Which big buyers lean on a single supplier for critical minerals?

In 2024, one origin supplied more than 65% of the value of the European Union's imports on 9 of 34 critical-mineral customs lines (antimony, bismuth, boron, feldspar, lithium, magnesium, niobium, rare earths, uranium). The same test is met on 9 of 34 lines for the United States, 12 of 31 for Japan, 11 of 33 for India and 11 of 29 for South Korea.

The 65% figure comes from the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act, which sets a benchmark that no more than 65% of the Union's annual consumption of each strategic raw material, at any relevant processing stage, should come from a single third country. This table is not that test. It uses customs records of imports, by value, for one product line per mineral, so it leaves out domestic production, recycling and stocks, and it shows where goods were shipped from, which can be a trader or processor rather than the mine. It is a view of where each market's imports lean on one source. For the EU, imports from the other 26 members are excluded.

Largest origin and its share of imports by value, by mineral and importing market
Mineral and customs line	European Union	United States	Japan	India	South Korea
Aluminum HS 7601	24% Norway	68% ▲ Canada	19% United Arab Emirates	33% Malaysia	25% Australia
Antimony HS 261710	86% ▲ Turkey (Türkiye)	58% Mexico	—	32% Tajikistan	—
Barite HS 251110	45% China	23% India	95% ▲ China	64% China	95% ▲ China
Bauxite HS 2606	63% Guinea	32% Jamaica	71% ▲ China	79% ▲ Guinea	71% ▲ Australia
Beryllium HS 811212	—	100% ▲ Kazakhstan	—	—	—
Bismuth HS 810610	95% ▲ China	64% South Korea	73% ▲ China	93% ▲ China	—
Boron HS 284019	92% ▲ Turkey (Türkiye)	97% ▲ Turkey (Türkiye)	63% United States	55% Turkey (Türkiye)	65% ▲ Turkey (Türkiye)
Chromium HS 2610	50% South Africa	94% ▲ South Africa	65% Pakistan	90% ▲ South Africa	64% South Africa
Cobalt HS 810520	24% United States	27% Norway	39% Finland	22% United States	39% DR Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Copper HS 2603	30% Brazil	—	40% Chile	34% Chile	29% Chile
Feldspar HS 252910	88% ▲ Turkey (Türkiye)	63% Turkey (Türkiye)	38% South Korea	98% ▲ South Africa	48% China
Fluorspar HS 252922	50% South Africa	81% ▲ Mexico	73% ▲ China	51% South Africa	—
Graphite HS 2504	37% China	51% China	87% ▲ China	39% Madagascar	93% ▲ China
Iridium HS 711041	37% United Kingdom	51% South Africa	67% ▲ South Africa	42% Hong Kong	52% Germany
Lead HS 7801	52% United Kingdom	36% Canada	26% Australia	27% South Korea	67% ▲ India
Lithium HS 283691	80% ▲ Chile	57% Chile	50% Chile	31% United States	75% ▲ Chile
Magnesium HS 810411	83% ▲ China	64% Israel	98% ▲ China	99% ▲ China	100% ▲ China
Manganese HS 2602	56% South Africa	70% ▲ Gabon	60% South Africa	55% South Africa	54% South Africa
Nickel HS 7502	37% Norway	50% Canada	54% Australia	19% Japan	23% Madagascar
Niobium HS 720293	83% ▲ Brazil	58% Brazil	97% ▲ Brazil	58% Brazil	92% ▲ Brazil
Palladium HS 711021	25% United Kingdom	45% Russia	40% South Africa	66% ▲ United Kingdom	35% South Africa
Phosphate rock HS 2510	29% Morocco	100% ▲ Peru	46% South Africa	39% Jordan	36% Morocco
Platinum HS 711011	41% South Africa	39% South Africa	79% ▲ South Africa	67% ▲ United Arab Emirates	47% South Africa
Potash HS 3104	34% Canada	81% ▲ Canada	42% Canada	30% Canada	57% Canada
Rare earths HS 2805	87% ▲ China	54% China	58% Vietnam	75% ▲ China	90% ▲ China
Rhodium HS 711031	50% South Africa	33% United Kingdom	68% ▲ South Africa	54% South Africa	45% South Africa
Silicon HS 280469	43% Norway	43% Brazil	67% ▲ China	89% ▲ China	84% ▲ China
Silver HS 7106	37% Switzerland	45% Mexico	65% ▲ South Korea	42% United Kingdom	39% United States
Tin HS 8001	31% Bolivia	54% Peru	20% Malaysia	77% ▲ Indonesia	40% Indonesia
Titanium HS 261400	49% South Africa	41% South Africa	46% Canada	25% Mozambique	35% Norway
Tungsten HS 261100	49% Bolivia	52% Bolivia	—	—	—
Uranium HS 261210	91% ▲ Namibia	82% ▲ Australia	—	100% ▲ Uzbekistan	—
Vanadium HS 720292	43% South Korea	38% Canada	58% China	47% South Korea	73% ▲ China
Zinc HS 7901	46% Norway	64% Canada	28% Peru	56% South Korea	37% Spain
Zirconium HS 261510	31% South Africa	44% South Africa	59% Australia	28% Australia	45% South Africa

CEPII BACI (bilateral trade by customs line), 2024: imports by value on each mineral's primary customs line (the line named on its commodity page). ▲ marks a largest-origin share above 65%. A dash means the market imported less than USD 1 million on that line, or the line is not recorded. Customs data can misstate origin when goods are transshipped, and a small import value makes a share volatile. The Critical Raw Materials Act is Regulation (EU) 2024/1252.

More patterns

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Producer or exporter?: Is the biggest producer also the biggest seller abroad?
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Category price indices: How have energy, metals and food prices moved since 1960?
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Stocks and prices: Are prices lower when the world holds more stock?
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El Niño and prices: Do El Niño and La Niña years move commodity prices?
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Self-sufficiency: Which large markets depend on imports, and which produce far more than they use?
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Every figure is computed from the same tables as the commodity pages. The full set is in patterns.json, and single facts from it appear each day on the facts page.