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217 REPORTING ECONOMIES · NORTH AMERICA / EUROPE / ASIA / AFRICA / OCEANIA / SOUTH AMERICAOfficial sources. Open methods. Trace every number.
COMMODITY ORIGINS · RESERVES AND MINING

Where are the reserves, and who is mining them?

Derived report snapshot · 2026-10-04 · Original report

South Africa holds 83% of the world's known palladium reserves, the largest single-country share among 21 minerals. For 10 of them the country with the most reserves has a share of reserves and a share of production that differ by 15 percentage points or more, which is where reserves and mining are least aligned.

Reserves are the part of a deposit that could be mined at a profit under current conditions, as estimated by USGS, so they rise with new discoveries and higher prices and are not a fixed stock. "Years at current output" divides world reserves by world production in the latest year. It is a measure of how much is currently known, not a forecast of when a mineral runs out. Click a heading to sort.

Largest holder of reserves for each mineral, against its share of mining
MineralLargest reservesShare of reservesIts share of miningYears of reserves at current output
PalladiumSouth Africa83%37%399
PlatinumSouth Africa83%73%462
Phosphate rockMorocco68%14%292
Rare earthsChina52%69%219
CobaltDR Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo)50%74%39
NickelIndonesia48%67%33
MolybdenumChina46%37%65
ChromiumSouth Africa39%45%18
LeadAustralia36%11%21
PotashRussia36%20%115
ManganeseAustralia34%8%85
GraphiteChina32%78%172
Iron oreAustralia31%38%76
ZincAustralia27%8.5%18
AluminumGuinea26%not in top 25392
BauxiteGuinea26%34%66
LithiumChile25%19%128
TinIndonesia25%21%20
CopperRest of world21%not in top 2543
GoldAustralia20%8.5%20
SilverPeru18%14%23

USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025: world mine production and reserves by country. Years of reserves are shown only where reserves and production are on the same basis and both come from USGS. Reserve estimates for some minerals are rounded or withheld by USGS, so shares are approximate.

Source snapshot and downloads

Recreated from Commodity Origins' published derived reports under CC BY 4.0. Report figures retain the publisher's definitions, coverage and reporting years. Selection of underlying commodity rows in our commodity explorer is separate and may have different coverage. Source notes above identify the upstream data; no publisher endorsement is implied.

patterns.jsonanalysis.jsonanalysis-prices.jsonconsumption.jsontrade-flows.jsonimport-markets.jsonChecksums and provenance

Snapshot retrieved 2026-10-05. New source vintages require review and republication.

More patterns

ConcentrationHow much of each commodity comes from one country?Producer or exporter?Is the biggest producer also the biggest seller abroad?Prices in real termsWhich prices are records once inflation is removed?Growth and declineWhose output is rising or falling fastest?Linked prices and seasonsWhich prices move together, and which have a season?Supply concentrationWhich commodities depend on the fewest suppliers?Land or yield?Did output grow because farmers planted more or farmed better?Supply shocks and pricesWhen world output falls, do prices rise?Category price indicesHow have energy, metals and food prices moved since 1960?Drawdowns and volatilityHow far do prices fall, and do they recover?Stocks and pricesAre prices lower when the world holds more stock?Which prices follow oil?How closely does each commodity track crude oil?How reliable is the data?How much of world output rests on estimates?Net exporters and importersWho is a net seller and who a net buyer?Country leadersWhich countries lead across the most commodities?Export dependencyWhich countries rely on one commodity?Concentration over timeHas production spread out or narrowed?Import dependencyWhich countries buy most of a commodity from one supplier?Supplier shiftsWho gained and lost importers' business?Trade price against benchmarkDoes traded product sell above or below the benchmark price?Prices in other currenciesHow much of a price move is the dollar?Do prices lead each other?Does one commodity price move before another?Volatility over timeAre prices more volatile now than they used to be?SeasonalityWhich prices have a calendar-month pattern?Price ratiosWhat does one commodity buy of another, and is that high or low?El Niño and pricesDo El Niño and La Niña years move commodity prices?Who consumes itWhich countries consume each commodity, and how much per person?Self-sufficiencyWhich large markets depend on imports, and which produce far more than they use?Trade flowsWho sells each commodity to whom?