Ethiopia

Ethiopia was estimated to be the world’s 5th-ranked producer of soda ash (sodium carbonate)

Pictured: carbonate rocks, Nevada, USA

Statistics and information on the mining industry in Ethiopia.

Overview

In 2024, Ethiopia was estimated to be the world’s 5th-ranked producer of soda ash, accounting for 0.1% of global production; 8th-ranked producer of tantalum, accounting for about 2% of global production; and 10th-ranked producer of pumice, accounting for about 3% of global production. Other mineral commodities produced in the country included cement, clays, gemstones, gold, niobium, platinum, silver, stone, and sand and gravel. Production of mineral commodities represented only a minor part of the economy of Ethiopia. The country exported gold to Switzerland and imported fertilizers from Morocco.

In 2024, the Ministry of Mines granted KEFI Gold and Copper plc (KEFI) of the United Kingdom an exploration license for the Konso Critical Metals Area, where past work identified tantalum-rich pegmatites and other critical minerals. The 22-square-kilometers license area, located near Arba Minch in southwestern Ethiopia, will be explored initially through mapping, trenching, and geophysical surveys, with priority given to tantalum, copper, and coproducts.

Ethiopia produced an estimated 510,000 metric tons of pumice in 2024, which was used mainly in construction and local industry. Pumice is one of the industrial minerals currently reported in Ethiopia alongside gypsum, limestone, and salt. Most pumice deposits are located along the Main Ethiopian Rift Valley in the Oromia Region, where they are actively quarried by cement and construction-material producers.

2024 Report

Full data release with tables here.

In 2024, Ethiopia was estimated to be the world’s 5th-ranked producer of soda ash, accounting for 0.1% of global production; 8th-ranked producer of tantalum, accounting for about 2% of global production; and 10th-ranked producer of pumice, accounting for about 3% of global production. Other mineral commodities produced in the country included cement, clays, gemstones, gold, niobium, platinum, silver, stone, sand, and gravel. Production of mineral commodities represented only a minor part of the economy of Ethiopia. The country exported gold to Switzerland and imported fertilizers from Morocco (Argus Media, 2025; National Bank of Ethiopia, 2024, p. 148; Crangle, 2026; Friedline, 2026; MacGregor, 2026; Trading Economics, 2025).

The legislative framework for the mineral sector in Ethiopia is provided by the Mining Operation Proclamation No. 678/2010 of August 4th, 2010, as amended by Proclamation No. 816/2013 of March 19th, 2014, and Proclamation No. 1213/2020 of July 14^th, 2020. The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (the Ministry) oversees the mineral and petroleum sectors and provides for the granting of exploration and mining licenses as the regulatory organ of the mines and petroleum sector. Most mineral commodities were produced by privately owned companies and artisanal small-scale miners. The Facilities table (formerly table 2) is a list of major mineral industry facilities (Federal Negarit Gazette, 2014, p. 7296, 2020, p. 12676; Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, 2020). 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—Africa and the Middle East, which are available in the "Publications" section below.

Commodity Review

Tantalum.—The Ministry of Mines granted KEFI Gold and Copper plc (KEFI) of the United Kingdom an exploration license for the Konso Critical Metals Area (Konso Project), a region where historic work revealed tantalum-rich pegmatites and other critical minerals. The exploration license awarded covers an area of 22-square-kilometers located 635 kilometers southwest of Addis Ababa near the city of Arba Minch. KEFI expected to prioritize the exploration of copper, tantalum, and their associated coproducts. The project was expected to start with a preliminary phase focusing on mapping, trenching, and geophysical surveys (KEFI Gold and Copper plc, 2024, p. 1, 2).

Pumice.—In 2024, Ethiopia’s production of pumice was estimated at 510,000 metric tons. Industrial minerals like pumice were mainly used for construction and local industry. Pumice deposits in Ethiopia are actively quarried as raw material sources by cement producers. Most documented Ethiopian pumice deposits are concentrated along the main Ethiopian Rift Valley in the Oromia Region (Production table; Beyene, 2017, p. 2; Ethiopian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, 2018, p. 26).

Production table

(Metric tons, gross weight, unless otherwise specified)

Table includes data available through March 3, 2026. All data are reported unless otherwise noted. Estimated data are rounded to no more than three significant digits. Data are for the Ethiopian fiscal year ending July 7 of the year listed, except for steel, which are for the calendar year ending December 31 of the year listed.
Commodity	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Cement, hydraulic	9,800,000	9,200,000	9,800,000^e	10,300,000^e	11,000,000^e
Clays, shale	58,000^e	58,000^e	58,000^e	58,000^e	58,000^e
Diatomite	5,000^e	5,000^e	5,000^e	5,000^e	5,000^e
Gemstones, aquamarine (kilograms)	65^e	65^e	65^e	65^e	65^e
Gemstones, citrine (kilograms)	5^e	5^e	5^e	5^e	5^e
Gemstones, emerald (kilograms)	550^e	550^e	550^e	550^e	550^e
Gemstones, garnet (kilograms)	10^e	10^e	10^e	10^e	10^e
Gemstones, morganite (kilograms)	1^e	1^e	1^e	1^e	1^e
Gemstones, opal (kilograms)	3,057¹	4,694¹	14,368¹	50,785¹	50,000^e1
Gemstones, peridot (kilograms)	6^e	6^e	6^e	6^e	6^e
Gemstones, ruby (kilograms)	34^e	34^e	34^e	34^e	34^e
Gemstones, sapphire (kilograms)	280^e	280^e	280^e	280^e	280^e
Gemstones, tourmaline (kilograms)	90^e	90^e	90^e	90^e	90^e
Gold, mine, Au content (kilograms)	3,320¹	9,190¹	8,680¹	3,500¹	3,500^e1
Gypsum, crude, including anhydrite	56,000^e	56,000^e	56,000^e	56,000^e	56,000^e
Kaolin, china clay	250^e	250^e	250^e	250^e	250^e
Lime	86,000^e	87,000^e	90,000^e	90,000^e	90,000^e
Niobium and tantalum, mine, concentrates, columbite-tantalite (kilograms)	76,080	66,770	161,500	162,000^e	162,000^e
Niobium, mine, concentrates, columbite-tantalite, Nb content	7^e	12^e	14^e	13^e	11^e
Platinum, mine, Pt content (kilograms)	2^e	4^e	8^e	8^e	8^e
Pumice and related materials	510,000^e	510,000^e	510,000^e	510,000^e	510,000^e
Salt, rock salt	450,000^e	450,000^e	450,000^e	450,000^e	450,000^e
Sand and gravel, industrial, quartz	3,400^e	3,400^e	3,400^e	3,400^e	3,400^e
Sand and gravel, industrial, sand	10,000^e	10,000^e	10,000^e	10,000^e	10,000^e
Silver, mine, Ag content (kilograms)	1,000^e	1,000^e	800	600^e	600^e
Soda ash, natural	18,000^e	18,000^e	18,000^e	18,000^e	18,000^e
Stone, crushed, basalt	358,000^e	358,000^e	358,000^e	360,000^e	360,000^e
Stone, crushed, limestone	6,750,000^e	6,750,000^e	6,750,000^e	6,800,000^e	6,800,000^e
Stone, crushed, sandstone	646,000^e	646,000^e	646,000^e	650,000^e	650,000^e
Stone, dimension, granite	1,800^e	1,800^e	1,800^e	1,830^e	1,830^e
Stone, dimension, marble, block	10,000^e	10,000^e	10,000^e	10,050^e	10,500^e
Stone, dimension, marble, other	3,100^e	3,100^e	3,100^e	3,130^e	3,130^e
Tantalum, mine, concentrates, columbite-tantalite, Ta content	17^e	32^e	39^e	40^e	40^e

^e Estimated.

¹ Reported exports.

References Cited

Argus Media, 2025, Ethiopia’s EABC still needs up to 400,000 t DAP in 2025: Argus Media, May 9. (Accessed March 24, 2026, at https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news-and-insights/latest-market-news/2687…).

Beyene, D., 2017, Investigation of cement replacement with high content of pumice on mechanical property of concrete: A case of C-25: Jimma, Ethiopia, Jimma University, 95 p. (Accessed March 24, 2026, at https://repository.ju.edu.et/bitstream/handle/123456789/1616/final%20fo…;

Crangle, Rob, 2026, Pumice and pumicite: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, p. 148–149.

Ethiopian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, 2018, EEITI report for the year ended 7 July 2015: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Ethiopian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, January, 133 p. (Accessed March 24, 2026, at https://eiti.org/sites/default/files/attachments/2014-2015_ethiopia_eit….)

Federal Negarit Gazette, 2014, Proclamation No. 816/2013: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Federal Negarit Gazette no. 27, March 19, 7296–7309. (Accessed March 24, 2026, via https://justice.gov.et/en/law/a-proclamation-to-amend-the-mining-operat….)

Federal Negarit Gazette, 2014, Proclamation No. 1213/2020: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Federal Negarit Gazette no. 63, July 14, 12676–12678. (Accessed June 24, 2026, at https://justice.gov.et/en/law/mining-operations-amendment-proclamation/.)

Friedline, C.A., 2026, Tantalum: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, p. 186–187.

KEFI Gold and Copper plc, 2024, Exploration licence awarded in Ethiopia: London, United

Kingdom, London Stock Exchange Group, 3 p. (Accessed March 24, 2026, at https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/KEFI/exploration-licen….)

MacGregor, JohnRyan, 2026, Soda ash: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, p. 174–175.

Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, 2020, About the MoMP: Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Accessed March 24, 2026, at https://www.mom.gov.et/index.php/investing-in-ethiopia/about-ethiopias-….)

National Bank of Ethiopia, 2024: Fourth quarter 2023/24: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, National Bank of Ethiopia, v. 40, no. 4, 150 p. (Accessed March 24, 2026, at https://nbe.gov.et/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Fourth-Quarter-Report-202….)

Trading Economics, 2025, Ethiopia Exports: New York City, New York, Trading Economics. (Accessed March 24, 2026, at https://tradingeconomics.com/ethiopia/exports#:~:text=Ethiopia%20main%2….)

Publications

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