Magnesium Statistics and Information

Magnesium Insights and Data

Pictured: magnesite (magnesium ore)

Statistics and information on the worldwide supply of, demand for, and flow of the mineral commodity magnesium

Magnesium (Mg) is the eighth most abundant element and constitutes about 2% of the Earth's crust, and it is the third most plentiful element dissolved in seawater. Although magnesium is found in over 60 minerals, only dolomite, magnesite, brucite, carnallite, and olivine are of commercial importance. Magnesium and other magnesium compounds are also produced from seawater, well and lake brines and bitterns. Magnesium metal's principal use is as an alloying addition to aluminum; these aluminum-magnesium alloys are used mainly for beverage cans. Magnesium alloys also are used as structural components of automobiles and machinery. Magnesium also is used to remove sulfur from iron and steel.

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Statistics and information about magnesium compounds are available separately.

Quarterly Publications

We are currently in the process of transitioning our datasets to the USGS ScienceBase platform to improve long-term accessibility, documentation, and version control. As part of that transition, we have temporarily paused public posting of our Mineral Industry Surveys (MIS), so the latest available posted data are from December 2025. We will start publication of the MIS as soon as this process is completed. We have also temporarily paused public posting of our Minerals Yearbook (MYB) tables but will resume publication of them when the process is complete. Users subscribed to the automatic notification will be informed as each MIS or MYB becomes available. Thank you for your patience.

Mineral Industry Surveys