Lead — Structural brief

Where lead is produced

China is the largest producer of lead, at 42.4 percent of the published world total in 2025^[1]. It is followed by Australia at 10.7 percent, Peru at 6.5 percent and United States at 6.3 percent. The USGS puts world production at 4,500 thousand metric tons; the sum of the country figures is 4,480 thousand metric tons, the difference being rounding in the published total.^[1] Reserves are held principally by Australia (34,000 thousand metric tons), China (22,000 thousand metric tons), Russia (8,900 thousand metric tons)^[1]. The largest reserve holder is not the largest producer, which is the usual sign that the constraint is capital and permitting rather than geology.

How concentrated supply is

Measured by the Herfindahl-Hirschman index over production shares, lead supply is moderately concentrated, with an index of 2,210. The top three producers hold 64.3 percent of output, and 2 producers together account for half of supply. An index below 1,500 is conventionally read as unconcentrated and above 2,500 as highly concentrated; the thresholds are the United States merger-review bands, used here as a published reference point rather than as a judgement about market conduct. The United States was 33 percent reliant on net imports for lead in 2025, with the principal import sources over 2021–24 being Canada, Republic of Korea, Ireland.^[2] The principal sources of United States imports over 2021–24 were Canada (31 percent), Republic of Korea (16 percent) and Mexico (15 percent)^[3].

Trade measures in force

The USGS compilation of export controls effective January 2026 records one measure bearing on lead. Vietnam maintains an export ban covering Raw materials of iron, lead-zinc, chromite, manganese, apatite, and rare earths and deeply processed titanium (2012), as compiled by the USGS from official and reported sources effective January 2026.^[4] A control listed here removes the tonnage concerned from the international market by law, whatever the production table implies about availability.

Recent United States official notices

Federal Register documents naming lead, most recent first. 2026-06-23: Commercial Leasing for Outer Continental Shelf Minerals Offshore the Commonwealth of Virginia-Request for Information and Interest. On November 13, 2025, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) received an unsolicited request to lease hard minerals (herein "minerals") in an area on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore the Commonwealth of Virginia. After reviewing the request, BOEM decided to initiate the first step that could potentially lead to a lease sale by publishing this request for information and interest (RFI).^[5] 2026-01-29: Commercial Leasing for Outer Continental Shelf Minerals Offshore Alaska-Request for Information and Interest. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is initiating the first steps that could potentially lead to a lease sale for minerals on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore Alaska by publishing this request for information and interest (RFI). This RFI is not a final decision to lease and does not prejudge any future Secretarial decisions concerning leasing on the OCS offshore Alaska.^[6] 2025-11-12: Commercial Leasing for Outer Continental Shelf Minerals Offshore the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands-Request for Information and Interest. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is initiating the first steps that could potentially lead to a lease sale for minerals on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) by publishing this request for information and interest (RFI). This RFI is not a final decision to lease and does not prejudge any future Secretarial decisions concerning leasing on the OCS offshore the CNMI.^[7]