Belarus

In 2024, Belarus was the fourth-ranked producer of potash having accounted for 10.7% of world output and the fourth-ranked producer of peat having accounted for 11.0% of world output. Other mineral commodities produced in the country were cement, dolomite, gypsum, lime, nitrogen, raw steel and steel products, salt, and sulfuric acid. Data on mineral production are in Production table (formerly table 1). The manufacturing sector of Belarus contributed 20.3% to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP); the mining sector accounted for 0.8% of GDP. In 2024, Belarus exported 6.43 million metric tons (Mt) of potash in K₂O equivalent, the leading recipient of which was China, which accounted for 29% of potash exports from Belarus.  The country had several sanctions on its potash production and petroleum refining as well as on its cement and steel industries imposed by the United States, the European Union, and Ukraine (Budris, 2025; Brioche, 2026; Jasinski, 2026 National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus, 2025, p. 148; Morozova, 2025; Rudenko, 2025).  

The primary law regulating exploration, rational use, production, and environmental protection of subsoil resources is the Code on Subsoil of 2008, which was most recently amended in March 2024. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection was responsible for overseeing the rational use and protection of subsoil resources. GPO Beltopgaz, which was a part of the Ministry of Energy, was a Government organization overseeing both state-owned and privately owned companies and organizations involved in energy production, including peat production. Most large mineral-producing enterprises in Belarus were owned by the Government. The Facilities table (formerly table 2) is a list of major mineral industry facilities. More-extensive coverage of government policies and programs can be found in previous editions of this chapter in the U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook, volume III, Area Reports — International — Europe and Central Eurasia, which are available at https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/europ… (Etalonline.by, 2025; GPO Beltopgaz, 2025; Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus, 2025). 

Commodity Review 

Potash.—OAO Belaruskali was one of the world’s leading producers of potash fertilizers and, historically, potash was the leading export product from Belarus. The company mined the Starobin and the Petrikov potash mines, which contain magnesium salt, rock salt, and sylvinite. In 2024, Belaruskali’s potash (in K₂O equivalent) production increased by 7.2% to 7.1 Mt. As of 2024, Belaruskali had seven mines with total capacity of about 9.0 million metric tons per year (Mt/yr) of potash in K₂O equivalent and five beneficiation plants (Facilities table; Production table; OAO Belaruskali, 2025; Shahter.by, 2025). 

Peat.—In 2024, Belarus produced about 1.9 Mt (estimated) of peat, which was about an 14% decrease compared with production in 2023. About 1.6 Mt was used as a source of energy and the rest was for horticultural use. Total peat resources in Belarus were estimated to be 2.6 billion metric tons, of which the reserves allocated to industrial development were 302 Mt. Peat industry produced peat at an area of 9.5 hectares (about 23,500 acres). At this rate of production, Belarus had enough peat for production for the next 100 years (Production table; Yasko, 2025).  

Production table

(Metric tons, gross weight, unless otherwise specified)

References Cited 

• Brioche, A.S., 2026, Peat: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, p. 138–139. 

• Budris, Alex, 2025, Zapertyi kaliy: chto izmenitsya dlya Belorussii posle snyatiya amerikanskih sanktsiy [Blocked potash—What will change for Belarus after removal of American sanctions]: Forbes.ru, December 17. (Accessed December 20, 2025, at https://www.forbes.ru/biznes/552141-zapertyj-kalij-cto-izmenitsa-dla-be….) [In Russian.] 

• Etalonline.by, 2025, Belarus Code on Subsoil of July 2008: Minsk, Belarus, Etalonline.by. Accessed December 15, 2025, at https://etalonline.by/document/?regnum=hk0800406.) [In Russian.] 

• GPO Beltopgaz, 2025, About the Association: Minsk, Belarus, GPO Beltopgaz. (Accessed Decebmenr 15, 2025, at https://www.topgas.by/content/o-gpo-beltopgaz/o-kompanii/.) [In Russian.] 

• Jasinski, S.M., 2026, Potash: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, p. 146–147. 

• Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus, 2025, Ministry: Minsk, Belarus, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus. (Accessed December 15, 2025, at https://minpriroda.gov.by/en/minis-en/.) 

• Morozova, Varvara, 2025, Nashe oruzhie—maslo, syr, kaliy. Kak Belarus’ stala mirovoy agrarnoy derzhavoy, kormyashey polmira [Our weapon is butter, cheese, potash. How Belarus became a world agricultural power that feeds a half of the world]: Minsk, Belarus, Mlyn.by, November 13. (Accessed January 27, 2026, at https://mlyn.by/13112025/kak-belarus-stala-mirovoj-agrarnoj-derzhavoj-k….) [In Russian.] 

• National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus, 2025, Statistical yearbook: Minsk, Belarus, National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus, 294 p. (Accessed December 20, 2025, at https://www.belstat.gov.by/en/ofitsialnaya-statistika/publications/stat….) 

• OAO Belaruskali, 2026, Home page: OAO Belaruskali. (Accessed August 20, 2025, at https://www.kali.by/.) [In Russian.] 

• Rudenko, 2025, Iz glavnyh pokupateley ostalsya tol’ko Kitay: kak Belarus torguyet kaliem [From major buyers, only China is left—How Belarus sells potash]: Belsat.eu, March 26. (Accessed December 15, 2025, at https://ru.belsat.eu/85820622/iz-glavnyh-pokupatelej-ostalsya-tolko-kit….) [In Russian.] 

• Shahter.by, 2025, Belarus’kaliy—rost proizvodstva i adaptatsiya eksportnykh postavok v usloviyah novyh vyzovov [Belaruskali—production growth adaptation of export shipments under new challenges]: Soligorsk, Belarus, Shahter.by, May 27. (Accessed December 15, 2025, at https://shahter.by/ekonomika/belaruskalij-rost-proizvodstva-i-adaptatsi….) [In Russian.] 

• Tyshkevich, Igor, 2025, Kitay provel pokazatel’nuyu porku Lukashenko [China gave Lukashenko a public flogging]: Kyiv, Ukraine, 24tv.ua, September 29. (Accessed February 5, 2026, at https://24tv.ua/ru/kitaj-umenshaet-obemy-zakupki-kalija-belarusi-chtoby….) [In Russian.] 

• Yasko, 2025, V Belarusi v 2024 godu dobyli 1,9 mln t torfa, polnost’yu obespechiv potrebnosti strany [In 2024 Belarus produced 1.9 Mt of peat and completely satisfied the country’s needs]: Minsk, Belarus, Sb.by, March 14. (Accessed December 15, 2025, at https://www.sb.by/articles/v-belarusi-v-2024-godu-dobyli-1-9-milliona-t….) [In Russian.]