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MineralLink

Other critical minerals

Magnesium (Mg)

Magnesite for refractories; magnesium metal for lightweight alloys and aluminium alloys.

Open in the explorer
Atomic number
12
Period · group
3 · 2
Block
s-block

Why it is critical

Magnesium metal production is highly concentrated.

Who trades magnesite

$113 m of magnesite products crossed borders in 2024: ores and concentrates $113 m.

Largest exporters

  1. 1China$62 m55%
  2. 2Spain$15 m13%
  3. 3Türkiye$9 m8%
  4. 4Poland$3 m2%
  5. 5Slovakia$3 m2%
  6. 6South Africa$2 m2%
  7. 7Guatemala$2 m2%
  8. 8Germany$2 m2%

Largest importers

  1. 1Indonesia$43 m38%
  2. 2Japan$8 m7%
  3. 3France$5 m4%
  4. 4Netherlands$5 m4%
  5. 5Ireland$4 m4%
  6. 6Italy$4 m3%
  7. 7Malaysia$3 m3%
  8. 8Poland$3 m3%

Trade values in current US dollars (ores, concentrates, intermediates, chemicals and refined metal), not prices. Source: CEPII BACI (HS22), Etalab Open Licence 2.0 — details.