# Asbestos

Fibrous silicate once prized for fireproofing and cement, now banned across much of the world for causing lung disease, yet still mined.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/

Industrial minerals · No. 75

- Not on a critical list
- HHI 3,422 · highly concentrated
 Industrial minerals · Foundation · Matter

Banned across rich countries for killing lungs, asbestos is still mined by the million tonnes for roofs and pipes in Asia.

Chart: Illustration: Asbestos

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Chrysotile, the only asbestos still used widely, grows as fibrous veins in altered ultramafic rock. World output was about 1.21 million t in 2024.

##### Three things to know

1. US asbestos consumption fell from 803,000 t in 1973 to an estimated 50 t in 2025, nearly all for chloralkali diaphragms.
2. Only four countries still mine it, and Russia supplies about half of world output, giving an HHI of 3,422.
3. World use fell nearly 55% between 2000 and 2025, to about 930,000 t, mostly cement pipe and roofing in Asia.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Serpentinite**Chrysotile veins in altered ultramafic rock
2. 2 **Open pit**Mined in large surface pits
3. 3 **Fibre separation**Crushed, dried and air-separated
4. 4 **Grading**Sorted by fibre length
5. 5 **Products**Cement sheets, pipes, chloralkali diaphragms
 Covered in [Heavy inorganics: salt, sulphur, nitrogen and phosphorusChemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/chemicals/heavy-inorganic-chemicals/)

##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/links/index.md)