Mica: Criticality

Total import reliance, yet many substitutes

What this tab covers How exposed economies are to a supply disruption: the EU, US and India listings, the concentration score, and a quantified exposure for the US, EU, India, China, Japan, Latin America, the Middle East and Australia. Where the EU scored it, a chart of supply risk against economic importance, with import reliance, recycling input and substitutes.

Exposure by region

Region	Exposure	Share of world output	Share of world imports	Share of world exports	Net trade (US$)	On own critical list	Position
US	High	–	5.8%	4.2%	−$6.32 m	No	Produces 26,000 t of scrap and flake but is 100% import reliant for sheet mica, mostly from China; flake net import reliance was 34% in 2025 (USGS 2026).
EU	High	–	15.3%	14.7%	−$9.35 m	No	Finland (57,000 t) and France and Spain produce flake; mica is not assessed in the 2023 EU CRM study, and Germany and Italy are importers (USGS 2026; UN Comtrade 2024).
India	Low	–	1.4%	31.2%	+$61.9 m	No	Largest exporter by value (31% in 2024) with the largest listed sheet mica reserves (110,000 t), but much supply comes from informal collection with documented child labour; not on India's 2023 critical list (UN Comtrade; USGS; Refinery29 2019).
China	High	–	48.1%	18.2%	−$88.5 m	No	Largest scrap and flake producer (85,000 t) and the largest importer (48% of world value), converting imported mica into paper, tapes and pigments (USGS 2026; UN Comtrade 2024).
Japan	High	–	13.6%	2.9%	−$29.8 m	No	Imports 14% of world mica by value and has no listed production (UN Comtrade 2024; USGS).
Latin America	High	–	3.1%	0.8%	−$6.43 m	no list	Brazil supplied 5% of US sheet mica imports in 2021-24 and has large mica-bearing rock (USGS 2026).
Middle East	High	–	1.3%	0.0%	−$3.34 m	no list	Turkey produced about 9,500 t of scrap and flake in 2025 (USGS); no other producers listed.
Australia	Low	–	0.3%	0.1%	−$533k	No	Not among the producers listed by USGS for 2025.

Exposure rating: High when the region is a net importer whose import share is at least three times its share of world output (or, for farm goods, it produces under 70% of what it consumes); Medium for other net importers (or 70-95% self-sufficiency), raised to High when world supply is highly concentrated in another country; Low for net exporters or self-sufficient regions. Net importer status uses tonnage where reported, otherwise value. Output: n/a. Trade: UN Comtrade 2024 (EU = sum of member states, including intra-EU trade). Critical lists: US 2025, EU 2024/1252, India 2023, China 2016 strategic minerals, Japan METI, Australia 2024.

Mica is not on the US 2025 or India 2023 critical mineral lists. The United States relies on imports for 100% of its sheet mica, mostly from China, for electrical and electronic parts. Substitutes are broad: plastics, fiberglass and mica paper for insulation, and synthetic fluorophlogopite where thermal properties matter. The sharper risk is ethical. Much flake from India and Madagascar is dug by hand in informal mines where child labour has been documented.

EU 2023 Not assessed US 2025 list No India 2023 list No US net import reliance, 2025 34% share of apparent consumption

Substitutes

Diatomite, perlite and vermiculite as fillers; synthetic fluorophlogopite; plastics, fiberglass and mica paper in electrical and insulation uses