Metal Ore Mining Industry Profile

Companies in this industry develop mine sites, mine and quarry metallic minerals and provide related support services, and prepare minerals for sale. Major companies include Freeport-McMoRan and Newmont Mining (both based in the US), as well as Anglo American (UK), China Molybdenum, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto (both dually headquartered in Australia and the UK), Glencore (Switzerland), Grupo Mexico, MMC Norilisk Nickel (Russia), and Vale (Brazil).

China, Australia, Chile, and South Africa dominate the global metal ore mining industry. The world's most highly mined metals are iron ore, bauxite, aluminum, chromium, copper, manganese, zinc, and silicon. Fueled by economic growth and higher spending among construction and manufacturing industries, mining companies in China are expected to experience strong growth over the next several years.

The US metal ore mining industry includes about 330 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $22 billion, as well as about 225 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) that provide related support services and generate annual revenue of about $1.6 billion.

The industry includes companies that mine and process gold, silver, copper, nickel, lead, zinc, iron ore, uranium, and other metals.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is driven by industrial production and economic growth, both domestic and foreign. Individual company profitability depends on volume and operating efficiency. Large companies can afford to discover and develop new deposits and increase reserves. Small companies ...