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1.6M
Country | Thorium Reserves |
---|---|
Uzbekistan | 1.5M |
Kazakhstan | 1.5M |
Azerbaijan | 1.5M |
Belarus | 1.5M |
Kyrgyzstan | 1.5M |
Moldova | 1.5M |
Armenia | 1.5M |
India | 846.5K |
Brazil | 632K |
United States | 595K |
Naturally occurring, thorium is a metal that is found in soil, rock, and water. It is also a radioactive metal that is formed when uranium decays. Some minerals that are rich in thorium, such as thorianite, thorite, and monazite are often mined so that we can access the metal. Some countries have mined enough of thorium that they now have reserves of it. In this article, we will look at some of the statistics surrounding thorium reserves and how the different countries of the world are storing the metal in 2023.
The countries that have the highest thorium reserves in 2023 are the countries that make up the Commonwealth of Independent States, which are also known as the CIS. These countries are Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and Armenia. Together, these countries have 1.5M each in thorium reserves.
India is the country with the next highest levels of thorium reserves. The country currently has 846.5K worth of thorium reserves and is followed by Brazil, which has 632K worth of reserves. The United States, and its 595K worth of thorium reserves, rounds out the top ten. Following the United States, Egypt has 380K in reserves while Turkey has 374K. Venezuela is the last country to have at least 300K in reserves.
At this point, the amount of reserves of thorium countries have start dropping drastically. Canada has 172K in reserves in 2023 while South Africa has 148K and China has 100K. All other countries that have a reserve of thorium have less than 100K in reserves.
The country with the lowest amount of thorium reserves is France. The country has only 1K in reserves, which is just slightly less than Argentina, which has 1.3K in reserves. DR Congo is next on the low end of the spectrum with 2.5K in reserves while Uruguay follows with 3K. Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and South Korea follow with 4K, 5K, and 6K in reserves, respectively.
Other countries with low reserve totals of thorium in 2023 include Kenya with 8K and Malawi with 9K. Three countries currently have 10K worth of Thorium reserves, including Mozambique, Angola, and Thailand. Some other notable entries are Peru with 20K, Madagascar with 22K, Nigeria with 29K, Morocco and Iran both with 30K, and Sweden with 50K.
One interesting entry on the list is Russia whose Asian reserve total measures in at 55K. It also has a stake in the share that the CIS countries have in reserve.
Country | Thorium Reserves (tons) | Additional Details |
---|---|---|
Uzbekistan | 1.5M | CIS member. Value shown includes all CIS countries combined |
Kazakhstan | 1.5M | CIS member. Value shown includes all CIS countries combined |
Azerbaijan | 1.5M | CIS member. Value shown includes all CIS countries combined |
Belarus | 1.5M | CIS member. Value shown includes all CIS countries combined |
Kyrgyzstan | 1.5M | CIS member. Value shown includes all CIS countries combined |
Moldova | 1.5M | CIS member. Value shown includes all CIS countries combined |
Armenia | 1.5M | CIS member. Value shown includes all CIS countries combined |
India | 846.5K | |
Brazil | 632K | |
United States | 595K | |
Egypt | 380K | |
Turkey | 374K | |
Venezuela | 300K | |
Canada | 172K | |
South Africa | 148K | |
China | 100K | Estimate includes 9,000 tons in Taiwan and may be significantly lower than the true value |
Norway | 87K | |
Greenland | 86K | Estimate is actually a range: 86 000 - 93 000 |
Finland | 60K | |
Russia | 55K | Data for Asian portion only. Reserves in Russia's European territory are totaled with CIS data |
Sweden | 50K | |
Iran | 30K | |
Morocco | 30K | |
Nigeria | 29K | |
Madagascar | 22K | |
Peru | 20K | |
Malaysia | 18K | |
Thailand | 10K | |
Angola | 10K | |
Mozambique | 10K | |
Malawi | 9K | |
Kenya | 8K | |
South Korea | 6K | |
Vietnam | 5K | Estimate is actually a range: 5,000 - 10,000 |
Sri Lanka | 4K | |
Uruguay | 3K | |
DR Congo | 2.5K | |
Argentina | 1.3K | |
France | 1K | |
Total | 14.6M |