Lead: Production
A flat mining market dominated by China
What this tab covers Who produces it and how much: world output over recent years, the top producing countries with their shares, USGS world figures for 2024 and 2025, and the largest producing companies globally and in India.China dominated 2024 mine output with 41%, followed by Australia at 10% and Mexico at 8%. The HHI of 1,952 is moderately concentrated, mostly because of China. World mine output was nearly flat, rising about 2% between 2020 and 2024 to 4.8 million tonnes (World Mining Data). USGS puts 2025 at about 4.5 million. Mines are only part of the story. The study group forecast 13.3 million tonnes of refined lead in 2025, nearly three times mine output, because most refined lead is resmelted from scrap. Recycling supplies over half of lead (Tilton & Guzmán).