91
countries worldwide; however, the leading producer is China (Brown et al. 2018). Accurate
data for gallium production is difficult to obtain
as it is produced solely as a by-product of
bauxite or zinc processing and the majority of
producers do not report production figures.
Double counting is also possible as lower grade
production is often refined to higher grade
material in different countries. The leading
producing countries are believed to be China,
Russia, Germany and Ukraine with smaller
quantities also produced in Japan and Hungary.
The US Geological Survey estimates the world
total primary production was around 300 tonnes
in 2017 (USGS 2018).
Printed circuit boards and wires are composed
primarily of copper. Copper production is not led
by China (Table 4.4) but apart from the USA,
Australia and Canada only less developed countries with less strict environmental regulations
can be found among the top producers.
Data storage in computers (e.g. hard disc
drives) and mobile devices requires strong magnetic fields and for the magnet neodymium alloys
are used. In the disc of hard disc drives a nonmagnetic layer is needed with appropriate
strength for which aluminium alloys with magnesium, silica and copper are used. The following
layer is slightly magnetic and is composed of
cobalt, iron and nickel alloys, and is divided by
ruthenium.
The Democratic Republic of Congo was continued to be the leading producer of mined cobalt
supplying more than half of the world production
in 2017. The average annual price of cobalt doubled in 2017 compared to the previous year owing
to the limited availability of the metal on the market and to strong consumer demand. Most of the
cobalt mined in Congo is transported to China for
refining and as a result, China is the leading supplier of refined cobalt (USGS 2018). Nickel was
produced in largest amount in the Philippines in
2016, however, by 2017 around one-half of the
country’s mining operations were suspended for
failing to meet environmental standards. This
decrease together with some smaller grades of
decrease in Australia, Brazil and Canada were
offset by increased production in Indonesia more
Fig. 4.15 Global
lithium production
(modified after Mohr
et al. 2012)
Table 4.4 Top ten copper producers in the world in 2016
(Source: Brown et al. 2018)
Country
Produced metal content (tonnes)
Chile
5,552,600
Peru
2,353,859
China
1,850,000
USA
1,461,900
Congo, Dem.
Republic
1,023,687
Australia
948,135
Indonesia
786,000
Zambia
774,300
Mexico
766,129
Russia
684,500
4.1 Changes in the Outer Boundary Zone of the Earth’s Crust
countries worldwide; however, the leading producer is China (Brown et al. 2018). Accurate
data for gallium production is difficult to obtain
as it is produced solely as a by-product of
bauxite or zinc processing and the majority of
producers do not report production figures.
Double counting is also possible as lower grade
production is often refined to higher grade
material in different countries. The leading
producing countries are believed to be China,
Russia, Germany and Ukraine with smaller
quantities also produced in Japan and Hungary.
The US Geological Survey estimates the world
total primary production was around 300 tonnes
in 2017 (USGS 2018).
Printed circuit boards and wires are composed
primarily of copper. Copper production is not led
by China (Table 4.4) but apart from the USA,
Australia and Canada only less developed countries with less strict environmental regulations
can be found among the top producers.
Data storage in computers (e.g. hard disc
drives) and mobile devices requires strong magnetic fields and for the magnet neodymium alloys
are used. In the disc of hard disc drives a nonmagnetic layer is needed with appropriate
strength for which aluminium alloys with magnesium, silica and copper are used. The following
layer is slightly magnetic and is composed of
cobalt, iron and nickel alloys, and is divided by
ruthenium.
The Democratic Republic of Congo was continued to be the leading producer of mined cobalt
supplying more than half of the world production
in 2017. The average annual price of cobalt doubled in 2017 compared to the previous year owing
to the limited availability of the metal on the market and to strong consumer demand. Most of the
cobalt mined in Congo is transported to China for
refining and as a result, China is the leading supplier of refined cobalt (USGS 2018). Nickel was
produced in largest amount in the Philippines in
2016, however, by 2017 around one-half of the
country’s mining operations were suspended for
failing to meet environmental standards. This
decrease together with some smaller grades of
decrease in Australia, Brazil and Canada were
offset by increased production in Indonesia more
Fig. 4.15 Global
lithium production
(modified after Mohr
et al. 2012)
Table 4.4 Top ten copper producers in the world in 2016
(Source: Brown et al. 2018)
Country
Produced metal content (tonnes)
Chile
5,552,600
Peru
2,353,859
China
1,850,000
USA
1,461,900
Congo, Dem.
Republic
1,023,687
Australia
948,135
Indonesia
786,000
Zambia
774,300
Mexico
766,129
Russia
684,500
4.1 Changes in the Outer Boundary Zone of the Earth’s Crust