Magnesite
Magnesium carbonate ore used for refractories that line steel furnaces and as a source of magnesium compounds.
Indirect — refractories for steel production.
China dominates magnesite mine output.
Where it's produced
Share of 2025 world magnesite mine production (thousand metric tons). Source: USGS MCS 2026.
Withheld by USGS to avoid disclosing company data: United States.
Where the reserves are
Share of known economic reserves (thousand metric tons). World total: 7.8B t. ≈ 371 years at 2025 output.
Who calls it critical
Membership on each government list. “Strategic” marks a higher tier where the list has one; “group” means included as part of a group such as rare earths or PGMs.
Magnesite: key questions
- Where is magnesite mined or produced?
- According to USGS 2025 data, the largest producers are China (60%), Brazil (8.6%) and Russia (8.1%) of world magnesite mine production.
- Is magnesite a critical mineral?
- Magnesite appears on 1 of the 10 official lists we track (United Kingdom).
- Is magnesite in short supply?
- Our supply status: Watch. China dominates magnesite mine output.
- Why does magnesite matter for AI infrastructure?
- Indirect — refractories for steel production.
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