Australia's Identified Mineral Resources 2025 World Rankings
Page last updated:26 February 2026
World Rankings
Australia’s EDR of gold, ilmenite, iron ore, lead, rutile, uranium, vanadium, zinc and zircon were the world’s largest in 2024 (Table 5). Another 14 commodities ranked in the top five for world economic resources: bauxite, black coal, brown coal, cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium, magnesite, manganese ore, nickel, rare earths, silver, tin and tungsten (Table 5). Australia’s ranking for economic resources of ilmenite rose from second in the world in 2023 to first in 2024 as economic resources in China were revised downwards and Australian resources slightly increased.
In 2024, Australia was the top global producer for iron ore and lithium as well as rutile which is an important source of titanium metal. Australia was the second largest producer of bauxite, lead and zircon; the third largest producer of gold, manganese ore, rare earths and zinc; the fourth largest producer of cobalt, ilmenite and uranium; and the fifth largest producer of black coal (Table 5). During 2024, Australia was a top five producer of 14 minerals and metals, of which seven are listed in Australia as Critical Minerals and two are listed as Strategic Materials, with the Australian mining industry continuing to be a reliable and responsible source of resource commodities.
Table 5
Table 5. World ranking for Australian Economic Resources and Australian production as at December 2024.
| Commodity | World Ranking for Economic Resources | Share of World Economic Resources | World Ranking for Production | Share of World Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antimony | 6 | 6% | 7 | 1% |
| Bauxite | 2 | 13% | 2 | 22% |
| Black Coal (recoverable) | 4 | 9% | 5 | 5% |
| Brown Coal (recoverable) | 2 | 23% | 8 | 3% |
| Chromium | minor | minor | none | 0% |
| Cobalt | 2 | 16% | 4 | 2% |
| Copper | 2 | 11% | 8 | 3% |
| Diamond | minor | minor | none | 0% |
| Fluorine | 8 | 2% | none | 0% |
| Gold | 1 | 20% | 3 | 9% |
| Graphite | 5 | 7% | none | 0% |
| High Purity Alumina Ore | unknown | unknown | none | 0% |
| Ilmenite | 1 | 51% | 4 | 4% |
| Iron Ore | 1 | 30% | 1 | 38% |
| Lead | 1 | 36% | 2 | 11% |
| Lithium | 2 | 28% | 1 | 43% |
| Magnesite | 4 | 5% | 7 | 2% |
| Manganese Ore | 4 | 9% | 3 | 6% |
| Molybdenum | 6 | 6% | minor | minor |
| Nickel | 2 | 19% | 7 | 3% |
| Niobium | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Phosphate | 13 | 1% | 11 | 1% |
| PGE | minor | minor | minor | minor |
| Potash | 12 | minor | none | 0% |
| Rare Earths | 3 | 8% | 3 | 8% |
| Rutile | 1 | 65% | 1 | 44% |
| Scandium | unknown | unknown | none | 0% |
| Silver | 3 | 13% | 9 | 4% |
| Tantalum | unknown | unknown | 7 | 2% |
| Thorium | n.a. | 0% | none | 0% |
| Tin | 2 | 16% | 8 | 4% |
| Tungsten | 2 | 12% | 7 | 1% |
| Uranium | 1 | 32% | 4 | 8% |
| Vanadium | 1 | 51% | none | 0% |
| Zinc | 1 | 27% | 3 | 9% |
| Zircon | 1 | 82% | 2 | 17% |
Abbreviations
PGE = platinum group elements (platinum, palladium, osmium, iridium, ruthenium, rhodium).
Notes
World rankings determined by comparing Australia’s EDR and production to economic resources and production reported for other countries (see sources below). Undocumented resources and production are not used in the comparisons.
Minor = <1% of global economic resources and/or production, therefore Australia’s ranking unable to be determined.
Unknown = Global economic resources are too opaque for comparisons (e.g., there are large, undocumented tantalum resources in the Congo) or Australian production is likely to have occurred during the year but quantities are not publicly available.
World economic resources and world production of black coal and brown coal based on 2023 data.
Uranium EDR based on Reasonably Assured Resources recoverable at costs of less than US$130/kg.
Sources
United States Geological Survey (Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025); World Nuclear Association (Uranium Production, Figures 2024); Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, Germany (Energy Data 2024).