DR Congo tripled its copper mining in ten years
Copper mine production by country, million tonnes of copper content, 2014 vs 2024.
- 1. Indonesia now mines two-thirds of the world's nickel
- 2. Kazakhstan mines more uranium than Canada and Namibia combined
- 3. Argentina mined 60% more lithium in just one year
- 4. The price of lithium fell 86% in three years
- 5. Indonesia climbed from ninth to second among cobalt miners
- 6. DR Congo tripled its copper mining in ten years
- 7. DR Congo passed Chile in refined copper
- 8. Zimbabwe climbed to fourth among the world's lithium miners
- 9. DR Congo mines three-quarters of the world's cobalt
- 10. Guinea overtook Australia as the world's biggest bauxite miner
- 11. Brazil mines 93% of the world's niobium
DR Congo mined 2.99 million tonnes of copper in 2024, up from 1.03 million in 2014.
It passed Peru, China and the US to become the world's second-biggest copper miner, behind only Chile.
Its share of world copper mining in 2024, up from 6%: more of the metal behind grids and motors now comes from central Africa.
the numbers & method
| Copper mined (Mt) | 2014 (Mt) | |
|---|---|---|
| Chile | 5.51 | 5.75 |
| DR Congo | 2.99 | 1.03 |
| Peru | 2.74 | 1.38 |
| China | 1.84 | 1.76 |
| United States | 1.05 | 1.36 |
| Russia | 1.02 | 0.74 |
| Zambia | 0.82 | 0.71 |
Claim types Fact · Interpretation
U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Copper (world mine production, thousand metric tons, copper content), for 2024; and Mineral Commodity Summaries 2016, Copper (https://apps.usgs.gov/minerals-information-archives/mcs/mcs2016.pdf), for 2014. USGS names the country Congo (Kinshasa). 2024 (thousand t): Chile 5,510; Congo (Kinshasa) 2,990; Peru 2,740; China 1,840; Russia 1,020; United States 1,050; Zambia 823; world 23,000 (rounded). 2014: Chile 5,750; China 1,760; Peru 1,380; United States 1,360; Congo (Kinshasa) 1,030; Russia 742; Zambia 708; world 18,500 (rounded). USGS's 2025 estimate keeps DR Congo second (3,200 vs Peru 2,700). Derived by progrss: growth 2,990 ÷ 1,030 = 2.9×; shares of world 13.0% (2024) and 5.6% (2014), using USGS's rounded world totals; ranks among countries listed (2014: 5th, 2024: 2nd). Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mexico and others are left off the chart (not listed separately in the 2016 edition, or smaller). Takeaway 3's second clause is an interpretation. USGS data are in the public domain.
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