Guinea overtook Australia as the world's biggest bauxite miner
Bauxite mine production, million tonnes, 2019 and 2024, the five largest producers. US Geological Survey.
- 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
Guinea's bauxite output in 2024, more than double its 67 Mt in 2019, ahead of Australia's 100 Mt.
Guinea's share of world bauxite mining in 2024, up from 19% in 2019. Australia, the leader in 2019, slipped from 29% to 23%.
USGS 2025 estimate for Guinea, vs 97 Mt for Australia: the ore for the world's aluminium now comes first from West Africa.
the numbers & method
| 2019 (Mt) | 2024 (Mt) | |
|---|---|---|
| Guinea | 67 | 142 |
| Australia | 106 | 100 |
| China | 73 | 81 |
| Brazil | 32 | 33 |
| India | 22 | 25 |
Claim types Fact · Estimate · Interpretation
2024 values: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 (February 2026), table 'World Alumina Refinery and Bauxite Mine Production and Bauxite Reserves', thousand metric dry tons: Guinea 142,000; Australia 100,000; China 80,500 (USGS estimate); Brazil 33,000 (estimate); India 25,000; world 428,000 (rounded, excludes US production). 2025 estimates in the same table: Guinea 150,000; Australia 97,000; China 87,000; world 440,000. 2019 values: USGS Minerals Yearbook 2022, Bauxite and Alumina (advance release, August 2025), world production table: Australia 105,544; Guinea 67,000 (dry basis); China 73,320 (revised); Brazil 31,938; India 22,321; world 358,000 (revised). Earlier years in that table: Guinea 57,000 (2018), 86,000 (2020), 82,000 (2021), 100,000 (2022); Australia 95,948 (2018), 103,627 (2020), 103,056 (2021), 102,290 (2022). In 2022 Australia still led narrowly (102.3 vs 100.0 Mt); Guinea was ahead by 2024. USGS marks all Guinea values as estimates; China and Brazil 2024 are estimates too. Shares are progrss calculations (country ÷ world total, same edition). Takeaway 3's second clause is Interpretation.
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