Visualized: Top 3 Countries in the Strategic Mineral Supply Chain

What We're Showing 

For this graphic, Visual Capitalist partnered with Appian Capital Advisory to provide visual context to the top countries for reserves, production, and processing of minerals that are vital to the energy transition. Using data from the USGS and the IEA, these trends are analyzed across four minerals: lithium, cobalt, natural graphite, and rare earths. 

Key Takeaways

• Overwhelmingly, China is the main hub for processing critical minerals across the board.
• Mine production is also fairly condensed, representing a potential risk to supply chain stability. For each mineral, over half of production occurs in a single country. 
• Expanding the global supply chain for minerals critical for the clean energy transition will require investing in new mining projects, particularly in countries with high reserves but low production and processing rates.