All the Metals the World Mines in a Year, Visualized

By Bruno Venditti – Visual Capitalist

From skyscrapers and bridges to electric vehicles and smartphones, modern economies depend on metals extracted from the ground. But the quantities produced each year vary enormously, from billions of tonnes of iron ore to just a few dozen tonnes of specialized metals.

This visualization compares estimated 2025 production across 35 metal-related commodities, revealing the vast quantities needed for global infrastructure alongside the much smaller volumes used in electronics, batteries, and other advanced technologies.