A Geographical Breakdown of the Critical Minerals Landscape

Article Highlights:

• From a high-level perspective, there are two major steps that need to take place to produce minerals that are in a usable state for industry: mining and refining. First, minerals are extracted from the ground in an ore, or oxidized state. Once they’re extracted, the ores are sent to different facilities to undergo the refining process.
• Some minerals occur in such small quantities in nature that the only way to procure them is by processing the tailings (leftover materials) after extracting out other minerals. In these cases of “byproduct minerals,” the materials are secondary targets, and may not even be a significant consideration when companies are determining where to establish mining operations.
• Examining the production processes of cobalt, graphite, and germanium highlight the vulnerability of many global supply chains to the deliberate bottleneck imposed by China’s mineral export restrictions. Whether through its domestic mines, ownership of mining operations in foreign countries, or disproportionate refining capacity for various minerals, China remains a superpower in the critical minerals supply chain. 

Beginning in 2023, China began ramping up a mineral export controls program focused on an array of key materials commonly used in electronics, automotive, and military-focused manufacturing. The minerals China has imposed export controls on appear in myriad everyday items, including everything from magnets in electric car seat motors to smartphones and military-grade night vision goggles. 

These export controls, which vary by mineral, have most frequently taken the form of a license requirement for companies seeking to export the mineral. These requirements mean that companies looking to export restricted minerals in a controlled form or state from China need to receive direct approval from the Chinese government prior to export. While the exact licensing and monitoring requirements vary based on the mineral, the overarching reality is that China has established a comprehensive system to severely restrict the flow of key minerals, a list it can expand or revise whenever it likes. For companies outside of China that rely on these materials for their manufacturing processes, there are currently few alternative sources for many of the minerals. This is because China has become a dominant global player in the mining, or extraction, and processing, or refinement, of these materials. 

In the two-plus years since China began this trade regime, the results of the Chinese Communist Party’s controls have ranged from marginal to highly disruptive. In the case of the earliest export restrictions imposed by China, on gallium and germanium in July 2023, there have not been any major documented cases of manufacturers shutting down production lines or otherwise having major supply impacts. The primary impact of the nation’s export restrictions on these minerals has been the prices of gallium and germanium outside of China, which have increased markedly since 2023. 

Table 1: Minerals with Chinese Export Controls   

For rare earth elements (REE), on the other hand, the situation has been dramatically different. Large corporations, including automaker Ford, have reported severe disruptions to their supply chains, to the point where they needed an intervention from the Trump administration to secure licenses to get the minerals they needed for their vehicles. REEs, in particular, are highly susceptible to export controls from China because Chinese companies dominate the processing of these minerals, and there are very limited alternative sourcing options outside of the nation.

Recent export restrictions have cogently demonstrated that China’s trade measures have the potential to meaningfully disrupt supply chains. In order to understand why the impacts are so great, however—and why alternatives are currently so limited—a more fundamental aspect of this materials landscape must first be understood: how, exactly, does the global critical minerals supply chain work?

How Do Mineral Supply Chains Work?

From a high-level perspective, there are two major steps that need to take place to produce minerals that are in a usable state for industry: mining and refining. First, minerals are extracted from the ground in an ore, or oxidized state. Once they’re extracted, the ores are sent to different facilities to undergo the refining process. Refinement often involves multiple steps at various facilities, depending on the level of purity of the finished mineral. Finally, once the desired purity has been reached, the mineral is transformed into the state necessary for whatever its manufacturing application is going to be. (Examples of these states include wire, powder, et al.) The refined and finished mineral is then shipped to the manufacturer.

Some minerals occur in such small quantities in nature that the only way to procure them is by processing the tailings (leftover materials) after extracting out other minerals. In these cases of “byproduct minerals,” the materials are secondary targets, and may not even be a significant consideration when companies are determining where to establish mining operations. The capacity of producing byproduct minerals is generally measured by refined production rather than by the amount of mined ore. This is because the amount of these byproduct minerals might vary at different mines. Indium, gallium, germanium, and bismuth are all examples of byproduct minerals. As of 2025, Chinese companies remain the leading producers of many refined byproduct minerals, with limited processing alternatives outside of China.   

As of 2025, Chinese companies remain the leading producers of many refined byproduct minerals, with limited processing alternatives outside of China.   

While this provides a broad, high-level glimpse into how minerals are extracted and processed for industrial purposes, getting a closer, more detailed look at extraction and processing requires zeroing in on a specific mineral. Below, we look at case studies for three critical materials—cobalt, graphite, and germanium—outlining the supply chains for these three minerals, all of which are subject to export controls by China. 

The Cobalt Supply Chain

Cobalt is a mineral commonly used for battery production, high-performance alloys in engines, drill bits, and mining equipment. It also has applications in petroleum refining and plastic production. Cobalt is largely extracted as a byproduct mineral of copper and nickel mining. 

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) mines the most cobalt of any country in the world, and is currently responsible for 75% of global mining production, per US Geological Survey (USGS) data. Crucially, however, many of the companies that actually extract the cobalt in the DRC (and associated nickel and copper materials) are Chinese. One of the largest cobalt-producing mines in the world, the Tenke Fungurume Mine in the DRC, is mined in a partnership between China Molybdenum and Gecamines, for example. 

In addition to the DRC, cobalt is also mined in much smaller quantities in Indonesia, Russia, and Canada. In terms of refining, as of 2022 China processed around 76% of all the globally refined cobalt. Finland, Canada, and Japan also engage in cobalt refining, with the facilities and infrastructure to support large-scale refinement operations. Although sourcing alternatives to China remain scarce, Umicore is one non-Chinese company that serves as a major cobalt refiner. The Belgium-based company is currently providing a reliable non-China source of cobalt for batteries and other products.

The Graphite Supply Chain

Graphite is a mineral commonly used in batteries, industrial lubricants, additives, car brakes, and other advanced materials. The carbon allotrope is often produced by mining a graphite ore and then extracting and refining the mineral to the desired purity level. 

According to USGS mineral data, China dominates both mining (80%) and processing (90%) for battery-grade graphite. Aside from China, key graphite mining countries include Madagascar, Mozambique, Brazil, and India, although much of the material mined in those countries eventually wends its way to China for processing. 

Unlike many other minerals, graphite is a material for which new supply chains independent of China are actively being established. Several new graphite mines have recently been opened in the U.S., along with corresponding processing facilities. In addition, there are a myriad of active graphite processing facilities in Europe and Southeast Asia—although the combined processing capacity for all those facilities remains significantly lower than China’s. 

Finally, it’s worth noting that graphite is also used to manufacture graphene, a derivative with a range of applications in high-tech manufacturing. Much of the production of graphene—which is essentially just ultra-refined graphite—is executed outside of China, in places like Japan and South Korea. 

The Germanium Supply Chain

Germanium is a mineral used in fiber and infrared optics, along with semiconductors and solar cells. Though germanium is generally not used in large quantities in product formulations, its unique properties make it exceedingly difficult to replace. 

Germanium is a byproduct mineral, and is extracted through the mining of materials like zinc and coal. China produces about 60% of the world’s germanium, primarily through processing coal fly ash, which is a byproduct of electricity production, along with some zinc tailing processing. Outside of China, other countries mainly utilize zinc tailings to generate germanium. 

After China, Japan, Germany, and South Korea are some of the largest germanium producers worldwide. Because germanium extraction relies on waste products from other minerals, it’s actually relatively easy to ramp up new production from previously unused sources of tailing material. DRC company Gecamines, for example, recently began shipping tailings to Europe for germanium processing.

The Narrow Path to Mineral Independence From China

These three case studies highlight the vulnerability of many global supply chains to the deliberate bottleneck imposed by China’s mineral export restrictions. Whether through its domestic mines, ownership of mining operations in foreign countries, or disproportionate refining capacity for various minerals, China remains a superpower in the critical minerals supply chain. 

These three case studies highlight the vulnerability of many global supply chains to the deliberate bottleneck imposed by China’s mineral export restrictions.

Because of this, the best way to mitigate the potential impacts of China’s mineral restrictions is through awareness and contingency planning. While opportunities to source from supply chains outside of China are emerging, many minerals are still dominated by the PRC and its sprawling infrastructure. As a result, manufacturers facing disruptions stemming from export restrictions may need to consider alternative parts. In a worst-case scenario, some importers may have to even resort to re-designing products so that they aren’t dependent on Chinese minerals. 

Key Takeaways

• Most minerals restricted by China have limited non-China alternatives, often due to the country’s mining or processing dominance.
• New supply chains are forming as a result of these restrictions, however, as companies seek new, less geopolitically risky sources of critical minerals.
• Many of the critical minerals that are incorporated into formulations for high-tech products are vulnerable to China’s export restriction. In a number of cases, there are limited alternative sources for these materials. 

Assess Exposure to Chinese Restrictions With Z2Data

Curious about what minerals are in your parts, and which of your parts are most exposed to China’s raft of mineral export restrictions? Z2Data has millions of out-of-the-box full material declarations (FMDs) that can help you understand the mineral compositions of your parts. 

Paired with Z2Data’s database of mining and processing production data, users can easily obtain a holistic view of the mineral risks in their supply chain. In addition to helping companies identify the mineral vulnerabilities in their parts, the Z2Data platform also allows businesses to find alternate components that don’t contain minerals impacted by China’s trade restrictions. To learn more about how Z2Data can help you assess your mineral risk exposure, contact our team today or schedule a free demo with one of our product experts.