Metal Chain™
Where does the world's metal come from, and where does it go? Follow each metal from extraction through processing to the products and industries that depend on it — every figure sourced. Each stage records the single country that dominates it, whether that's mine output, refining capacity or end-use manufacturing, so a chain that looks balanced at a glance can still hide a real chokepoint underneath. The chart and table below line every metal up side by side, extraction against processing, so the biggest gaps are easy to spot. How this works →
Where Each Metal's Chain Is Most Concentrated
Top country's share of mine production vs. top country's share of processing/refining capacity, for every metal with a mapped chain. A tall gap between the two bars is exactly what this site calls the "bottleneck" on each metal's own page.
Extraction vs. Processing Concentration, by Metal
The same two figures behind the chart above, in table form — each metal's top mining country's share and top processing country's share of world output.
| Metal | Top Extraction Country % | Top Processing Country % |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | 11.5% | 67.0% |
| Silver | 24.2% | 20.0% |
| Platinum | 70.6% | 70.0% |
| Palladium | 44.2% | 40.0% |
| Copper | 48.3% | 50.0% |
| Cobalt | 74.2% | 79.0% |
| Iron Ore | 37.7% | 52.0% |
| Lead | 42.2% | 59.0% |
| Lithium | 31.7% | 70.0% |
| Molybdenum | 37.3% | 48.5% |
| Nickel | 66.7% | 37.0% |
| Tin | 24.5% | 31.0% |
| Zinc | 31.5% | 48.0% |
