchemist-hp ( talk ) www.pse-mendelejew.de der… · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
- Iridium (Element - 77) 2.jpg · James St. John · CC BY 2.0
- Ru metal 1g.JPG · Leiem · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Osmium star.jpg · Bilovitskiy · CC BY 4.0
- Scandium (Element - 21).jpg · James St. John · CC BY 2.0
- Plastic bottle containing gallium metal.JPG · Pixelmaniac pictures ( Leave a reply ) · CC0
- Miniman M 703 germanium crystal radio made in Japan late 1950s.jpg · R. Henrik Nilsson · CC BY 4.0
- Indium wetting glass.jpg · Schtone · Public domain
- Tellurium crystals.jpg · Hi-Res Images of Chemical Elements · CC BY 3.0
- Native arsenic2.jpg · Miguel Calvo · CC BY 4.0
- Neon tubes (32703).jpg · Rhododendrites · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Spectre tubes à gaz.jpg · Alchemist-hp , derivative work by Poke2001 · CC BY-SA 2.0 de
- Three xenon flashtubes and a krypton arc lamp.jpg · Zaereth ( talk ) · Public domain
- Thallium prvek.jpg · Milda 444 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Molybdenite quebec2.jpg · Didier Descouens · CC BY 3.0
- Cadmium (Element - 48) 3.jpg · James St. John · CC BY 2.0
- Selenium (Element - 34).jpg · James St. John · CC BY 2.0
Every photograph is from Wikimedia Commons and is used under the licence shown.