The Republic of Korea (South Korea)

In 2024, the Republic of Korea was estimated to be the world’s second-ranked producer of refined cadmium, accounting for 19% of global production; the second-ranked producer of refined indium (17%) and refined bismuth (6%); the fourth-ranked producer of zeolites (11%); the sixth-ranked producer of talc and pyrophyllite (4.5%) and raw steel (3.4%); the seventh-ranked producer of diatomite (4.7%) and refined copper (2.2%); and the ninth-ranked producer of sulfur (3.7%). The country’s other major mineral products included refined rhenium and refined tellurium. 

The mining and quarrying sector (excluding coal) contributed less than 0.1% to the gross domestic product. The legislative framework for the mineral sector in the Republic of Korea is provided by the Mining Industry (Amendment) Act (No. 16127 of 2018) and the Mining Damage Prevention and Restoration (Amendment) Act (No. 16936 of 2020). Government agencies related to the mineral industry include the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corp., and the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources. Most of mining and mineral processing companies were privately owned by domestic stakeholders.