The Global Flows of Metals and Minerals

By Donald G. Rogich and Grecia R. Matos

Open-File Report 2008–1355

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
ii

U.S. Department of the Interior

DIRK KEMPTHORNE, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

Mark D. Myers, Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2008

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Suggested citation:

Rogich, D.G., and Matos, G.R., 2008, The global flows of metals and minerals: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File 

Report 2008–1355, 11 p., available only online at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2008/1355/.
iii

Contents

Abstract...........................................................................................................................................................1

The Metals and Minerals Database ...........................................................................................................1

Trajectory of Global Metals and Minerals Flows......................................................................................3

Country Comparisons....................................................................................................................................5

Equity Consideration, per Capita Consumption, and Extraction/Consumption

Patterns..............................................................................................................................................5

Global Extraction and Consumption Patterns ...........................................................................................6

Use of Secondary Resources and Accretion in Stock ............................................................................7

Outputs.............................................................................................................................................................8

Future Studies...............................................................................................................................................10

Concluding Remarks....................................................................................................................................10

References Cited..........................................................................................................................................11

Figures

1. World gross domestic product and world population............................................................3

2. Global metals and minerals extraction.....................................................................................3

3. Global aluminum, copper, lead, and zinc consumption..........................................................3

4. Global iron and steel consumption............................................................................................3

5. Global chromium and nickel consumption...............................................................................4

6. Global extraction of toxic metals ...............................................................................................4

7. Cadmium consumption by country ............................................................................................4

8. Global extraction of fertilizer minerals......................................................................................4

9. Cement consumption of the world and China..........................................................................5

10. Finished steel consumption by country ....................................................................................5

11. Copper consumption by country. ...............................................................................................5

12. Aluminum consumption by country. ..........................................................................................5

13. Cement consumption by country. ..............................................................................................5

14. Finished steel consumption per capita by country. ................................................................6

15. Copper consumption per capita by country.............................................................................6

16. Aluminum consumption per capita by country........................................................................6

17. Cement consumption per capita by country............................................................................6

18. Consumption and extraction in the European Union group of 15 countries.......................7

19. Consumption and extraction in North America.......................................................................7

20. Consumption and extraction in South America.......................................................................8

21. Consumption and extraction in China .......................................................................................8

22. Consumption and extraction in China .......................................................................................9

23. Consumption and extraction in India.........................................................................................9

24. Graph illustrating calculated world metals recycling rates................................................10

25. Calculated world processing wastes for 12 selected mineral commodities....................10

26. Calculated world sulfur release from nonferrous smelting.................................................10
iv

Tables

1. Minerals and metals included in the global database ...........................................................2

2. Calculated world concentration and processing wastes for selected mineral 

commodities in 2004 .....................................................................................................................9
Abstract

This paper provides a preliminary review of the trends 

in worldwide metals and industrial minerals production and 

consumption based on newly developed global metals and 

minerals Material Flow Accounts (MFA). The MFA developed encompass data on extraction and consumption for 25 

metal and mineral commodities, on a country-by-country and 

year-by-year basis, for the period 1970 to 2004. The database, jointly developed by the authors, resides with the U.S. 

Geological Survey (USGS) as individual commodity Excel 

workbooks and within a Filemaker data management system 

for use in analysis.

Numerous national MFA have been developed to provide information on the industrial metabolism of individual 

countries. These MFA include material flows associated with 

the four commodity categories of goods that are inputs to a 

country’s economy, agriculture, forestry, metals and minerals, 

and nonrenewable organic material. In some cases, the material flows associated with the creation and maintenance of the 

built infrastructure (such as houses, buildings, roads, airports, 

dams, and so forth) were also examined. The creation of 

global metals and industrial minerals flows is viewed as a first 

step in the creation of comprehensive global MFA documenting the historical and current flows of all of the four categories 

of physical goods that support world economies.

Metals and minerals represent a major category of nonrenewable resources that humans extract from and return to the 

natural ecosystem. As human populations and economies have 

increased, metals and industrial minerals use has increased 

concomitantly. This dramatic growth in metals and minerals 

use has serious implications for both the availability of future 

resources and the health of the environment, which is affected 

by the outputs associated with their use. This paper provides 

an overview of a number of the trends observed by examining 

the database and suggests areas for future study.

The Metals and Minerals Database

The current metals and minerals database includes data 

on the extraction, processing, and consumption for 25 mineral 

commodities (2 construction materials, 12 industrial minerals, 

and 11 metals) (table 1). Extraction data were obtained from 

U.S. Bureau of Mines and the USGS Minerals Yearbooks, 

supplemented by information from USGS mineral commodity 

specialists, and the United Nations. Consumption data were 

obtained from a variety of sources, including publications 

from the British Geological Survey, Metallgeschellschaft, and 

the United Nations, along with information provided by the 

European Cement Association (Cembureau) and the International Fertilizer Institute. While extraction information is 

complete for all mineral commodities, consumption data were 

not available for several commodities. Available information 

permitted data to be included for almost 200 individual countries in the world. It is important to note that consumption data 

are for the first point of consumption; ultimate consumption 

in the form of manufactured products could be significantly 

different.

Data were initially compiled in Excel spreadsheets and 

subsequently loaded into the Filemaker relational database 

management system. Data quality for most countries

was felt to be fairly consistent for all commodities, with 

the exception of the large gravel and crushed stone, and

sand, silica, and quartz flows, which are considered less

reliable owing to underreporting by many developing 

countries.

One of the issues involved in the creation of the metals and minerals database, and probably global MFA for 

other groups of commodities, is the declining availability of 

data and restrictions on its use. As reported by the National 

Research Council, the need for more frequent and detailed 

analyses of some critical minerals is at present more acute 

due to the highly global nature of the mineral market and 

increased global competition for mineral resources (National 

Research Council, 2008, p. 172). Globally, metal and minerals 

information gathering and dissemination appear to be declining, resulting in a decrease in the coverage and availability 

of critical data. A recent report from the World Resources 

Institute also states that conventional economic accounts do 

not systematically track the movement of materials and energy 

into and out of the U.S. economy—from extraction to manufacturing, product use (and reuse or recycling), and eventual 

The Global Flows of Metals and Minerals

By Donald G. Rogich1 and Grecia R. Matos2

1

Retired from the U.S. Bureau of Mines as Division Chief of Mineral 

Commodities, 1995. Since then have served as a consultant on domestic and 

international material flows for a number of nonprofit, academic and government institutions.

 2

U.S. Geological Survey.
2 The Global Flows of Metals and Minerals

Table 1. Minerals and metals included in the global database.

[All data from 1970 through 2004, individually by country, in thousand metric tons]

Commodity Extraction and production data Consumption data

Construction materials

Gravel and crushed stone Extraction Consumption data not available.

Sand, silica, and quartz Extraction Consumption data not available.

Industrial minerals

Asbestos Extraction of asbestos units Consumption of asbestos units.

Bromine Extraction of bromine units Consumption of bromine units.

Cement Production Consumption.

Clay Extraction of bentonite, fullers earth, kaolin, 

and common clay

Consumption data not available.

Fluorspar Extraction of CaF2

 units Consumption of CaF2 units.

Gypsum Extraction of gypsum units Consumption data not available.

Nitrogen Extraction/production of nitrogen units Consumption as fertilizer of nitrogen 

units.

Phosphate Extraction of P2

O5 units, crude phosphate 

rock 

Consumption as fertilizer of P2O5 units.

Potash Extraction of K2

O units Consumption as fertilizer of K2O units.

Salt Extraction of salt units Consumption of salt units.

Soda ash Extraction NaCO3

 units Consumption data not available.

Sulfur Extraction/production pyrites, metallurgy, 

petroleum

Consumption of sulfur units.

Metals

Aluminum Extraction of bauxite units Consumption of primary, secondary, and 

total aluminum metal.

Arsenic Extraction of arsenic units Consumption of arsenic units.

Cadmium Extraction of cadmium units Consumption of cadmium units.

Chromium Extraction/production of chromite ore, 

ferrochromium

Consumption of chromium units.

Copper Extraction of copper units Consumption of copper units.

Gold Extraction of gold units Consumption data not available.

Iron and steel Extraction of iron ore, finished steel Consumption of finished steel.

Lead Extraction of lead units Consumption of lead units.

Mercury Extraction of mercury units Consumption of mercury units.

Nickel Extraction of nickel units Consumption of nickel units.

Zinc Extraction of zinc units Consumption of zinc units.

disposal. This failure makes it more difficult to gauge the full 

economic costs and benefits (including associated environmental consequences) of the energy and materials used to 

provide goods and services. As a result, public policies and 

private actions are based on an incomplete, perhaps seriously 

misguided, understanding of the true costs of production 

(World Resources Institute, 2008).

Moreover, a U.S. interagency working group on industrial 

ecology and materials and energy flows states that because 

the substitution of one material for another can take decades, 

long-term collection of a set of core statistics is critical to our 

understanding of materials cycles and shifts in both materials 

production and demand (U.S. Interagency Working Group on 

Industrial Ecology, Material, and Energy Flows, 1999). The 

reduced availability of public information sources impedes or 

prohibits data gathering and inhibits the creation of holistic 

MFA vital for policy considerations.
Trajectory of Global Metals and Minerals Flows 3

Trajectory of Global Metals and 

Minerals Flows

While the database permits the examination of individual 

metal and mineral commodities and countries singly or in any 

combination, this paper discusses only selected commodity 

and country examples to illustrate some of the analytic possibilities. The underlying factors driving the trends observed 

below are considered appropriate subjects for future study and 

no attempt has been made to do so comprehensively, other 

than to describe what has taken place.

During the 35-year period examined (1970-2004), world 

population and gross domestic product (GDP), as measured 

in constant 2000 U.S. dollars, increased by about 72 and 225 

percent, respectively (fig. 1).

Simultaneously, the global extraction of major metals 

grew by over 75 percent, industrial minerals by 53 percent, 

and construction materials by 106 percent (fig. 2). The authors 

observed that data for construction material extraction were 

not reported by some countries.

The global consumption of aluminum, copper, lead, and 

zinc during the 35-year period are shown individually (fig. 3). 

Aluminum consumption increased by more than three times, 

the most dramatic increase of the nonferrous metals, while 

copper and zinc consumption increased about twofold. Lead 

consumption increased the least during the period, about one 

and a half times.

Ferrous metals are used in the production of steel. Global 

consumption of steel (fig. 4) increased slowly until the late 

1990s, after which it started to increase rapidly to about one 

billion tons per year, about twice the 1974 level.

The leading use for chromium and nickel is in the 

production of stainless steel. Global chromium and nickel 

consumption (fig. 5) rates increased by factors of nearly 2 and 

0.75, respectively, similar to the rise in steel consumption; 

however, neither show the rapid increase in consumption that 

steel experienced from the late 1990s to 2004, largely due to 

the increased demand from China in recent years. It should be 

noted that the metals data shown include consumption from 

primary and secondary (metal recovered from scrap by remelting and refining) resources.

Toxic metals are of particular concern as their release into 

the environment, even in small quantities, can result in longterm negative impacts on living species. The global extraction of three metals considered to be toxic is shown in figure 

6. Arsenic data exhibited significant fluctuations during the 

period and perhaps an overall rise. The extraction of mercury 

declined significantly during the period, and cadmium extraction was relatively flat. Despite relative constant extraction 

of cadmium, the locations of extraction and initial consumption have shifted to where products containing cadmium are 

manufactured.

Comparing the United States with China, India, and 

Japan, figure 7 shows that U.S. consumption of cadmium 

has declined; Japanese consumption increased rapidly beginFIGURE 1

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP), 

 IN BILLION (2000) U. .S. DOLLARS

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

POPULATION, IN MILLIONS

GDP constant 2000 US$

Population

Figure 1. World gross domestic product (GDP) (constant 2000 

U.S. $) and world population. [Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 

International Database (2007), and The World Bank, World 

Development Indicators Database (2007).]

FIGURE 2

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

MILLION METRIC TONS

Construction materials

Industrial minerals

Metals

Figure 2. Global metals and minerals extraction.

FIGURE 3

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Aluminum Copper

Lead Zinc

Figure 3. Global aluminum, copper, lead, and zinc consumption.

FIGURE 4

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

MILLION METRIC TONS

Figure 4. Global iron and steel consumption (finished steel).
4 The Global Flows of Metals and Minerals

ning in 1985 and then declined rapidly after 1995. Chinese 

consumption was low until 1997, after which it grew rapidly. 

Where final consumption and consequent disposal take place 

might indicate an entirely different story because by 2005 

more than 80 percent of the cadmium used in the United States 

was contained in batteries, mostly in rechargeable nickelcadmium (NiCd) batteries used in popular consumer products 

such as cordless phones and power tools (Wilburn, 2007). 

What has apparently transpired is that while the United States 

has substantially cut back on the primary consumption of 

cadmium and the manufacture of associated products, imports 

of products containing cadmium, such as NiCd batteries, have 

increased. While we have avoided the health issues associated with manufacture, we still have a significant problem 

FIGURE 8

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Nitrogen

Phosphate

Potash

Figure 8. Global extraction of fertilizer minerals.

FIGURE 7

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

9.0

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

China

India

Japan

United States

Figure 7. Cadmium consumption by country.

FIGURE 5

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Chromium

Nickel

Figure 5. Global chromium and nickel consumption.

FIGURE 6

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Arsenic

Cadmium

Mercury

Figure 6. Global extraction of toxic metals.

with respect to the disposal of these products. The amount of 

cadmium metal contained in imported products in 2004 was 

estimated to be about 3,000 metric tons, or about three times 

the reported cadmium production in the United States from 

all primary and secondary sources. As much as 11 percent 

of this material was recycled, and the balance was placed in 

municipal solid waste landfills (Wilburn, 2007). The pattern 

of Japanese consumption reflects an intensive production of 

NiCd batteries to 1995, after which time the cadmium consumption decreased markedly as a result of a shift in production of nickel metal hydride batteries and lithium ion batteries, 

which have better performance and recharging capabilities.

Figure 8 displays the global extraction of the fertilizer 

minerals nitrogen (N), phosphate (P2O5), and potash (K2O) 

during the period 1970-2004. Extraction has been shown in 

lieu of consumption since the only consumption data available were for the use of these minerals as fertilizer, and it is 

estimated that this understates the total consumption of these 

commodities on the order of 10-20 percent. The growth in 

consumption of phosphate and potash was high early in the 

period and then remained essentially level from 1980 onward. 

Nitrogen extraction represents a dramatically different situation where 2004 extraction is roughly four times the amount in 

1970. This increase may be due more to an underreporting by 

China in the early years than to an actual increase 

(Kramer, D.A., U.S. Geological Survey, oral commun., 2008).

Construction materials (sand and crushed stone) represent 

the bulk of mineral commodities on the basis of weight. 

Cement, a derivative of these and other components, also 

represents a large manufactured material flow. Data on cement 

production and consumption most likely capture the vast 

majority of global cement production and consumption; data 

for gravel and crushed stone and sand, silica, and quartz are 

less complete. This is owing to the fact that in undeveloped 

countries, materials such as crushed stone and sand may never 

enter the formal economy and be captured by a minerals 

reporting system. If this supposition is correct, then the 

extraction and consumption of these minerals will accordingly 

be understated. The global consumption of cement rose 

fourfold during the period and now exceeds 2 billion tons per 

year; currently, China accounts for almost one half of this 

amount (fig. 9).
Equity Consideration, per Capita Consumption, and Extraction/Consumption Patterns 5

Country Comparisons

Figures 10–13 display the consumption trends for 

selected commodities for China, the European Union group 

of 15 countries (EU-15), India, the Republic of Korea, and 

the United States. These graphs show the dramatic rise in 

consumption in China as its economy developed. This trend 

stands in contrast with the rather slower and intermittent 

growth of the United States and EU-15 where a higher stage 

of development was achieved earlier. While consumption 

of steel, copper, aluminum, and cement in China increased 

modestly from 1970 to about 1995, subsequent to that period, 

consumption grew very rapidly. Currently, China consumes 

about one-half of the world’s annual production of cement and 

25 percent of the world’s steel. While the growth in consumption of these commodities was also high for India and the 

Republic of Korea, the absolute quantities consumed are small 

compared with China.

Equity Consideration, per Capita 

Consumption, and Extraction/

Consumption Patterns

An examination of the rates of consumption per capita 

provides a somewhat different picture than that portrayed by 

considering absolute material flows. Per capita consumption 

rates for aluminum, copper, steel, and cement were examined 

for China, the EU-15, India, the Republic of Korea, the United 

States, and the world as a whole for the period 1970–2004 

(figs. 14–17). The first observation in the per capita analysis is 

the rapid increase in per capita consumption of these commodities by the Republic of Korea. High growth rates existed 

for all four commodities due to rapid industrialization up until 

the Asian financial crisis at the end of 1997. The economy of 

the Republic of Korea focused on heavy industry and automotive production during the 1970s and 1980s, which required 

intensive use of steel, copper, and aluminum. Later, the 

electronics, telecommunications, motor vehicle, shipbuilding, 

FIGURE 9

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

MILLION METRIC TONS

World

China

Figure 9. Cement consumption of the world and China.

FIGURE 10

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

MILLION METRIC TONS

China EU-15

India Republic of Korea

United States World

Figure 10. Finished steel consumption by country.

FIGURE 11

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

China EU-15

India Republic of Korea

United States World

Figure 11. Copper consumption by country.

FIGURE 12

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

China EU-15

India Republic of Korea

United States World

Figure 12. Aluminum consumption by country.

FIGURE 13

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

MILLION METRIC TONS

China EU-15

India Republic of Korea

United States

0

Figure 13. Cement consumption by country.
6 The Global Flows of Metals and Minerals

FIGURE 14

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

METRIC TONS PER PEOPLE

China EU-15

India Republic of Korea

United States World

1,000

Figure 14. Finished steel consumption per capita by country.

FIGURE 15

0

5

10

15

20

25

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

METRIC TONS PER 1,000 PEOPLE

China EU-15

India Republic of Korea

United States World

Figure 15. Copper consumption per capita by country.

FIGURE 16

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

METRIC TONS PER 1,000 PEOPLE

China EU-15

India Republic of Korea

United States World

Figure 16. Aluminum consumption per capita by country.

FIGURE 17

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

METRIC TONS PER 1,000 PEOPLE

China EU-15

India Republic of Korea

United States World

Figure 17. Cement consumption per capita by country.

mining and manufacturing, petrochemical, industrial machinery, and steel industries expanded, with the Republic of Korea 

surpassing every country in the consumption per capita of steel 

and copper and exceeding all but the United States in the per 

capita consumption of aluminum (U.S. Central Intelligence 

Agency, 2008). Cement production was an important industry 

during the Republic of Korea’s period of rapid growth, mainly 

owing to strong domestic demand by the construction industry 

(fig. 17).

For the metals, it can be seen that the Chinese per capita 

rate of consumption has grown considerably faster than that 

of India but is still considerably lower than that of the United 

States and the EU-15. China’s consumption per capita of each 

of the three metals by 2004 approaches, or exceeds, the worldwide average. For cement, China now has a higher per capita 

consumption than that of the EU-15 and the United States. 

Comparing the EU-15 and the United States shows that steel 

consumption per capita in the United States declined slightly 

during the period while that for the EU-15 countries increased 

slightly. With respect to copper, the EU-15 consumption per 

capita now exceeds that for the United States. Aluminum per 

capita consumption rates for the United States and the EU-15 

both grew during the period, but the United States rate of 

per capita aluminum consumption remained higher than that 

of the EU-15. Cement per capita consumption in the EU-15 

remained higher than that in the United States, although the 

gap appears to be closing somewhat. Overall, global per capita 

cement consumption rose considerably, driven to a large 

degree by China and India.

In general, a considerable gap continues to exist between 

the per capita consumption of developed countries, such as the 

EU-15 and the United States, and the world as a whole. While 

GDP grew by about 225 percent, as mentioned previously, the 

gap in the per capita consumption rates between the developed 

and developing countries, as far as the main metal inputs to 

economies is concerned, does not appear to have closed. Additionally, it is important to reiterate that the metal consumption 

discussed is the first point of use in the economic system. 

While much of the steel and almost all of the cement consumption goes to the creation of the built infrastructure within 

the consuming country, significant portions of the copper and 

aluminum consumed end up in manufactured goods, many of 

which are ultimately used and disposed of in other countries. 

An example of this is the final consumption of automobiles in 

the United States and NiCd batteries as previously discussed.

Global Extraction and Consumption 

Patterns

During the period examined, there appears to have been 

a marked shift in where metal and mineral commodities 

are extracted and where they are consumed. Figures 18–23 

examine the extraction and consumption pattern for base 
Use of Secondary Resources and Accretion in Stock 7

FIGURE 18-C

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Consumption

Extraction

C

Figure 18. Consumption and extraction in the European Union 

group of 15 countries (EU-15). A, Base metals. B, Iron and steel. C, 

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK).

FIGURE 18-A

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Consumption

Extraction

A

FIGURE 18-B

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Consumption

Extraction

B

FIGURE 19-B

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

180,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Consumption

Extraction

B FIGURE 19-C

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

45,000

50,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Consumption

Extraction

C

FIGURE 19-A

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

20,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Consumption

Extraction

A

Figure 19. Consumption and extraction in North America. A, 

Base metals. B, Iron and steel. C, Nitrogen, phosphorus, and 

potassium (NPK).

metals (aluminum, copper, lead, and zinc), iron and steel, and 

the fertilizer minerals (nitrogen, phosphate, and potash) for six 

countries/regions of the world. In North America (Canada, the 

United States, and Mexico) and the EU-15, the gap between 

consumption and extraction of base metals and iron and steel 

is widening—more material is consumed than extracted. This 

relationship is different for the fertilizer minerals. Extraction 

and consumption are nearly equal in the EU-15, and in 

North America, more fertilizer minerals are extracted than 

consumed. For Japan and the Republic of Korea combined, 

consumption of each of the three commodity groups is greater 

than extraction. China exhibits increasing consumption versus 

extraction relative to the two metal categories and nearly equal 

extraction and consumption of fertilizer minerals. The trends 

for India are the inverse of most other examples—greater 

extraction than consumption of the metal categories and a 

widening gap between consumption and extraction of fertilizer 

minerals. The South American countries, along with other 

regions not examined in this paper, are playing a major role 

in filling the consumption/extraction gap for the two metal 

categories in the developed countries and increasingly in 

China. Because the ancillary outputs associated with the 

extraction and initial processing of commodities can create 

considerable environmental impacts, particularly where 

the most advanced technology is not employed; the trends 

observed raise concerns about the environmental pressures in 

the extractive regions.

Use of Secondary Resources and 

Accretion in Stock

Metal and mineral commodities are nonrenewable 

resources, and therefore their total availability, while not 

readily definable, is finite. In this context, mechanisms that 

serve to reuse or recycle these materials increase long-term 

sustainability. Figure 24 displays the estimated percentage 

of world steel, aluminum, copper, and lead obtained from 

secondary sources. This percentage was obtained by calculating the difference between the global extracted metal content 
8 The Global Flows of Metals and Minerals FIGURE 20-A

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Consumption

Extraction

A FIGURE 20-B

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Consumption

Extraction

B FIGURE 21-C

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Consumption

Extraction

C

Figure 20. Consumption and extraction in South America. A, 

Base metals. B, Iron and steel. C, Nitrogen, phosphorus, and 

potassium (NPK).

FIGURE 21-A

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Consumption

Extraction

A

Figure 21. Consumption and extraction in Japan and the 

Republic of Korea. A, Base metals. B, Iron and steel. C, Nitrogen, 

phosphorus, and potassium (NPK).

FIGURE 21-B

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Consumption

Extraction

B FIGURE 21-C

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Consumption

Extraction

C

of steel, aluminum, copper, and lead and world consumption 

for individual years. Except for lead, used predominantly in 

lead acid batteries for which well-organized collection and 

recycling procedures have been established, the trends are not 

particularly encouraging. Although, steel recycling appears to 

be increasing from a plateau of less than 20 percent, the use of 

secondary copper currently appears to be only a little greater 

than 10 percent by 2004, and aluminum recycling rates ranged 

between 20 and 30 percent during the entire period.

Increasing the use of secondary resources represents a 

considerable challenge with respect to nonrenewable metal 

and industrial mineral resources. Although large amounts of 

construction minerals, including sand, gravel, and crushed 

stone, are consumed, they are relatively plentiful in most 

regions and therefore only small amounts are reused. A number of mineral commodities, such as fertilizer minerals, salt, 

and other industrial minerals, are used in a dissipative manner 

such that recycling is impossible. A large percentage of the 

metals commodity flow ends up in addition to the built infrastructure where they remain with the current design of most 

products for a long time, before they are available for reuse. 

Some metal flows end up in complex products that inhibit 

recycling. As populations and the supporting infrastructure 

increase, the amount of material tied up in these applications is 

likely to increase.

Outputs

Outputs (releases) to the environment take place at every 

stage of metal and mineral extraction, processing, use, and 

disposal where they cause environmental disturbance and, in 

a number of cases, severe impacts. Unless recycled, all metal 

and mineral flows, except those that become part of a longterm built infrastructure, ultimately exit the economy either 

rapidly, as in the case of fertilizer and chemicals, or after a 

period of time, for those uses associated with durable consumer goods. Because, on a tonnage basis, the largest flows 

are those associated with construction of long-term infrastructure, the percentage of commodity inputs that exit quickly to 

the environment is small. In 2000, the percentage of metals 

and minerals inputs that exited the U.S. economy after less 
Outputs 9 FIGURE 22-A

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Consumption

Extraction

A

Figure 22. Consumption and extraction in China. A, Base metals. 

B, Iron and steel. C, Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK).

FIGURE 22-B

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Consumption

Extraction

B FIGURE 22-C

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

45,000

50,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Consumption

Extraction

C

FIGURE 23-A

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Consumption

Extraction

A FIGURE 23-B

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Consumption

Extraction

B

Figure 23. Consumption and extraction in India. A, Base metals. 

B, Iron and steel. C, Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK).

FIGURE 23-C

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

20,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS

Consumption

Extraction

C

than 30 years in use was estimated to be about 10 percent 

(World Resources Institute, 2000).

Commodity flows represent only a portion of the material 

mobilized as part of the minerals cycle. The ancillary, or hidden, material flows associated with extraction, concentration, 

and processing constitute far greater quantities than the commodities for many commodity flows. These ancillary flows are 

comprised of the overburden removed during mining and quarrying and the nonvalue minerals and materials separated from 

the product during the concentration and processing stages. 

Estimates of the amount of overburden or mine rock removed 

to gain access to the mineralized material are very site specific 

and estimating worldwide quantities would be extremely tenuous. A calculation of concentration and processing waste can 

be made based on estimates of worldwide average grade data. 

Table 2 provides estimates of the concentration and processing 

wastes associated with 12 metal and mineral commodities in 

2004. While there is considerable variation from one commodity to another, the quantity of waste for all the commodities 

was calculated to be about four times the weight of the mineral 

commodities extracted, excluding overburden removal. It 

Table 2. Calculated world concentration and processing 

wastes for selected mineral commodities in 2004.

[In thousand metric tons]

Commodities 2004

 Aluminum ................................................................. 129,100 

 Asbestos.................................................................... 61,770 

 Chromium ................................................................. 938 

 Copper....................................................................... 1,607,622 

 Fluorspar ................................................................... 14,113 

 Gold........................................................................... 485,998 

 Iron............................................................................ 602,372 

 Lead........................................................................... 126,473 

 Mercury..................................................................... 254 

 Nickel........................................................................ 68,110 

 Phosphate .................................................................. 96,400 

 Zinc ........................................................................... 170,175

Total processing waste ........................................... 3,372,325
10 The Global Flows of Metals and Minerals

FIGURE 24

(10)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

RECYCLING RATE, IN PERCENT

Aluminum Copper

Lead Iron and steel

Figure 24. Graph illustrating calculated world metals recycling 

rates.

Figure 25. Calculated world processing wastes for 12 selected 

mineral commodities.

FIGURE 25

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

MILLION METRIC TONS

Total processing waste

Total extraction

Figure 26. Calculated world sulfur release from nonferrous 

smelting, excluding nickel sulfide ores.

FIGURE 26

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

YEARS

THOUSAND METRIC TONS OF SULFUR

also exceeded 3 billion tons globally that year, a significant 

quantity considering that much of this waste is far from benign 

in its potential effects on the environment, including human 

health. Figure 25 displays the relationship between commodity 

extraction and waste flows over time. The waste flow increases 

faster than the commodity extraction during the period displayed, owing mainly to declining ore grades.

One of the processing wastes historically shown to create 

significant environmental impacts is the sulfur released during 

the processing of nonferrous ores. Based on a calculation of 

the sulfur contained in the principal copper, lead, and zinc ores 

and on data on the global quantities of sulfur captured from 

metallurgical operations, a rough calculation of the amounts 

released to the environment can be made. While admittedly 

imprecise, the increasing percentage of sulfur captured during 

the period is encouraging (fig. 26).

Future Studies

This paper illustrates the type of information that can be 

gleaned from the global metal and industrial minerals MFA 

and highlights some of the trends observed. Investigating the 

factors driving the trends discussed will help identify causation and assess possible future trajectories.

For certain critical commodities, there is clearly a need to 

evaluate the current trends in relation to sustainability. Additionally, what are the global environmental implications of the 

material trends observed? China is already suffering severe 

pollution problems resulting from the vast material flows it has 

mobilized and some of these have overflowed its boundaries 

(New York Times, 2007). Additionally, further investigation of 

globalization, the transfer of goods and burdens, and the relationship of individual countries within the global framework 

will help determine the relationships between physical flows, 

economic growth, and individual well-being.

Future maintenance of the metal and minerals database is 

important, and the addition of other commodities, particularly 

those associated with alternative energy and high-tech applications, will enhance the utility of this database. Most importantly, the creation of a comprehensive global MFA would 

encompass all the agricultural, forestry, and nonrenewable 

organic material flows, in addition to the metal and mineral 

flows developed to date. While global economic accounts are 

well developed, we live in a physical world in which physical 

material accounts will permit understanding of the limits and 

opportunities of the Earth.

Concluding Remarks

Global flows of almost all of the metal and industrial 

mineral commodities examined increased considerably during 

the time period. The continuation of these trends is problematic from a long-term perspective and, on a commodity-bycommodity basis; it could eventually be slowed by issues of 

scarcity or unacceptable environmental impacts associated 

with the use and outputs of the commodity. Simultaneously, 

several other trends are evident from the data. The first is 

that global equity, as implied by commodity consumption per 

capita, does not appear to have improved, in spite of the rising 

material flows. Secondly, the environmental burden associated with extraction and processing seems to be increasingly 

borne by the lesser developed countries. These trends combine 

to create a situation that is not sustainable for the long term, 

unless we are able to increase recycling, reuse, and remanufac-
References Cited 11

turing; significantly reduce the amount of materials used; or 

reduce environmental releases. If populations continue to grow 

as expected, the creation of new industrial models may help to 

increase recycling inputs and decrease outputs.

Finally, examining the material flows associated with 

metals and minerals tells only part of the story; thus, compiling the material flows associated with the other major commodity groups in a similar fashion may be a useful undertaking. In a finite world, a holistic and detailed understanding of 

the physical flows of the materials mobilized and transformed 

will be helpful to the creation and maintenance of a sustainable industrial economy.

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