Countries with the Largest Mineral Reserves in the World, Including Indonesia

YOGYAKARTA - The availability of certain minerals is not evenly spread around the world. Therefore, countries with large reserves often hold a strategic role in the global economy. If you look closer, only a handful of countries control most of the world's important mineral reserves.

Countries with large mineral reserves can have significant geopolitical leverage, especially in today's era of energy and technology transitions. So, which countries have the largest mineral reserves in the world? Here's the discussion.

As reported by Visual Capitalist, Australia is the most prominent country in terms of mineral reserves. This country is not only superior in one commodity, but has a very diverse wealth of resources. Australia is recorded as the largest owner of reserves for gold, uranium, iron ore, zinc, and manganese.

Australia's dominance in iron ore is significant as it accounts for about 31 percent of the world's total reserves. In addition, about 28 percent of global uranium reserves are also in this country. This position makes Australia an important player in the energy industry, including the potential for nuclear energy in the future.

Meanwhile, China occupies a strategic position in minerals that support modern technology. The country leads global reserves for rare earth metals and graphite.

Both minerals are used in electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines, to advanced defense systems. Rare earth metals themselves are crucial because they are difficult to replace in many high-tech applications. With large reserves, China has a strong influence in the global supply chain of the technology sector.

In addition to Australia and China, several other countries also control mineral reserves in very large amounts. South Africa, for example, controls about 83 percent of global platinum group metal reserves. Meanwhile, Morocco controls about 69 percent of global phosphate reserves that are important for the fertilizer industry.

Furthermore, the Democratic Republic of Congo accounts for about half of the world's cobalt reserves. Cobalt is a key ingredient in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage.

Indonesia itself is no less important on the global mineral reserve map, with about 44 percent of the world's nickel reserves. Nickel is another key material in electric vehicle batteries. With the increasing demand for electric vehicles, Indonesia's position is becoming more strategic in the future.

Those are the countries with the largest mineral reserves in the world. With the right strategy, these resources can be the key to long-term economic growth while strengthening a country's position in global politics.

In addition to the discussion above, follow other interesting articles at VOI.ID. So as not to miss the latest news, follow and monitor our social media accounts!