Germany
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Germany refined 2.1% (USGS) of the world's copper in 2025 (estimated).
2.1%
of the world's copper refining in 2025 (estimated), according to USGS
#8 in copper refiningANNUAL 2025
Materials with a production share
3
with a mining or refining share on record
Sites on record
1
Mines and plants in the open sources. Coverage is partial.
Exports of the ten materials
$2bn
2024; most of it copper; 113 partner countries
Grid emissions intensity
334gCO2e/kWh
2025
Overview
What it produces
Share of world output, per material and stage. Each bar is one source's figure; where two sources report the same stage, both are shown and never blended. A full-width bar would be 100%.
Copper· Refine
- 2.1%#8 in copper refiningUSGS, 2025 (estimated) · 610 kt
Rank 8 of the 17 countries with a figure in this USGS table.
Lithium· Refine
- 0.9%#5 in lithium refiningIEA, 2025 · 3 kt Li
Rank 5 of the 6 countries with a figure in this IEA table.
Graphite· Refine
- 0.2%#5 in graphite refiningIEA, 2025 · 5 kt
Rank 5 of the 6 countries with a figure in this IEA table.
Graphite· Mine
- 0%#18 in graphite miningUSGS, 2025 (estimated) · 140 t
Rank 18 of the 18 countries with a figure in this USGS table.
Key facts
- Country code
- DEU
- GDP
- $5.05tn (2025)
- Mineral rents, share of GDP
- 0% (2021)
- Ores and metals, share of goods exports
- 2.9% (2025)
- Mining area, all commodities
- 551 km² (2019; rank 24 of 144)
- Named in the sources as
- Fed. Rep. of Germany (...1990)
Map
- Germany
- Mine or brine operation
- Processing site
Sites are those in the open sources. A site missing here is missing from the sources, not from the world.
Sites on record · 1
1 of 1 shown
- Nordenhamer ZinkhuetteSmelter
One entry per site. Where two sources describe the same site, the atlas lists the record of the source it ranks higher.
Country in context
Copper: Refinery production, 2025 (estimated). All rows come from the same table.
| Country | thousand metric tons | Share of world | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| GermanyThis country | 610 | 2.1 % | |
| ChinaLargest producer in the table | 14 000 | 48.3 % | |
| World totalWorld total as the source gives it | 29 000 | – |
Supply chain
Every figure the sources give for this country, its trade partners per material, and where its sites are.
Production, refining and reserves
The latest year of each series. Share is of the series total: the larger of the source world total and the sum of its rows. Rank counts only the countries that have a number in that series.
| Series | Amount | Share of world | Rank | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lithium: Chemicals (IEA)2025 · IEA GCMO 2026 · rank 5 of 6 | 3 kt Li | 0.9 % | ||
| Copper: Mine production2025 (estimated) · USGS MCS 2026 | Nil (—) in source | – | ||
| Copper: Refinery production2025 (estimated) · USGS MCS 2026 · rank 8 of 17 | 610 kt | 2.1 % | ||
| Copper: Reserves2025 · USGS MCS 2026 | Nil (—) in source | – | ||
| Graphite: Mine production2025 (estimated) · USGS MCS 2026 · rank 18 of 18 | 140 t | 0.0 % | ||
| Graphite: Refined battery-grade supply (IEA)2025 · IEA GCMO 2026 · rank 5 of 6 | 5 kt | 0.2 % | ||
| Graphite: Reserves2025 · USGS MCS 2026 | Less than half a unit | – |
Mines and plants listed without coordinates · 6
The USGS Minerals Yearbook names these operations in Germany with company, place and annual capacity, but gives no coordinates, so they are not on the map. Capacity is not production. Each row is from the chapter year shown.
| Material and product | Kind | Company, as listed | Place, as listed | Annual capacity | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CopperCopper, refined | Plant | Aurubis AG (Salzgitter AG, 25%; institutional investors, 45%; other private investors, 30%) | Primary smelter and refinery and secondary plant at Hamburg | 500 thousand metric tons per year | 2019 | |
| CopperCopper, refined | Plant | Hüttenwerke Kayser AG (Aurubis AG, 100%) | Secondary plant and refinery at Luenen | 210 thousand metric tons per year | 2019 | |
| GalliumGallium | Not specified | Ingal Stade GmbH (5N Plus Inc., 50%, and Molycorp Inc., 50%) | Ingal plant at Stade | 35 metric tons per year | 2019 | |
| GalliumGallium | Not specified | PPM Pure Metals GmbH1 (Recylex S.A., 100%) | Plant at Langelsheim | not given | 2019 | |
| GraphiteGraphite, manufactured | Not specified | GK Graphit Kropfmühl GmbH (Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V., 100%) | Plant at Kropfmuehl, Passau | 20 thousand metric tons per year | 2019 | |
| GraphiteGraphite, manufactured | Not specified | GK Graphit Kropfmühl GmbH (Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V., 100%) | Plants at Bad Godesberg and Wedel, Holstein | 8 thousand metric tons per year | 2019 |
Trade partners
1 recorded flow, 2024
- Recorded trade flow; a thicker line is a larger value
- Germany
Lines join the middle of each country. They are not shipping routes.
| Partner | Material | Year | Value, US$ | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Import fromBulgaria | CopperProcess | 2024 | $1.2bn |
Reconciled customs data (CEPII BACI), by value. The data holds only the largest flows of each material, so this is not the country’s full trade.
1 sites, deposits and projects on record are listed with the map in the Overview →
Money
What the trade data and the World Bank record in money terms. Every value is a reported figure with its own year.
All recorded trade flows of 2024 under the customs codes that isolate one of the ten materials, by value (CEPII BACI, reconciled estimates, current US dollars). Codes that mix several materials are left out, so trade in those materials is understated; gallium and germanium have no usable code at all. Each material lists its five largest partners. Why trade data blurs some materials
Exports of the ten materials
$2bnin 2024, with 113 partner countries
Copper$1.2bn
Sweden $237M · Belgium $232M · Italy $207M · Austria $147M · Poland $103M · 57 more
Tungsten$225M
United States $72M · Austria $69M · Finland $27M · Other Asia, nes $7.3M · United Kingdom $7M · 61 more
Nickel$177M
Canada $44M · France $28M · Belgium $23M · Sweden $12M · India $10M · 67 more
Graphite$173M
France $29M · China $22M · Sweden $16M · Poland $14M · United States $14M · 86 more
Lithium$62M
France $11M · Italy $8.9M · Turkey $8.3M · Hungary $7.7M · China $5.3M · 54 more
Cobalt$57M
United States $9.5M · United Kingdom $4.5M · Brazil $3.4M · Malaysia $3.4M · Italy $3.2M · 71 more
Rare earths$28M
Russian Federation $10M · North Macedonia $4.1M · United States $2M · China $1.4M · Austria $1M · 86 more
Antimony$4.3M
Italy $690,050 · Romania $682,112 · France $448,395 · Austria $422,129 · Belgium $380,803 · 38 more
Imports of the ten materials
$9.6bnin 2024, with 81 partner countries
Copper$8bn
Bulgaria $1.2bn · Belgium $858M · Brazil $755M · Sweden $727M · Poland $723M · 47 more
Nickel$864M
Norway $270M · Russian Federation $125M · Netherlands $93M · Australia $87M · France $63M · 39 more
Tungsten$196M
Austria $33M · United States $21M · China $19M · Italy $14M · United Kingdom $13M · 48 more
Graphite$175M
China $54M · France $36M · United States $11M · Netherlands $9M · India $8.9M · 47 more
Cobalt$111M
Finland $28M · Belgium $19M · United States $17M · United Kingdom $12M · France $12M · 41 more
Lithium$106M
Japan $29M · United States $23M · Chile $20M · Netherlands $19M · France $3.5M · 18 more
Rare earths$58M
China $19M · France $12M · Austria $9M · Italy $3.4M · Netherlands $3.2M · 31 more
Antimony$57M
France $26M · Belgium $17M · China $8.4M · Netherlands $1.1M · United States $792,765 · 17 more
The economy around mining
World Bank indicators. Each has its own latest year, shown next to the value; mineral rents are often several years old.
GDP (current US$)
$5.05tn
Year 2025
Mineral rents (% of GDP)
0%
Year 2021
Ores and metals exports (% of merchandise exports)
2.9%
Year 2025
Government revenue from extractives
EITI, reportedWhat government agencies reported receiving from extractive companies, per fiscal year, as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) publishes it in US dollars. A total covers every sector the country's report covers and is not split by mineral.
$844Mlatest reported fiscal year, 2022
Sectors in the report: mining, oil, gas · Period: 2022-01-01 – 2022-12-31
All 7 reported years
| Fiscal year | Government revenue (US$) | Sectors in the report | Country file | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20222022-01-01 – 2022-12-31 | 843 905 719 | mining, oil, gas | summary file | |
| 20212021-01-01 – 2021-12-31 | 255 044 193 | mining, oil, gas | summary file | |
| 20202020-01-01 – 2020-12-31 | 224 215 204 | mining, oil, gas | summary file | |
| 20192019-01-01 – 2019-12-31 | 559 152 307 | mining, oil, gas | summary file | |
| 20182018-01-01 – 2018-12-31 | 759 825 044 | mining, oil, gas | summary file | |
| 20172017-01-01 – 2017-12-31 | 538 479 849 | mining, oil, gas | summary file | |
| 20162016-01-01 – 2016-12-31 | 338 870 104 | mining, oil, gas | summary file |
EITI reports lag by two to four years. The figure is the report's own total and is not adjusted for inflation. Republished under EITI's Content Use Policy with credit to the EITI International Secretariat, eiti.org. These figures are kept in a file of their own and are not part of the atlas's ODbL data. EITI open data
Investment pipeline
announced figuresPlanned and under-construction projects in Germany with a publicly announced capital cost, public financial backing, or both. Each line is one statement by the named publisher on the given date; the atlas adds nothing to it.
Lithium Hydroxide Converter GubenPlannedProcessing
Rock Tech Guben GmbH · Guben, Brandenburg · Lithium
“fully permitted; CapEx estimate updated” · status as printed on 2025-10-23
- Announced capital cost
EUR 680 M2025-10-23
CapEx for commissioning the facility (management estimate) · Rock Tech Lithium Inc.
The publisher's words: “management now estimates the CapEx for commissioning the facility at approximately €680 million, compared to the prior estimate of €730 million”
- Public backing
no amount statedStrategic project status · “recognised as Strategic Project (Commission Decision C(2025) 1904, annex item 24)” · 2025-03-25
European Commission
The publisher's words: “Lithium Hydroxide Converter Guben is an ongoing processing project in Germany. The project promoted by Rock Tech Guben GmbH”
EUR 90 MGrant · “has issued an LOI committing up to” · 2024-06-27
Brandenburg’s Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labour and Energy
The publisher's words: “Brandenburg’s Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labour and Energy has issued an LOI committing up to 90 million EUR in grants”
EUR 10 MGrant · “application for federal funding has been confirmed” · 2024-12-31
German Railway Authority
The publisher's words: “application for federal funding from the German Railway Authority has been confirmed and will provide a contribution of another 10 million Euros in grants”
Later statements
Brandenburg’s Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labour and Energy: The LOI expired on December 31, 2024.2024-12-31
The publisher's words: “The LOI expired on December 31, 2024.”
Zero Carbon Lithium (Phase One Lionheart Project)Under constructionMine and processing
Vulcan Energie Ressourcen GmbH · Upper Rhine Valley · Lithium
“Final Investment Decision in December 2025, when construction activities officially commenced” · status as printed on 2026-05-27
- Announced capital cost
No announced capital cost was read.
- Public backing
no amount statedStrategic project status · “recognised as Strategic Project (Commission Decision C(2025) 1904, annex item 47)” · 2025-03-25
European Commission
The publisher's words: “Zero Carbon Lithium is an ongoing extraction project in Germany. The project promoted by Vulcan Energie Ressourcen GmbH”
EUR 150 MEquity · “is investing up to” · 2026-09-09
Raw Materials Fund (managed by KfW, under the Germany Fund)
The publisher's words: “Raw Materials Fund, under the umbrella of the Germany Fund, is investing up to EUR 150 million in the implementation of the ambitious Lionheart project”
Linked, not quoted (the publisher's terms forbid reuse, so no figure is taken from the page): European Investment Bank
A short, hand-read list, not a census: 19 projects in all. Announced amounts are not spending, a letter of interest or a conditional commitment is not a loan, and amounts stay in the currency of the announcement.
Public support instruments
Stockpiles, price floors, offtake and purchasing programmes and public funds of Germany's government and of the European Union, as dated policy events of the type "public support". Each is one statement by its publisher.
2025-12-03announced · European UnionFundannounced
The Commission adopted the RESourceEU Action Plan: project financing, a European Critical Raw Materials Centre, joint purchasing through the Raw Materials Platform and a stockpiling pilot.
EUR 3 bn · “up to €3 billion over the next 12 months”
Covers: “critical raw materials, such as rare earth elements, cobalt or lithium” · Materials: Rare earths, Cobalt, Lithium
European Union instrument; applies through membership
The publisher's words: “The EU will mobilise up to €3 billion over the next 12 months to support concrete projects”
5 further statements from the source
adoption
The publisher's words: “The European Commission has adopted today the RESourceEU Action Plan”
European Critical Raw Materials Centre planned
The publisher's words: “In early 2026, the Commission will set up a European Critical Raw Materials Centre”
joint purchasing and offtake via the Raw Materials Platform
The publisher's words: “the Raw Materials Platform will facilitate the efforts of the companies to aggregate demand, jointly purchase strategic raw materials and secure offtake agreements”
stockpiling pilot
The publisher's words: “with a pilot scheme set to become operational in early 2026”
materials named
The publisher's words: “secure the EU's supply of critical raw materials, such as rare earth elements, cobalt or lithium”
2024-05-23in force from · European UnionJoint purchasingin force
The Critical Raw Materials Act obliges the Commission to run a demand-aggregation and joint-purchasing system for strategic raw materials and to set a benchmark for strategic stocks.
Covers: “strategic raw materials” · Materials: Cobalt, Copper, Gallium, Germanium, Lithium, Graphite, Nickel, Rare earths, Tungsten
European Union instrument; applies through membership
The publisher's words: “The Commission shall set up and operate a system to aggregate the demand of interested undertakings consuming strategic raw materials established in the Union”
2 further statements from the source
joint negotiation of purchases allowed (Article 25(5))
The publisher's words: “may, on a transparent basis, jointly negotiate the purchase, including the prices or other terms and conditions of the purchasing agreement”
coordination of strategic stocks (Article 23)
The publisher's words: “shall adopt a benchmark indicating a safe level of Union strategic stocks of strategic raw materials”
Mining companies headquartered here · 47
Companies that Wikidata places in the mining industry with headquarters in Germany, for every commodity, not only the ten materials. Wikidata is edited by volunteers: entries may be missing or out of date, and each name links to its item. A listing names an exchange and a ticker; it is not a price.
These figures are informational, not financial advice.
Sustainability
Four indicators, the same on every profile. Each is a figure with its unit, year and source, or a plain statement that there is none.
Carbon
Emissions intensity of the country's electricity grid.
334gCO2e/kWh
Higher than 38% of the other 208 countries with a grid figure.
- It describes the national grid, not mining or refining. Sites may run on their own power.
Water
Share of the country's mine sites on record that lie in high or extremely high baseline water stress.
No mine or brine site with a water-stress class is on record in this country.
- Counted by site, not by tonnage: it is not a share of production.
- "Arid and Low Water Use" is a class of its own in the source and is not counted as high.
Land
Land visibly used by mining in the country, every commodity together.
551km²
Higher than 84% of the other 143 countries with a mapped mining area.
- Rank 24 of 144 countries by area.
- Mapped from satellite images for all mining in a country. It cannot be attributed to one material or one site.
Circularity
Recycling's share of demand.
Not available per country: recycling rates in the atlas are published per material, for the EU as a whole.
There is no overall score: the four figures measure different things and are not added up. How to read these figures
Risks & policy
Export controls in force
Compiled by USGS, effective January 2026. Not a live feed.
USGS Table 4 lists no export control by this country for the materials in the atlas.
Chokepoints at sea
The atlas has no record of which minerals pass through which sea passage, so no chokepoint figure is attached to this profile. Current ship counts for the main passages are on the Live page. Open the Live page
Gaps
What the atlas is missing for Germany
Computed from the data. Each line names a record that exists and one that does not. It marks missing data, not missing industry.
- Listed as a lithium refiner (0.9% of world output; Chemicals (IEA), 2025), but no processing plant is on record.
- Listed as a copper refiner (2.1% of world output; Refinery production, 2025), but no processing plant is on record.
- Listed as a graphite producer (0% of world output; Mine production, 2025), but no mine is on record.
- Listed as a graphite refiner (0.2% of world output; Refined battery-grade supply (IEA), 2025), but no processing plant is on record.
- A graphite producer (0% of world output; Mine production, 2025), but no site record names an owner or operator.
- Trade is partial by design: the atlas holds only each material's largest flows. 32 of them name this country.
Sources
Every source this profile uses, with its licence, the years its figures describe and how sure the figures are. Each chip on the profile opens the single record.
- CEPII BACI 202601 ↗34 records used
- Licence
- Etalab Open Licence 2.0
- As of
- 2024
- Confidence
- Estimated
- USGS MCS 2026 ↗27 records used
- Licence
- CC0-1.0
- As of
- 2025
- Confidence
- Reported · Estimated
- USGS Minerals Yearbook, Vol. III ↗6 records used
- Licence
- Public domain (U.S. Government work)
- As of
- 2019
- Confidence
- Reported
- IEA GCMO 2026 ↗4 records used
- Licence
- CC-BY-4.0
- As of
- 2025
- Confidence
- Reported
- World Bank WDI ↗3 records used
- Licence
- CC-BY-4.0
- As of
- 2021–2025
- Confidence
- Reported
- Ember Yearly Electricity Data ↗1 record used
- Licence
- CC-BY-4.0
- As of
- 2025
- Confidence
- Reported
- Maus et al. 2022 (mining areas v2) ↗1 record used
- Licence
- CC-BY-SA-4.0
- As of
- 2019
- Confidence
- Estimated
- Wikidata ↗1 record used
- Licence
- CC0-1.0
- As of
- 2026
- Confidence
- Inferred, needs review
- WU Vienna mine database v1.0.3 ↗1 record used
- Licence
- CC-BY-4.0
- As of
- 2022
- Confidence
- Reported
The mining-area figure comes from a share-alike source (CC-BY-SA-4.0). It is kept in its own file under that licence, apart from the rest of the atlas's data.
History & talk
Revision history and discussion are coming soon.
Every change to a figure will be listed here with its source, its credit and its review, and each profile will have a place to discuss it. Until then the data changes only when a source is updated, and every figure links to that source.
What we don't know yet
No open source we may use gives these figures. Nothing is estimated to fill them. If you know a public source, add it.
- Import dependence: no open per-country series is loaded yet.Add data: Import dependence: no open per-country series is loaded yet.
- Recycling rates: Eurostat publishes them for the EU as a whole, not for one country.Add data: Recycling rates: Eurostat publishes them for the EU as a whole, not for one country.