Smartphone Technology relies on Metals and Minerals

More than 30 elements are used to build a single smartphone. With 1.35 billion units shipped in 2021, and 1.53 billion units expected to ship in 2025 the demand for digital technologies will require minerals and precious metals from the ground to support increasing demand.¹

Additionally, many of the metals and minerals used in smartphones are also critical to supporting the green energy transition. From electric car batteries to wind and solar, the mining of critical metals and minerals is critical to 21st century technologies.

Click each smartphone component to find out more

A smartphone screen is made up of a combination of materials including indium tin oxide for the transparent film, aluminosilicate (mixture of alumina and silicate) in the glass, and a variety of Rare Earth element compounds.

Click each element to find out more.

Tin Discovered 2100 BC

Smartphone part(s): Screen

Amount in smartphone: 0.66g

Projected Demand Increase (by 2030): 30%

Found Primarily: 1. China, 2. Indonesia, 3. Burma

Identified as a Clean Energy Metal?: No

Fun Fact: Historians think that as early as 1500 B.C., Phoenicians traveled by sea to the Cornwall district of England to obtain tin. In more modern times, the London Metal Exchange (LME) was launched in 1877 on the back of copper, pig iron, and tin trading.

Silicon Discovered 1824

Smartphone part(s): Chip and Screen Glass

Amount in smartphone: 8.14g

Projected Demand Increase (by 2030): 29%

Found Primarily: N/A

Identified as a Clean Energy Metal?: Yes

Fun Fact: Silicon is the second most abundant element on Earth, after oxygen.

Molybdenum Discovered 1781

Smartphone part(s): Screen

Amount in smartphone: 0.02g

Projected Demand Increase (by 2030): 13%

Found Primarily: 1. China, 2. United States, 3. Peru

Identified as a Clean Energy Metal?: Yes

Fun Fact: Molybdenum has the third highest melting point of metal and is used to improve the strength of steel. It's used in missiles, aircraft, and nuclear energy.

Indium Discovered 1863

Smartphone part(s): Screen

Amount in smartphone: Not Available

Projected Demand Increase (by 2030): 7.6% CAGR to 2030 (80% cumulative)

Found Primarily: 1. China, 2. Korea, 3. Canada & Japan

Identified as a Clean Energy Metal?: Yes

Fun Fact: Indium tin oxide is one of the most widely used transparent conducting oxides because of its electrical conductivity and optical transparency. Touchscreens wouldn't exist without it.

Terbium Discovered 1843

Smartphone part(s): Vibration unit, Liquid crystal display

Amount in smartphone: Not Available

Projected Demand Increase (by 2030): 195%-434% depending on stated policy or sustainable development goals

Found Primarily: 1. China, 2. Vietnam, 3. Brazil & Russia

Identified as a Clean Energy Metal?: Yes – for battery and wind

Fun Fact: Rare earth metals are a key component of the green energy transition helping to support magnets, wind turbines, and electric vehicles.

Praseodymium Discovered 1885

Smartphone part(s): Speaker & Microphone, Liquid crystal display

Amount in smartphone: Not Available

Projected Demand Increase (by 2030): 195%-434% depending on stated policy or sustainable development goals

Found Primarily: 1. China, 2. Vietnam, 3. Brazil & Russia

Identified as a Clean Energy Metal?: Yes – for battery and wind

Fun Fact: Rare earth metals are a key component of the green energy transition helping to support magnets, wind turbines, and electric vehicles.

Europium Discovered 1901

Smartphone part(s): Battery, Liquid crystal display

Amount in smartphone: Not Available

Projected Demand Increase (by 2030): 195%-434% depending on stated policy or sustainable development goals

Found Primarily: 1. China, 2. Vietnam, 3. Brazil & Russia

Identified as a Clean Energy Metal?: Yes – for battery and wind

Fun Fact: Rare earth metals are a key component of the green energy transition helping to support magnets, wind turbines, and electric vehicles.

Dysprosium Discovered 1886

Smartphone part(s): Vibration unit, Liquid crystal display

Amount in smartphone: Not Available

Projected Demand Increase (by 2030): 195%-434% depending on stated policy or sustainable development goals

Found Primarily: 1. China, 2. Vietnam, 3. Brazil & Russia

Identified as a Clean Energy Metal?: Yes – for battery and wind

Fun Fact: Rare earth metals are a key component of the green energy transition helping to support magnets, wind turbines, and electric vehicles.

Gadolinium Discovered 1880

Smartphone part(s): Speaker & Microphone, Liquid crystal display

Amount in smartphone: Not Available

Projected Demand Increase (by 2030): 195%-434% depending on stated policy or sustainable development goals

Found Primarily: 1. China, 2. Vietnam, 3. Brazil & Russia

Identified as a Clean Energy Metal?: Yes – for battery and wind

Fun Fact: Rare earth metals are a key component of the green energy transition helping to support magnets, wind turbines, and electric vehicles.

Lanthanum Discovered 1839

Smartphone part(s): Liquid crystal display

Amount in smartphone: Not Available

Projected Demand Increase (by 2030): 195%-434% depending on stated policy or sustainable development goals

Found Primarily: 1. China, 2. Vietnam, 3. Brazil & Russia

Identified as a Clean Energy Metal?: Yes – for battery and wind

Fun Fact: Rare earth metals are a key component of the green energy transition helping to support magnets, wind turbines, and electric vehicles.

A smartphone’s casing needs to be resistant to potential shock damage (such as a dropping your phone) and waterproof (increasing feature of newer smartphone models). This makes metals like aluminium, nickel, and magnesium the ideal materials for smartphone casing.

Click each element to find out more.

28

Nickel

Ni
12

Magnesium

Mg
13

Aluminum

Al

Nickel Discovered 1715

Smartphone part(s): Microphone, Battery, Casing, Electrical Connections

Amount in smartphone: 2.72g

Projected Demand Increase (by 2030): 31%

Found Primarily: 1. Australia & Indonesia, 2. Brazil, 3. Russia

Identified as a Clean Energy Metal?: Yes

Fun Fact: Nickel supplies four critical demand sources: stainless steel, electroplating, superalloys and now batteries. Stainless steel has grown at 2x GDP since 1950 alone.

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Magnesium Discovered 1755

Smartphone part(s): Casing

Amount in smartphone: 0.65g

Projected Demand Increase (by 2030): 5.3% CAGR to 2030 (51% cumulative)

Found Primarily: 1. Russia, 2. China, 3. Slovakia

Identified as a Clean Energy Metal?: No

Fun Fact: Magnesium remains critical to Aluminum production, a market 72,000x its size.

Aluminum Discovered 1825

Smartphone part(s): Case

Amount in smartphone: 31.14g

Projected Demand Increase (by 2030): 17.70%

Found Primarily: 1. China, 2. India, 3. Russia

Identified as a Clean Energy Metal?: Yes – for electricity networks only

Fun Fact: Aluminum has many uses and fills markets where steel is too heavy or copper is too expensive.

A modern smartphone is a marvel of miniscule electronic parts from gold and tantalum for microelectrical components and microcapacitors, through to Gallium for semiconductors, Copper for wiring, and Zinc for circuit boards. These commodities are selected for their electrical resistance amongst other properties that make them ideal for microelectrical components.

Click each element to find out more.

Gold Discovered 6000 BC

Smartphone part(s): Microelectrical components

Amount in smartphone: 0.014g

Projected Demand Increase (by 2030): 9.40%

Found Primarily: 1. Australia, 2. Russia, 3. South Africa

Identified as a Clean Energy Metal?: No

Fun Fact: It is estimated that 6.5bn ounces of gold have been produced since antiquity. Each ounce would find a buyer at $1800/oz.

Tantalum Discovered 1802

Smartphone part(s): Micro-capacitors (filtering & frequency tuning)

Amount in smartphone: 0.02g

Projected Demand Increase (by 2030): 30%

Found Primarily: 1. Australia, 2. Brazil, 3. N/A

Identified as a Clean Energy Metal?: No

Fun Fact: Tantalum is critical to turbines (enabling power and flight), along with airbag performance (when needed) in every vehicle.

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Gallium Discovered 1875

Smartphone part(s): Semiconductors

Amount in smartphone: 0.01g

Projected Demand Increase (by 2030): 24.5% CAGR to 2030 (577% cumulative)

Found Primarily: 1. United States, 2. Russia, 3. China

Identified as a Clean Energy Metal?: No

Fun Fact: Gallium enjoys wide applications in aerospace, defense applications, high-performance computers, industrial equipment, and telecommunications.