# Mercury: Production Why the sources disagree so sharply on output Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/mercury/production/ 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. The sources disagree sharply. World Mining Data shows output almost halving, from 2,308 t in 2020 to 1,202 t in 2024, with an HHI of 4,178. China holds 58%, Tajikistan 25% and Mexico 12%. USGS gives a far smaller mine total of 212 t in 2024 and 210 t in 2025, nearly all Chinese. The gap probably reflects different coverage of by-product, reclaimed and unreported output. Either way the trend is down, because regulation shrinks demand. Concentration is high on both measures. #### Mercury ยท WMD 2020 2,308 2021 1,810 2022 1,015 2023 1,063 2024 1,202 World production, tonnes (World Mining Data 2026). #### Top producers 2024 China 58.2% Tajikistan 25.0% Mexico 12.5% Russia 2.5% United States 1.3% Kyrgyzstan 0.5% Morocco 0.1% Concentration: HHI 4,178, highly concentrated. #### USGS estimate World, 2024 212 metric tons, Hg content (mine, excluding US) World, 2025e 210 metric tons, Hg content (mine, excluding US) #### Largest producers by company, global - **Chinese primary mercury mines (country total)**: 200 t Hg (country mine output) (2025e) - **Tajik mercury producers (country total)**: 4 t Hg (USGS country estimate) (2025e) - **Kyrgyz mercury producers (country total)**: 5 t Hg (country mine output) (2025e) - **Mexican producers and reclaimers (country total)**: 150 t Hg (country output) (2024) - **Japanese non-ferrous smelters and recyclers (country total)**: 65 t Hg recovered (2016) #### Largest producers by company, India India produces no primary mercury and is one of the largest importers: 349 t in 2016, the world's top importer that year (IPEN 2017, from Comtrade), and 19.9% of world imports by value in 2024 (Comtrade). Importers are not named in the sources used. Mercury is not on India's 2023 critical list. ## Other sections - [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/mercury/index.md) - [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/mercury/overview/index.md) - [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/mercury/correlation/index.md) - [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/mercury/extraction/index.md) - [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/mercury/stocks/index.md) - [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/mercury/cycles/index.md) - [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/mercury/trading/index.md) - [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/mercury/movement/index.md) - [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/mercury/criticality/index.md) - [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/mercury/characteristics/index.md) - [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/mercury/emissions/index.md) - [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/mercury/links/index.md)