M. Garside
Research lead covering energy, chemicals & resources
Mining industry worldwide - statistics & facts
Numerous industries worldwide depend on the supply of mineral commodities from underground. The dependency of various high-tech-industries on rare earths is a recent issue – coal, on the other hand, is still one of the leading global energy resources. Consequently, the mining sector is pivotal to the world’s economy. The revenue of the top 40 global mining companies, which represent a vast majority of the whole industry amounted to a record 943 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. The net profit margin of the mining industry decreased from 25 percent in 2010 to 14 percent in 2022.
Leading mineral producing countries
In terms of volume, the most exploited commodities worldwide are iron ore, coal, potash, and copper. China, Indonesia, and India are the largest coal producing countries. China is also the third-largest producer of iron ore. Indeed, China is becoming the top mining country for many commodities, especially for the highly demanded rare earths, of which China produced70 percent of the global production in 2022. Additionally, China is the world’s leading gold mining country.Major mining companies
The mining industry’s leading companies based on market capitalization are Anglo-Australian BHP and Rio Tinto, followed by the Anglo-Swiss company Glencore, and Vale from Brazil. As of March 2023, BHP had a market capitalization of nearly 159 billion U.S. dollars. Measured by revenue, the top company active in mining worldwide was Glencore, generating some 256 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. However, a large share of Glencore’s revenue comes from commodity trading. In 2023, four of the world's ten leading mining companies based on revenue were based in the UK, while three were based in China.The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mining industry
The COVID-19 pandemic had a noteworthy impact on the global mining industry, as with nearly every industry. Mining companies and mine employees faced mine closures in line with some countries' lockdown regulations, outbreaks of the virus at work sites, and other issues during 2020 in relation to the pandemic. Overall, a notable decrease in the mine production of many mineral commodities was observed in 2020 compared to 2019 and 2021.
