Minerals: Imports
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what volume of each mineral listed on the UK Critical Minerals List was imported in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025, broken down by country of origin.
Answered by Chris McDonald
Please see table below, derived from HMRC’s Import data by preference bulk dataset, using trade codes as published in the technical annex of the UK’s Critical Minerals Strategy. Countries of origin have been grouped into EU and non-EU for legibility.
Volumes of each critical and growth mineral imported into the UK, tonnes, 2023-25, broken down by those sourced from EU and non-EU countries.
Mineral | Origin | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Aluminium | EU | 492,570 | 468,461 | 468,440 |
non-EU | 387,774 | 420,020 | 426,726 | |
Antimony | EU | 878 | 851 | 576 |
non-EU | 367 | 309 | 162 | |
Beryllium | EU | 0 | 1 | 0 |
non-EU | 28 | 1 | 1 | |
Bismuth | EU | 19 | 44 | 28 |
non-EU | 257 | 143 | 110 | |
Borates | EU | 46 | 151 | 97 |
non-EU | 8,424 | 9,156 | 10,618 | |
Chromium | EU | 11,836 | 9,464 | 11,403 |
non-EU | 59,035 | 67,607 | 52,355 | |
Cobalt | EU | 1,725 | 1,681 | 1,420 |
non-EU | 3,937 | 8,400 | 9,653 | |
Copper | EU | 166,698 | 186,974 | 152,677 |
non-EU | 61,131 | 67,136 | 70,161 | |
Gallium | EU | 0 | 0 | 0 |
non-EU | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Germanium | EU | 0 | 1 | 2 |
non-EU | 2 | 5 | 1 | |
Graphite | EU | 5,130 | 4,378 | 4,696 |
non-EU | 27,894 | 28,901 | 30,261 | |
Hafnium | EU | 7 | 5 | 16 |
non-EU | 11 | 16 | 39 | |
Helium | EU | 1,218 | 1,121 | 740 |
non-EU | 2,537 | 1,927 | 2,619 | |
Indium | EU | 2 | 1 | 0 |
non-EU | 6 | 2 | 7 | |
Iridium & Ruthenium | EU | 1 | 1 | 1 |
non-EU | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
Iron | EU | 2,308,785 | 2,461,616 | 1,977,632 |
non-EU | 6,673,773 | 3,083,542 | 2,799,234 | |
Lithium | EU | 86 | 94 | 94 |
non-EU | 3,326 | 3,175 | 2,629 | |
Magnesite | EU | 20,296 | 18,790 | 24,737 |
non-EU | 20,995 | 24,602 | 21,282 | |
Magnesium | EU | 37,614 | 37,639 | 33,385 |
non-EU | 29,196 | 27,195 | 36,932 | |
Manganese | EU | 2,536 | 4,709 | 4,333 |
non-EU | 45,494 | 39,504 | 38,948 | |
Nickel | EU | 29,236 | 34,844 | 22,551 |
non-EU | 81,725 | 106,772 | 89,104 | |
Niobium | EU | 158 | 88 | 17 |
non-EU | 796 | 634 | 443 | |
Phosphates | EU | 94,984 | 92,078 | 86,741 |
non-EU | 158,713 | 144,112 | 170,832 | |
Platinum | EU | 1,888 | 2,095 | 2,703 |
non-EU | 290 | 362 | 865 | |
Rare Earth Elements | EU | 344 | 421 | 1,115 |
non-EU | 1,396 | 1,504 | 1,289 | |
Rhenium | EU | 1 | 1 | 4 |
non-EU | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Rhodium | EU | 2 | 2 | 2 |
non-EU | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
Silicon | EU | 49,192 | 68,729 | 45,208 |
non-EU | 71,052 | 98,374 | 102,744 | |
Sodium | EU | 4,875 | 5,903 | 4,303 |
non-EU | 8,695 | 6,798 | 7,141 | |
Tantalum | EU | 57 | 26 | 27 |
non-EU | 152 | 126 | 197 | |
Tellurium | EU | 3 | 5 | 2 |
non-EU | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Tin | EU | 625 | 693 | 757 |
non-EU | 4,281 | 4,935 | 5,235 | |
Titanium | EU | 8,207 | 6,502 | 4,314 |
non-EU | 193,758 | 247,719 | 151,547 | |
Tungsten | EU | 416 | 471 | 334 |
non-EU | 682 | 638 | 920 | |
Uranium | EU | 11 | 13 | 1,846 |
non-EU | 100 | 7 | 32 | |
Vanadium | EU | 296 | 257 | 253 |
non-EU | 173 | 140 | 244 | |
Zinc | EU | 4,846 | 7,069 | 7,115 |
non-EU | 15,140 | 16,372 | 15,894 |
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