This is a list of countries by mined copper production.
Copper ore can be exported to be smelted so that a nation's smelter production of copper can differ greatly from its mined production. See: List of countries by copper smelter production .
| Rank | Country/region | Production (× 1000 tons) [1] |
|---|---|---|
| — | World | 21,550 |
| 1 |  Chile | 5,000 |
| 2 |  Peru | 2,600 |
| 3 |  Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 2,500 |
| 4 |  China | 1,700 |
| 5 |  United States | 1,100 |
| 6 |  Russia | 910 |
| 7 |  Indonesia | 840 |
| 8 |  Australia | 810 |
| 9 |  Zambia | 760 |
| 10 |  Mexico | 750 |
| 11 |  Kazakhstan | 600 |
| 12 |  Canada | 480 |
| 13 |  Poland | 400 |
| — | Other Countries | 3,100 |
| Rank | Country/region | Production (× 1000 tons) [2] |
|---|---|---|
| — | World | 16,890 |
| 1 | Chile | 5,700 |
| 2 | Peru | 2,200 |
| 3 | China | 1,700 |
| 4 | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 1,300 |
| 5 | United States | 1,200 |
| 6 | Australia | 870 |
| 7 | Russia | 850 |
| 8 | Zambia | 830 |
| 9 | Mexico | 690 |
| 10 | Kazakhstan | 580 |
| 11 | Canada | 570 |
| 12 | Poland | 400 |
| — | Other Countries | 3300 |
| Rank | Country/region | Production (× 1000 tons) [3] [4] |
|---|---|---|
| — | World | 19,939 |
| 1 | Chile | 5,503 |
| 2 | Peru | 3,462 |
| 3 | China | 1,656 |
| 4 | United States | 1,260 |
| 5 | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 1,094 |
| 6 | Australia | 859 |
| 7 | Zambia | 797 |
| 8 | Mexico | 742 |
| 9 | Russia | 705 |
| 10 | Indonesia | 622 |
| 11 | Poland | 620 |
| 12 | Canada | 605 |
| 13 | Zambia | 540 |
| 14 |  Brazil | 419 |
| 15 |  Mongolia | 384 |
| 16 |  Iran | 314 |
| 17 |  Spain | 204 |
| 18 |  Laos | 153 |
| Rank | Country/region | Production (× 1000 tons) [5] |
|---|---|---|
| — | World | 19,100 |
| 1 | Chile | 5,760 |
| 2 | China | 1,710 |
| 3 | Peru | 1,700 |
| 4 | United States | 1,372 |
| 5 | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 1,020 |
| 6 | Australia | 971 |
| 7 | Russia | 732 |
| 8 | Zambia | 712 |
| 9 | Canada | 697 |
| 10 | Mexico | 594 |
| Other Countries | 3,800 |
| Rank | Country/region | Production (× 1000 tons) [6] |
|---|---|---|
| — | World | 723 |
| 1 | United States | 399 |
| 2 | Mexico | 61 |
| 3 | Spain and Portugal | 50 |
| 4 |  Japan | 50 |
| 5 |  Australasia | 42 |
| 6 | Chile | 27 |
| 7 |  Germany | 21 |
| 8 | Russia | 15 |
Coltan is a dull black metallic ore from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted. The niobium-dominant mineral in coltan is columbite, and the tantalum-dominant mineral is tantalite.
Copper extraction refers to the methods used to obtain copper from its ores. The conversion of copper ores consists of a series of physical, chemical, and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, local environmental regulations, and other factors.
Mining in Australia has long been a significant primary sector industry and contributor to the Australian economy by providing export income, royalty payments and employment. Historically, mining booms have also encouraged population growth via immigration to Australia, particularly the gold rushes of the 1850s. Many different ores, gems and minerals have been mined in the past and a wide variety are still mined throughout the country.
Mining in Iran is still under development, yet the country is one of the most important mineral producers in the world, ranked among 15 major mineral-rich countries, holding some 68 types of minerals, 37 billion tonnes of proven reserves and more than 57 billion tonnes of potential reserves worth $770 billion in 2014. Mineral production contributes only 0.6 percent to the country's GDP. Add other mining-related industries and this figure increases to just four percent (2005). Many factors have contributed to this, namely lack of suitable infrastructure, legal barriers, exploration difficulties, and government control.
Mining in South Africa was once the main driving force behind the history and development of Africa's most advanced and richest economy. Large-scale and profitable mining started with the discovery of a diamond on the banks of the Orange River in 1867 by Erasmus Jacobs and the subsequent discovery of the Kimberley pipes a few years later. Gold rushes to Pilgrim's Rest and Barberton were precursors to the biggest discovery of all, the Main Reef/Main Reef Leader on Gerhardus Oosthuizen's farm Langlaagte, Portion C, in 1886, which kicked off the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the subsequent rapid development of the gold field there.
Mining in Afghanistan was controlled by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, prior to the August 15th takeover by the Taliban. It is headquartered in Kabul with regional offices in other parts of the country. Afghanistan has over 1,400 mineral fields, containing barite, chromite, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, natural gas, petroleum, precious and semi-precious stones, salt, sulfur, lithium, talc, and zinc, among many other minerals. Gemstones include high-quality emeralds, lapis lazuli, red garnet and ruby. According to a joint study by The Pentagon and the United States Geological Survey, Afghanistan has an estimated US$1 trillion of untapped minerals.
The mineral industry of Russia is one of the world's leading mineral industries and accounts for a large percentage of the Commonwealth of Independent States' production of a range of mineral products, including metals, industrial minerals, and mineral fuels. In 2005, Russia ranked among the leading world producers or was a significant producer of a vast range of mineral commodities, including aluminum, arsenic, cement, copper, magnesium compounds and metals, nitrogen, palladium, silicon, nickel and vanadium.
Mining in Bolivia has been a dominant feature of the Bolivian economy as well as Bolivian politics since 1557. Colonial era silver mining in Bolivia, particularly in Potosí, played a critical role in the Spanish Empire and the global economy. Tin mining supplanted silver by the twentieth century and the central element of Bolivian mining, and wealthy tin barons played an important role in national politics until they were marginalized by the industry's nationalization into the Bolivian Mining Corporation that followed the 1952 revolution. Bolivian miners played a critical part to the country's organized labor movement from the 1940s to the 1980s.
Mining in the United States has been active since the beginning of colonial times, but became a major industry in the 19th century with a number of new mineral discoveries causing a series of mining rushes. In 2015, the value of coal, metals, and industrial minerals mined in the United States was US$109.6 billion. 158,000 workers were directly employed by the mining industry.
The following list creates a summary of the two major producers of different minerals.
Tin mining began early in the Bronze Age, as bronze is a copper-tin alloy. Tin is a relatively rare element in the Earth's crust, with approximately 2 ppm, compared to iron with 50,000 ppm.
This is a list of countries by titanium sponge production based on USGS figures. The production figures are for titanium sponge, units are in metric tons.
Zinc mining in the United States produced 780,000 tonnes of zinc in 2019, making it the world's fourth-largest zinc producer, after China, Australia, and Peru. Most US zinc came from the Red Dog mine in Alaska. The industry employed about 2,500 in mining and milling, and 250 in smelting.
The mining industry of Cyprus is synonymous with copper extraction which began around 4,000 BC. Copper dominates the mining sector along with mining of iron pyrite, gold, chromites and asbestos fibers, bentonite, cement, and also petroleum. Though at one time, copper was a mainstay of the economy, as of 2012, the mining sector does not contribute in a significant way to the GNP.
Bauxite has been mined in Indonesia since the Dutch colonial era.