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Battery critical minerals supply

Where lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel and manganese are mined and held in reserve, and how much of each the U.S. imports.

Last refreshed: 2026-11-03Grid storage data: Sep 2026
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Critical minerals supply

Where the world's lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel and manganese are mined and held in reserve, and how much the U.S. imports.

World lithium mine production

metric tons of lithium, excl. U.S. · 2025

290.0K

▲ 30.6% vs. year ago

U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, source

World lithium mine production

Thousand metric tons of contained lithium per year, by country, excluding U.S. output (withheld by the USGS); each year from the latest Mineral Commodity Summaries that reports it

  • Australia
  • Chile
  • China
  • Argentina
  • Rest of world
View data table

U.S. import reliance

Net imports as a share of apparent U.S. consumption in 2025 (USGS estimate; ">50%" where USGS withholds the exact figure), and the main sources of U.S. imports, 2021–24.

MineralNet import relianceMain import sources
Lithium>50%Chile 54%, Argentina 43%
Cobalt79%Norway 26%, Finland 16%, Canada 14%, Japan 14% (metal, oxide, and salts)
Natural graphite100%China 46%, Canada 13%, Mozambique 13%, Mexico 12%
Nickel41%Canada 44%, Norway 11%, Australia 8%, Brazil 7% (primary nickel)
Manganese100%Gabon 64%, South Africa 24%, Mexico 12% (manganese ore)

U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, data release

Who mines and refines battery minerals

The largest producing country and the top three countries' share of world supply in 2025, the IEA's base-case projection for 2035, and the U.S. share where the IEA reports it.

MineralLargest producer, 2025Top 3 share, 2025Top 3 share, 2035U.S. share, 2025 → 2035
Lithium, refinedChina 74%95%86%0.4% → 3.5%
Nickel, refinedIndonesia 45%80%81%—
Cobalt, refinedChina 76%87%87%—
Battery-grade graphiteChina 94%99%96%0.6% → 0.3%
Lithium, minedAustralia 34%75%68%—
Nickel, minedIndonesia 63%79%83%—
Cobalt, minedDR Congo 66%83%81%—

IEA, Critical Minerals Data Explorer (CC BY 4.0)

Lithium: mine production and reserves by country

Metric tons, contained lithium. 2025 figures are USGS estimates. U.S. production: withheld. U.S. net import reliance: >50% in 2025.

#Country20252024ShareReserves
1Australia92,00082,70031.7%8,400,000
2China62,00041,40021.4%4,600,000
3Chile56,00048,90019.3%9,200,000
4Zimbabwe28,00020,0009.7%500,000
5Argentina23,00013,8007.9%4,400,000
6Brazil12,00010,2004.1%540,000
7Mali9,4007703.2%370,000
8Canada5,6004,8201.9%1,600,000
9Portugal3803800.1%60,000
Other countries———2,400,000
World290,000222,000100%37,000,000

U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, 2026 lithium summary and data release

Cobalt: mine production and reserves by country

Metric tons, cobalt content. 2025 figures are USGS estimates. U.S. production: 300. U.S. net import reliance: 79% in 2025.

#Country20252024ShareReserves
1Congo (Kinshasa)230,000226,00074.2%6,000,000
2Indonesia44,00035,00014.2%760,000
3Russia7,7008,0002.5%800,000
4Madagascar3,9003,1001.3%100,000
5Australia3,7004,7801.2%1,700,000
6Philippines3,7003,1001.2%260,000
7Canada3,5003,3501.1%220,000
8Papua New Guinea2,8002,6300.9%84,000
9China2,0002,0000.6%160,000
10Cuba2,0003,4500.6%500,000
Other countries9,1007,7802.9%780,000
World310,000302,000100%12,000,000

U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, 2026 cobalt summary and data release

Natural graphite: mine production and reserves by country

Metric tons (natural graphite). 2025 figures are USGS estimates. U.S. production: none. U.S. net import reliance: 100% in 2025.

#Country20252024ShareReserves
1China1,400,0001,270,00077.8%100,000,000
2Madagascar80,00085,0004.4%27,000,000
3Tanzania75,00027,0004.2%18,000,000
4Brazil65,00058,0003.6%74,000,000
5Mozambique60,00039,0003.3%25,000,000
6Russia25,00020,0001.4%14,000,000
7India17,00017,6000.9%8,600,000
8Canada8,00011,7000.4%5,900,000
9Korea, North8,0008,1000.4%2,000,000
10Norway6,6005,3400.4%600,000
World1,800,0001,550,000100%310,000,000

U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, 2026 natural graphite summary and data release

Nickel: mine production and reserves by country

Metric tons, nickel content. 2025 figures are USGS estimates. U.S. production: 10,000. U.S. net import reliance: 41% in 2025.

#Country20252024ShareReserves
1Indonesia2,600,0002,310,00066.7%62,000,000
2Philippines270,000354,0006.9%4,800,000
3Russia200,000205,0005.1%8,300,000
4Canada140,000125,0003.6%2,200,000
5New Caledonia140,000116,0003.6%7,100,000
6China120,000115,0003.1%4,400,000
7Brazil70,00067,5001.8%16,000,000
8Australia45,00098,0001.2%25,000,000
9United States10,0007,4900.3%340,000
Other countries290,000308,0007.4%>9,100,000
World3,900,0003,710,000100%>140,000,000

U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, 2026 nickel summary and data release

Manganese: mine production and reserves by country

Thousand metric tons, manganese content. 2025 figures are USGS estimates. U.S. production: none. U.S. net import reliance: 100% in 2025.

#Country20252024ShareReserves
1South Africa7,6007,49038.0%550,000
2Gabon5,0004,64025.0%61,000
3Ghana2,0001,28010.0%13,000
4Australia1,6001,6008.0%580,000
5Brazil8007054.0%300,000
6India7907314.0%34,000
7China7006903.5%260,000
8Côte d’Ivoire3503401.8%NA
Other countries1,3001,2406.5%Small
World20,00018,700100%1,700,000

U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, 2026 manganese summary and data release

Mineral demand from clean energy, outlook

Thousand metric tons per year used in clean-energy technologies, the share going into EV and grid-storage batteries in 2025, and demand in the IEA's Stated Policies Scenario (today's policy settings), a scenario rather than a forecast.

Mineral2025Batteries' share2030203520402040 vs. 2025
Lithium203100%4076328364.1×
Nickel62575%1,4092,0372,4033.8×
Cobalt90100%1341411391.5×
Battery-grade graphite1,462100%3,1824,3184,1862.9×
Manganese19734%5591,1091,8349.3×

IEA, Critical Minerals Data Explorer (CC BY 4.0)

Sources & method

Public data, cited.

Show sources and methodology

Producer prices, industrial production, shipments, inventories and employment come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Census Bureau, and metal prices from the International Monetary Fund, all through the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis's FRED database; they refresh on this page at least twice a day. Grid-scale storage comes from the U.S. Energy Information Administration's monthly generator inventory (Form EIA-860M), which covers units of at least 1 megawatt. Pack prices are BloombergNEF's annual battery price survey as published in its press releases. Mineral production, reserves, import reliance and annual prices come from the U.S. Geological Survey's Mineral Commodity Summaries.

  • Changes compare the latest reading with the same period a year earlier. For producer price indexes the headline is the year-over-year rate of change, and its comparison is the change in that rate, in percentage points.
  • Battery manufacturing (NAICS 33591) covers all battery types made in the U.S., including lead-acid, not lithium-ion alone. Census's annual survey of storage-battery plants (NAICS 335911) was not published for 2023, and its 2022 jump in employment partly reflects new plants classified into the industry.
  • Storage history counts battery units by the month they entered service and removes retired units in the month they retired, using EIA's latest inventory, so earlier months may differ slightly from the inventory EIA published at the time. Power capacity is nameplate megawatts; energy capacity is nameplate megawatt-hours. Planned capacity is what developers report to EIA; planned projects frequently slip or are canceled.
  • Global EV battery deployment, EV sales shares, and mineral demand and supply by country come from the International Energy Agency's Global EV Outlook data and Critical Minerals Data Explorer, licensed CC BY 4.0. The IEA rounds to two significant figures, so regions may not sum exactly to the world total. Outlook figures are IEA scenarios (Stated Policies, or the base case for supply), not forecasts.
  • EV battery recalls are U.S. vehicle recalls whose NHTSA subject or defect summary refers to the high-voltage (propulsion) battery: its cells, modules, pack, contactors or control module. NHTSA's open data does not carry the detailed component code, so the match is by keyword and may miss or include a few borderline recalls. Vehicle counts are the manufacturer's estimate of vehicles potentially affected.
  • Cell plants and supply-chain facilities come from the Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain Database compiled by NAATBatt International and the National Laboratory of the Rockies (formerly NREL) for the U.S. Department of Energy; we credit DOE, NLR, the Alliance for Energy Innovation and NAATBatt, who do not endorse this page. Capacity is each facility's announced annual capacity, not output. Our own status checks, each linked to its sources, are shown beside the database's status and can be more recent.
  • Company financials are as reported, company-wide unless marked as a segment, converted to U.S. dollars at each quarter's average exchange rate, so dollar growth includes currency moves. Chinese companies report under Chinese accounting standards (operating profit includes investment income and impairments), Korean companies under K-IFRS, Panasonic under IFRS with adjusted operating profit, and U.S. companies under U.S. GAAP. From 2026, LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On include the U.S. advanced manufacturing production credit (Section 45X) in revenue, so their 2026 revenue is not like-for-like with earlier years. SQM figures follow its Chilean-basis earnings releases. BYD is shown company-wide, which is mostly vehicles.
  • Figures are as reported and subject to revision by the source. This page is for general information and is not investment advice.
Company financials sources

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