Supply chain footprint — snapshot year 2025
| Element | Share % | Quantity | Global rank | Confidence | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I iodine |
66.6% | 22,000 tonnes per year | 1st | high | Chile 2024e: 22,000 metric tons (estimated), up from 21,000 in 2023. Chile is the world's leading iodine producer. Iodin… |
| Re rhenium |
46.8% | 29,000 kg per year | 1st | high | USGS MCS 2025 table: Chile 29,000 kilograms in 2024. Footnote 9 states the Chile entry includes estimated rhenium recove… byproduct of Cu, Mo |
| Cu copper |
23.0% | 5.3 million tonnes per year | 1st | high | Chile 2024e: 5,300 thousand metric tons. |
| Li lithium |
20.4% | 49,000 tonnes per year | 2nd | high | Chile's output came from brine operations, with capacity expansion noted in 2024. |
| Mo molybdenum |
14.6% | 38,000 tonnes per year | 3rd | high | USGS MCS 2025 table: Chile 38,000 metric tons 2024e, down from 44,100 in 2023 (−14%). Chile produces molybdenum exclusiv… |
| B boron |
9.2% | 420,000 tonnes per year | 2nd | high | Chile 2024e: 420 thousand metric tons ulexite (420,000 tonnes), unchanged from 2023. Deposits are in the Atacama region.… |
| Ag silver |
4.8% | 1,200 tonnes per year | 6th | high | byproduct of Au, Cu, Pb, Zn |
| Na sodium |
3.9% | 11.0 million tonnes per year | 7th | high | USGS MCS 2025 table: Chile 2024e = 11,000 thousand metric tons. Chile is the second-largest US import source (27% of US … |
| K potassium |
1.6% | 0.8 million tonnes per year | 9th | high | Chile — USGS 2024 estimate: 750 thousand metric tons K2O equivalent. Produced as SOP from Atacama Desert brine operation… |
| S sulfur |
1.5% | 1.3 million tonnes per year | 13th | high | USGS MCS 2025 table: Chile 2024e = 1,300 thousand metric tons. |
| Au gold |
1.3% | 42.0 tonnes per year | 24th | medium | Chile 2024e: ~42 metric tons (up from ~34 t in 2023). Gold Fields's Salares Norte poured first gold in March 2024, addin… |
| Fe iron |
0.7% | 18.0 million tonnes per year | 14th | high | USGS MCS 2025 table: Chile 2024e = 18,000 thousand metric tons. |
| Element | Share % | Quantity | Global rank | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cu copper |
7.0% | 1.9 million tonnes per year | 3rd | high |
| Element | Share % | Quantity | Global rank | Confidence | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Re rhenium |
56.2% | 1,300,000 kg | 1st | high | USGS MCS 2025 table: Chile reserves 1,300,000 kilograms. byproduct of Cu, Mo |
| Cu copper |
19.4% | 190,000,000 tonnes | 1st | high | |
| I iodine |
9.8% | 610,000 tonnes | 2nd | high | Chile reserves: 610,000 metric tons. Caliche (sodium nitrate ore) deposits of the Atacama Desert. |
| Mo molybdenum |
9.3% | 1,400,000 tonnes | 4th | high | USGS MCS 2025 table: Chile 1,400 thousand metric tons. |
| Ag silver |
4.1% | 26,000 tonnes | 7th | high | byproduct of Au, Cu, Pb, Zn |
| B boron |
3.2% | 35,000,000 tonnes | 4th | high | Chile reserves: 35,000 thousand metric tons B₂O₃ (USGS MCS 2025). Ulexite deposits in the Atacama region. |
| K potassium |
2.1% | 100,000,000 tonnes | 8th | high | Chile — USGS: 100,000 thousand metric tons K2O equivalent. |