Misc
Ranked: The Top 20 Metals and Mining Billionaires
Mining Magnates: The Top 20 Billionaires in Mining
Metals and mining can be a very profitable business for the individuals at the top, but success can also come and go based on volatile commodity prices. The average time to make a billion dollars in the sector is 16 years, compared to 21 years across all industries.
Although tech and bank CEOs get all the limelight, eight of the 100 richest people in the world are in the metals and mining industry. Today’s graphic shows the top 20 metals and mining billionaires, based on the Forbes Billionaires List.
Steel producers dominate the list, followed by copper miners.
Name | Net Worth | Country | Company | Operations |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alexey Mordashov | $29.1B | Russia 🇷🇺 | Severstal | steel |
Vladimir Potanin | $27.0B | Russia 🇷🇺 | Norilsk Nickel | palladium, platinum, nickel |
Vladimir Lisin | $26.2B | Russia 🇷🇺 | NLMK Group | steel |
Germán Larrea Mota-Velasco | $25.9B | Mexico 🇲🇽 | Grupo México | copper |
Gina Rinehart | $23.6B | Australia 🇦🇺 | Hancock Prospecting | iron ore |
Iris Fontbona | $23.3B | Chile 🇨🇱 | Antofagasta Plc | copper |
Andrew Forrest | $20.4B | Australia 🇦🇺 | Fortescue Metals Group | iron ore |
Alisher Usmanov | $18.4B | Russia 🇷🇺 | Metalloinvest | iron ore/steel |
Lakshmi Mittal | $14.9B | India 🇮🇳 | ArcelorMittal | steel |
Wang Wenyin | $13.2B | China 🇨🇳 | Amer International Group | copper |
Dang Yanbao | $12.7B | China 🇨🇳 | Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group | coal |
Savitri Jindal | $9.7B | India 🇮🇳 | Jindal Group | steel/cement |
Iskander Makhmudov | $9.7B | Russia 🇷🇺 | UGMK | copper |
Alberto Baillères | $9.2B | Mexico 🇲🇽 | Industrias Penoles | silver |
Andrei Skoch | $8.6B | Russia 🇷🇺 | State Duma | steel |
Zheng Shuliang | $8.6B | China 🇨🇳 | China Hongqiao Group | aluminum |
Nicky Oppenheimer | $8.0B | South Africa 🇿🇦 | De Beers | diamond |
Alexander Abramov | $7.6B | Russia 🇷🇺 | Evraz | steel |
Rinat Akhmetov | $7.6B | Ukraine 🇺🇦 | System Capital Management | steel, coal |
Igor Altushkin | $7.6B | Russia 🇷🇺 | Russian Copper Company (RMK) | copper |
Despite being major players in the mining industry, the United States and Canada don’t have representatives on the list.
Russia’s Mining Billionaires
Russia’s huge geographic area is filled with rich mineral resources providing a fertile ground for mining billionaires. It is the largest miner of diamonds and palladium, and the second-largest miner of platinum and nickel. It is no wonder this country hosts eight of the 20 richest people in the industry, including the first few on the list.
Alexey Mordashov, son of steel mill workers that had to use welfare coupons to raise the family, is the first on the list. The 55-year-old businessman is the majority shareholder in steel company Severstal. In the Forbes ranking, which takes into account the assets of the whole family, Mordashov ranks first among all Russian billionaires.
Next on the metals billionaire list is Vladimir Potanin, individually the wealthiest man in Russia and the owner of Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer of palladium and nickel.
Women at the Top
The first woman on the mining billionaires list in the fifth spot, is Australia’s Gina Rinehart, Executive Chairman of Hancock Prospecting. The 67-year-old executive is the only child of legendary explorer Lang Hancock, who discovered the world’s largest iron ore deposit in 1952.
Hancock died in 1992, leaving a bankrupt estate to Gina. She rebuilt and expanded the company over the following decade. As a result, she became a billionaire in 2006 during the iron ore boom.
“If you’re jealous of those with more money, don’t just sit there and complain; do something to make more money yourself”
— Gina Rinehart
The list also includes the wealthiest person in Chile, Iris Fontbona. Iris is the widow of Andrónico Luksic, who built a fortune in the mining, financial, and beverages sectors, including the top copper miner Antofagasta.
A New Era for Mining Fortunes
As demand for most minerals increases due to new technologies and the energy transition, the world needs metals and mining more than ever and soon there will be a new list of billionaires who built their fortune on the minerals of tomorrow.
Misc
Mapped: U.S. Mineral Production Value by State in 2022
U.S. mineral production value increased by 4% YoY in 2022 to reach $98.2 billion. Which states contributed the most to domestic mineral production?

U.S. States Ranked by the Value of their Mineral Production
The U.S. produced $98.2 billion worth of nonfuel minerals in 2022, but which states made up the majority of the mining?
This map uses data from the USGS to map and rank U.S. states by the value of their nonfuel mineral production in 2022.
The ranking takes into account the mining of nonfuel minerals that are split into two main categories: metallic minerals (like gold, copper, or silver), and industrial minerals (like phosphate rock, various types of clay, and crushed stone).
The Top Mineral-Producing States in the U.S.
Arizona tops the list of mineral-producing states, with $10.1 billion worth of minerals which account for 10.3% of the U.S. total, largely due to the state’s prolific copper production. The state of Arizona accounted for around 70% of domestic copper production in 2022, and as a result also produces large amounts of molybdenum as a byproduct.
The state of Nevada was the next top mineral producer at $8.9 billion worth of minerals, thanks to its longstanding leadership in gold mining (accounting for 72% of U.S. gold production in 2022) and by having the only operating lithium project in America.
States in the Western region of the U.S. dominate the ranking of top mineral-producing states, holding the top two spots and making up half of the top 10 when it comes to total mineral production value.
Rank | State | Mineral Production Value (2022) | Share of U.S. total |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Arizona | $10.1B | 10.3% |
2 | Nevada | $8.9B | 9.1% |
3 | Texas | $8.0B | 8.2% |
4 | California | $5.6B | 5.7% |
5 | Minnesota* | $4.8B | 4.9% |
6 | Alaska | $4.5B | 4.6% |
7 | Florida* | $2.8B | 2.9% |
8 | Utah | $3.6B | 3.7% |
9 | Michigan | $3.4B | 3.4% |
10 | Missouri | $3.2B | 3.2% |
*The value of these states is a partial total which excludes withheld values by the USGS to avoid disclosing company proprietary data. Rankings remain unaffected which is why some states may rank higher than others despite having a lower value.
Texas rounds out the top three at $8 billion worth of minerals produced in 2022, largely thanks to its dominant production of crushed stone. The state of Texas was the top producer of crushed stone in 2022 at more than $2.8 billion worth, nearly double that of the next largest producer, Florida, which produced $1.5 billion worth.
What Minerals is the U.S. Producing the Most of?
Nonfuel mineral production is categorized into two main categories by the USGS, metals/metallic minerals and industrial minerals.
While not as shiny, the produced value of industrial minerals far outweighs that of metallic minerals. While $34.7 billion worth of metals were produced in 2022, industrial mineral production value was nearly double at $63.5 billion.
Construction aggregates like construction sand and gravel along with crushed stone made up almost half of industrial minerals production at $31.4 billion, with crushed stone being the leading mineral commodity overall at $21 billion of production value.
Following crushed stone, the next top minerals produced but the U.S. were (in decreasing order of value): cement, copper, construction sand and gravel, and gold.
Although the value of metals production decreased by 6% compared to 2021, industrial minerals production increased by 10% year-over-year, resulting in an overall increase in America’s overall nonfuel mineral production of 4%.
Misc
Visualizing the Opportunity Cost of Unrecycled Metals in the U.S.
Exploring the quantity and dollar value of recycled metals in the U.S. by visualizing metal recycling ratios.

The Opportunity Cost of Unrecycled Metals in the U.S.
Metals are an essential resource for modern society, used in everything from construction and transportation to technology and medical equipment. As the demand for these minerals continues to grow, so does the amount of waste generated by their production and consumption.
Recycling this metal waste is not just a win for sustainability; it also has huge economic benefits. In the visual above, we explore the ratio of recycled vs. unrecycled metals in the U.S. using 2020 Recycling Statistics by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Metal Recycling in the U.S.
Opportunity cost is a concept that refers to the benefits that are forgone when choosing one option over another. In the case of unrecycled metals, the opportunity cost is the potential economic and environmental benefits that could have been achieved through increasing metal recycling ratios.
Below are the recycling rates for select metals in the U.S. in 2020.
Metal | % of supply recycled |
---|---|
Aluminum | 54 |
Chromium | 25 |
Copper | 36 |
Iron & Steel | 52 |
Lead | 77 |
Magnesium | 55 |
Nickel | 52 |
Tin | 36 |
The above recycled metals represented a dollar value of $26 billion in 2020. Their unrecycled counterparts, on the other hand, represented $28 billion.
Metals can either be recycled from scrap that results from the manufacturing process (known as “new scrap”) or scrap from post-consumer products (“old scrap.”) Regardless of the source, many of them, especially chromium, copper, and tin, have the potential to reap further sustainability and economic benefits by recycling a larger proportion of their scrap supplies.
The Case for Metal Recycling
When compared with the mining, processing and transport of new metals, recycling metals can provide a significantly less energy-intensive alternative, saving enough energy each year to power millions of homes in the U.S.
Recycling metals can also save natural resources, create more green jobs, and reduce a country’s dependency on mineral imports by supplementing its supply of raw materials.
Overall, the potential for metal recycling is vast, and taking steps to increase the amount of recycled metals in the U.S. can lead to even greater sustainability and economic benefits.
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