Rhodium Production by Country

Rhodium production by country measures the quantity of rhodium mined as a platinum-group metal, expressed in kilograms of contained rhodium. The figures follow the definitions used in the underlying sources. The statistics are based on USGS Minerals Yearbook Early Release Tables T5 World Mine Production (MYB 2022: 2018-2022 and MYB 2023: 2019-2023 merged; 2018 from the 2022 file, 2019-2023 from the 2023 file revised). The table below lists 4 countries with reported mine production in this dataset. 2023 figures are available for all 4: South Africa at 18,549 kilograms, Zimbabwe at 1,672, Russia at 1,600 and Canada at 330. The World total for rhodium in the source is 30,400 kilograms in 2023.

Rhodium is a hard, corrosion-resistant platinum-group metal recovered primarily as a byproduct of platinum and nickel mining. The values here reflect mine production of rhodium content where it is listed individually in the source; other platinum-group metals are reported separately alongside it and are not aggregated here.

Rhodium Production by Country

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#	Country	Latest Data (kilograms)	Year
1	South Africa ZA	18,549	2023
2	Zimbabwe ZW	1672	2023
3	Russia RU	1600	2023
4	Canada CA	330	2023

South Africa alone accounted for about 61 percent of the reported World total in 2023 in this dataset, and South Africa and Zimbabwe together for about 67 percent; the top three countries accounted for about 72 percent. South Africa's reported output was about 11.6 times that of the second-largest producer in this dataset. Only South Africa produced more than 10,000 kilograms in this dataset in 2023.

Countries With the Largest Rhodium Production in 2023

South Africa produced the most rhodium in this dataset in 2023 with 18,549 kilograms. Zimbabwe ranked second with 1,672, followed by Russia (1,600) and Canada (330).

Rhodium Production Around the World

In Africa, South Africa (18,549) leads by a wide margin, ahead of Zimbabwe (1,672). In Europe, Russia (1,600) is the only listed producer in this dataset. In the Americas, Canada (330) is the only listed producer. No producer in Asia or Oceania is listed individually for rhodium in this dataset.

Sector Comparison Within the PGM Group

From the same MYB T5 dataset, ruthenium production in 2023 is listed at 28,478 kilograms for South Africa, 1,036 for Zimbabwe, 880 for Russia and no reported value for Canada, compared with 18,549, 1,672, 1,600 and 330 for rhodium. Platinum and palladium totals from the same source are more than six times larger than rhodium in this period, with South Africa, Russia and Canada also appearing as the listed producers for those metals. The comparison is limited to the two indicators taken directly from the same MYB tables.

Global Structure in This Dataset

The reported figures are highly concentrated: South Africa holds the majority of reported World production for rhodium in this period, with the other three listed countries together accounting for about 12 percent of the World total in 2023. The structure was stable between 2018 and 2023, with South Africa remaining the largest producer in every year shown, and the ranking of the other three shifting only between Russia and Zimbabwe for second place.

Largest Changes in Rhodium Production, 2022-2023

Zimbabwe recorded the largest increase among the listed countries, rising from 1,511 kilograms in 2022 to 1,672 in 2023 (up 161). Russia rose from 1,500 to 1,600 (up 100, about 7 percent) and Canada from 290 to 330 (up 40, about 14 percent).

South Africa recorded the only decline, falling from 18,687 to 18,549 kilograms (down 138, less than 1 percent). The World total for rhodium rose from 29,900 to 30,400 kilograms (up 500, about 2 percent), while the combined output of the four listed countries increased by 163 kilograms.

South Africa's fall was small in percentage terms but, because of its large base, it offset most of Zimbabwe's and Russia's gains in absolute terms. Canada's rise reversed its decline from 410 to 290 kilograms between 2020 and 2022 and returned it to growth from 2022 onward.

Earlier shifts were larger and short-lived: Russia rose from 1,928 to 2,426 kilograms between 2018 and 2019 (up 498) before falling back to 1,804 in 2020, while Zimbabwe fell from 1,334 to 1,224 in the same interval, showing year-to-year volatility rather than a sustained trend.

Total and Ratio Analysis for 2018-2023

The World total for rhodium moved between 26,500 and 33,300 kilograms in this period. It fell from 30,600 in 2018 to 26,500 in 2020, rebounded to 33,300 in 2021, and eased to 29,900 in 2022 before rising to 30,400 in 2023. South Africa accounted for the largest share of the individually reported production in each year. The sharp 6,800-kilogram increase in the World total from 2020 to 2021 was driven mainly by South Africa, which increased by 3,903 kilograms, while Russia and Zimbabwe also increased by 500 and 223 kilograms, respectively. The change was not fully captured by the four countries listed individually in the dataset.

Rhodium Production by Country

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#	Country	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
1	South Africa	18,608	19,545	16,972	20,875	18,687	18,549
2	Russia	1928	2,426	1804	1648	1500	1600
3	Zimbabwe	1334	1224	1368	1334	1511	1672
4	Canada	300	800	410	300	290	330

Methodology

The statistics are based on USGS Minerals Yearbook Early Release Tables T5 World Mine Production (MYB 2022 and MYB 2023 merged). The earlier year 2018 is taken from the 2022 file, and 2019-2023 from the 2023 file where it is revised. Values refer to mine production of rhodium content where it is reported individually, in kilograms as in the source, and the source reports the World total for rhodium as 30,400 kilograms for 2023. The source reports production in kilograms (r, revised; e, estimated where flagged); values here are used verbatim, rounded to the nearest kilogram where needed. The source reports -- where no value is available, which is shown as an empty cell. A 0 where shown reflects no production. The sum of individually listed countries does not equal the World total where shown, because the source includes estimates and rounding. This is mine production of rhodium and does not include refinery production, secondary production or reserves, which are reported elsewhere in the source.