Mining
Where the World’s Aluminum is Smelted, by Country
See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.
Aluminum Smelter Production in 2023
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
This infographic shows estimated aluminum smelter production by country in 2023, based on data from the most recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries, published in January 2024 .
From this data, we can see that China leads as the top producer, accounting for nearly 60% of the world’s smelter capacity. Its neighbor India is the second-largest producer, making only a tenth of China’s output.
| Country | 2023 Aluminum Smelter Production (tonnes) | % of total |
|---|---|---|
| 🇨🇳 China | 41,000,000 | 59% |
| 🇮🇳 India | 4,100,000 | 6% |
| 🇷🇺 Russia | 3,800,000 | 5% |
| 🇨🇦 Canada | 3,000,000 | 4% |
| 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | 2,700,000 | 4% |
| 🇧🇭 Bahrain | 1,600,000 | 2% |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | 1,500,000 | 2% |
| 🇳🇴 Norway | 1,300,000 | 2% |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | 1,100,000 | 2% |
| 🌍 Rest of the World | 9,460,000 | 14% |
| Total | 69,560,000 | 100% |
Responsible for 5% of global aluminum output, Russia has been targeted by recent sanctions from the U.S. and the UK.
The sanctions include prohibiting metal-trading exchanges from accepting new aluminum produced by Russia and barring the import of the Russian metal into the U.S. and Britain. The actions are aimed at disrupting Russian export revenue amid Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The World’s Most Common Metal
Aluminum is the primary material used for making cans, foil, and many other products. It originates from bauxites, rocks composed of aluminum oxides, and various minerals.
Approximately 25% of annually produced aluminum is utilized by the construction industry, while another 23% is allocated to vehicle frames, wires, wheels, and other components within the transportation sector. Aluminum foil, cans, and packaging constitute another significant end-use category, accounting for 17% of consumption.
Despite its extensive use, aluminum is still plentiful. Aluminum is the world’s most common metal by crustal abundance, making up 8.2% of the Earth’s crust.
According to the USGS, global resources of bauxite are estimated to be between 55 billion and 75 billion tonnes and are sufficient to meet world demand for metal well into the future.
Batteries
Ranked: The World’s Largest Lithium Producers in 2023
Three countries account for almost 90% of the lithium produced in the world.
The World’s Largest Lithium Producers in 2023
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Three countries—Australia, Chile, and China—accounted for 88% of lithium production in 2023.
In this graphic, we list the world’s leading countries in terms of lithium production. These figures come from the latest USGS publication on lithium statistics (published Jan 2024).
Australia Leads, China Approaches Chile
Australia, the world’s leading producer, extracts lithium directly from hard-rock mines, specifically from the mineral spodumene.
The country saw a big jump in output over the last decade. In 2013, Australia produced 13,000 metric tons of lithium, compared to 86,000 metric tons in 2023.
| Rank | Country | Lithium production 2023E (metric tons) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇦🇺 Australia | 86,000 |
| 2 | 🇨🇱 Chile | 44,000 |
| 3 | 🇨🇳 China | 33,000 |
| 4 | 🇦🇷 Argentina | 9,600 |
| 5 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 4,900 |
| 6 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 3,400 |
| 7 | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | 3,400 |
| 8 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 380 |
| 🌍 World Total | 184,680 |
Chile is second in rank but with more modest growth. Chilean production rose from 13,500 tonnes in 2013 to 44,000 metric tons in 2023. Contrary to Australia, the South American country extracts lithium from brine.
China, which also produces lithium from brine, has been approaching Chile over the years. The country increased its domestic production from 4,000 metric tons in 2013 to 33,000 last year.
Chinese companies have also increased their ownership shares in lithium producers around the globe; three Chinese companies are also among the top lithium mining companies. The biggest, Tianqi Lithium, has a significant stake in Greenbushes, the world’s biggest hard-rock lithium mine in Australia.
Argentina, the fourth country on our list, more than tripled its production over the last decade and has received investments from other countries to increase its output.
With all the top producers increasing output to cover the demand from the clean energy industry, especially for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, the lithium market has seen a surplus recently, which caused prices to collapse by more than 80% from a late-2022 record high.
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