Table 1.
A List of Commodities of Interest in ASM, the Forms in Which They Occur, and Examples of Countries in Which Mining Occurs
| Commodity | Form | Key countries | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metals | |||
| Gold—Asia | Au | China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, Vietnam | |
| Gold—Africa | Au | Burkina‐Faso, DRC, Ghana, Madagascar, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania | |
| Gold—South America | Au | Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela | |
| Tantalum (coltan) | tantalite and columbite | Brazil, Burundi, Colombia, DRC, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Venezuela | |
| Tin | cassiterite | Bolivia, China, DRC, Indonesia, Rwanda | |
| Tungsten | wolframite | China, Colombia, DRC, Rwanda | |
| Cobalt | heterogenite | DRC | |
| Diamonds and colored stones | |||
| Diamonds | carbon | Angola, Brazil, CAR, DRC, Ghana, Guyana, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, South Africa, Venezuela, Zimbabwe | |
| Emeralds | beryl | Afghanistan, Brazil, Colombia, Zambia, Zimbabwe | |
| Ruby | corundum | Kashmir, Madagascar, Mozambique, Myanmar, Sri Lanka Thailand | |
| Sapphires | corundum | Kashmir, Madagascar, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand | |
| Semiprecious Stones | 120 + varieties | Sources worldwide | |
| Industrial and other materials | |||
| Aggregates | mostly sand | China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand Cambodia | |
| Coal | carbon | India, China, Pakistan | |
| Fossils | various | Siberia, Morocco, China, Brazil | |
| Sulfur | S2 | Indonesia | |