U.S. Geological Survey
Data Series 896
Historical Global Statistics for Mineral and Material Commodities |
| Compiled by Grecia R. Matos, economist, with major contributions provided by Lisa D. Miller, international data coordinator, James J. Barry, economist, and mineral commodity specialists |
2015 version
Online Only
| General Notes | Methodology | Commodity Tables | Recommended Citation Formats |
For complete detailed U.S. data, see Data Series 140
General Notes
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides information on the current use and flow of minerals and mineral-based materials in the U.S. and world economies. This Data Series report on “Historical Global Statistics for Mineral and Material Commodities” contains information on the production of selected commodities from 1990 to the most current year. The data may be used in the analysis of socioeconomic developments and trends and in the study of environmental issues associated with the extraction and processing of the selected commodities.
This report on global statistics includes U.S. data and is a companion to Data Series 140 on “Historical Statistics for Mineral and Material Commodities in the United States.”
Methodology for Global Statistics Data Series
Production data included in the global statistics Data Series were compiled primarily from the USGS Minerals Yearbooks. When mine, smelting, or refinery production data were available, they were reproduced in the Data Series. Footnotes from production tables in the Minerals Yearbooks were not reproduced in this report. For its mineral information reports, including the Minerals Yearbooks, the USGS collects essential information on global mineral production through annual questionnaires sent to approximately 145 countries. Data are also gathered from visits to mineral production or processing facilities, from participation with domestic and international minerals-related committees, from coordination with other government organizations and trade associations around the world, from reports by economic officers at U.S. Embassies, from mineral industry publications, and from company reports.
This Data Series is presented by commodity in Microsoft® Excel1 workbooks (XLSX). Each workbook contains several tables according to the different production cycles of the commodities. These tables are accessed through tabs at the bottom of the workbook.
Commodity Tables
Commodity statistics may be updated, and new commodities may be added at a later date.
| Commodity | Link to XLSX format | Data coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Aluminum | ds896-aluminum.xlsx | 1990-2012 |
| Cadmium | ds896-cadmium.xlsx | 1990-2012 |
| Copper | ds896-copper.xlsx | 1990-2011 |
| Iron and steel | ds896-iron-steel.xlsx | 1990-2011 |
| Lead | ds896-lead.xlsx | 1990-2012 |
| Salt | ds896-salt.xlsx | 1990-2012 |
Recommended Citation Formats
Recommended citation format for the whole report:
Matos, G.R., comp., 2015, Historical global statistics for mineral and material commodities (2015 version): U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 896, accessed [Month day, year], at http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ds896.
Recommended citation format for a commodity table:
U.S. Geological Survey, [year of last update for DS 896, such as 2015], [Table title, such as Copper; World mine production, by country] [through year; last modified Month day, year], in Matos, G.R., comp., Historical global statistics for mineral and material commodities (2015 version): U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 896, x p., accessed [Month day, year], at http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ds896.
example:
U.S. Geological Survey, 2015, Copper; World mine production, by country [through 2011; last modified October 3, 2013], in Matos, G.R., comp., Historical global statistics for mineral and material commodities (2015 version): U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 896, 4 p., accessed March 2, 2015, at http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ds896.
1Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
