Material Insights · Understanding the Material World

Magnesium: Overview

Why most magnesium ends up in car castings

What this tab covers What the commodity is used for, why, in what volumes and with what alternatives, and its chain from mine or field to end user. Also the latest price moves, top recent news, three things to know, and buttons into each tab.

Key uses

UseShareAnnual volumeWhy this commodityAlternatives
Transport die castings (car steering wheels, seat frames, instrument panel beams, gearbox and engine housings)48%about 530 kt Mg a yearbasis Magnesium is the lightest structural metal, about a third lighter than aluminium, and casts into thin, complex shapes in fast die-casting machines. That saves weight in cars where each kilogram counts. Higher cost, corrosion and poor cold formability limit it to about 1% of average vehicle mass (Smil 2016). EU CRM study 2023; USGS MCS 2026; Smil (2016) Aluminium castings
Zinc die castings (small parts)
Advanced high-strength steel and plastics
Alloying aluminium for packaging (beverage can lids and bodies)23%about 250 kt Mg a yearbasis A few percent of magnesium raises the strength and work hardening of aluminium sheet, letting can makers use thinner metal. There is no practical substitute in these 5xxx-series alloys, so can sheet demand pulls magnesium demand with it. Much is recycled with aluminium scrap. EU CRM study 2023; USGS MCS 2026 Manganese in some 3xxx can-body alloys (partial)
Steel tinplate and PET bottles (for the package)
Construction (aluminium-magnesium alloy profiles, sheet and other building products)13%about 145 kt Mg a yearbasis Magnesium-bearing aluminium alloys combine strength, weldability and corrosion resistance for window frames, cladding and structural sections. Demand follows building activity. EU CRM study 2023 Other aluminium alloy systems
Steel, PVC and timber profiles
Desulphurisation of iron and steel12%about 130 kt Mg a yearbasis Magnesium granules injected into hot metal react with sulphur, letting steelmakers produce low-sulphur grades for pipes and car sheet. USGS says magnesium is preferred to calcium carbide because carbide gives off acetylene in contact with water. EU CRM study 2023; USGS MCS 2026 Calcium carbide
Lime-based fluxes
Aerospace, rail and other transport4%about 45 kt Mg a yearbasis Magnesium-rare earth alloys are used for helicopter gearboxes, aircraft seat parts and electronics housings where low weight matters more than cost. EU CRM study 2023 Aluminium alloys
Carbon-fibre composites
Reducing agent for titanium and zirconium sponge (Kroll process)n/a n/a basis Molten magnesium strips chlorine from titanium tetrachloride to leave porous titanium sponge. Rising Chinese magnesium prices in 2021 cut titanium sponge output (Argus 2021). The by-product magnesium chloride is often electrolysed back to metal at integrated plants. USGS MCS 2026; Argus (Sept 2021) Sodium (Hunter process, now rare)
Electrochemical titanium routes (development stage)
Refractories and chemicals from magnesite (dead-burned, fused and caustic-calcined magnesia)n/a about 21 Mt of magnesite mined in 2025basis Magnesia withstands very high temperatures and basic slags, so it lines steel furnaces, ladles and cement kilns. Caustic magnesia is used in environmental, agricultural and chemical applications. In the US, about 78% of magnesium compounds went to non-refractory uses in 2025. USGS MCS 2026, Magnesium Compounds Alumina, chromite and silica refractories (USGS)
Lime and other alkalis (chemical uses)
The first five shares are EU end-use shares of magnesium metal (EU CRM 2023) applied to 2025 world primary output; they sum to 100%. US 2025 shares were castings 69%, aluminium alloys 15%, desulphurisation 9%, other 7% (USGS). Magnesite and magnesia are a separate, much larger tonnage market.

From mine to user

  1. 1. Raw material Dolomite (China), magnesite, or magnesium-rich brines and seawater. Resources are virtually unlimited (USGS 2026).
  2. 2. Calcining Dolomite is burnt in kilns to calcined dolime; for electrolysis, brine is purified and dehydrated to anhydrous magnesium chloride.
  3. 3. Reduction In China, calcined dolomite is reduced with ferrosilicon in coal-heated steel retorts (Pidgeon process). Outside China, magnesium chloride is electrolysed. China made 950 kt of the world's 1,100 kt in 2025 (USGS).
  4. 4. Refining and ingot casting Crude crowns are melted, fluxed and cast into 99.8-99.9% ingots, the traded form; the Argus and Fastmarkets benchmark is 99.9% ingot.
  5. 5. Alloying and fabrication Ingot goes to aluminium rolling mills as an alloying addition, to die casters (AZ91, AM60 alloys), to steelworks as granules and to titanium sponge plants.
  6. 6. Recycling US secondary output was 110 kt in 2025, more than twice primary consumption (40 kt), mostly from new scrap and aluminium alloy scrap (USGS).

Price movement snapshot 2026-10-25

No public daily or monthly benchmark price for this commodity in the datasets used.

World production 21.0 m tonnes, 2024 Largest producer China 66.53% of world Reserve life 371 yrs reserves ÷ 2025 output

Three things to know

  • Magnesium alloys make up only about 1% of average vehicle mass, held back by corrosion and forming problems (Smil, pdf p. 210).
  • China smelted an estimated 950,000 t of magnesium in 2025, about 86% of world output.
  • The only US primary magnesium smelter, in Utah, stopped in 2022; its operator filed for bankruptcy in September 2025.

Top recent news snapshot 2026-10-25, last 30 days

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