Asbestos
World mine production and reserves, 2024–2025
Share of world mine production, 2025 · world total 960,000 metric tons
- Russia 32%
- China 26%
- Kazakhstan 26%
- Brazil 16%
Russia accounted for 32% of world mine production of asbestos in 2025 (310,000 metric tons of 960,000 metric tons). The United States relied on net imports for all of its asbestos consumption in 2025. Every reported U.S. import of asbestos in 2021–24 came from Brazil. U.S. consumption of asbestos (estimated) fell from 310 metric tons in 2021 to 50 metric tons in 2025.
Producer log
5 countries listed separately
| Country | Mine production 2024 | Mine production 2025 | Share of world 2025 | Change on 2024 | Reserves | Share of world reserves |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russia | 306,900 | 310,000 | 32% | +1% | 110,000,000 | 73% |
| China | 250,000 | 250,000 | 26% | 0% | 7,100,000 | 4.7% |
| Kazakhstan | 225,700 | 250,000 | 26% | +11% | 20,000,000 | 13% |
| Brazil | 166,890 | 150,000 | 16% | −10% | 11,000,000 | 7.3% |
| United States | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| World total | 949,000 | 960,000 | 100% | +1.2% | 150,000,000 | 100% |
Output versus reserves
same commodity, two measures
Mine production, 2025
- Russia 32%
- China 26%
- Kazakhstan 26%
- Brazil 16%
Reserves (world 150 million metric tons)
- Russia 73%
- Kazakhstan 13%
- Brazil 7.3%
- China 4.7%
- Other countries 1.3%
Reserves are the part of identified deposits that USGS considers economic to extract now; they change as prices, technology and surveys change. At the 2025 rate, the world reserve figure equals about 156 years of output.
United States
supply, trade and import sources
Net import reliance in 2025, as a percentage of estimated consumption.
Import sources, 2021–24
- Brazil 100%
| Item | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imports for consumption | 41 | 224 | — | — | — |
| Exports | — | — | — | — | — |
| Consumption, estimated | 310 | 290 | 150 | 115 | 50 |
Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Asbestos chapter (PDF page 54). How to read these figures.