In 2024, Spain was estimated to be the world’s second-ranked producer of strontium, accounting for an estimated 25% of global production; the third-ranked producer of fuller’s earth, accounting for an estimated 16% of global production; and the estimated fifth-ranked producer of gypsum, accounting for an estimated 7% of global production. Alumina, diatomite, feldspar, ferrosilicon, fluorspar, iron oxide pigments, kaolin, lime, magnesite, mica, potash, pumice, salt, industrial sand and gravel, silicon metal, and tungsten were also produced in significant quantities. Other industrial mineral commodities produced included cement, clays, peat, nitrogen (ammonia), soda ash (glauberite and thenardite), stone, and talc. Other metallic commodities included aluminum, copper, gold, iron, lead, nickel, niobium, silver, steel, tantalum, tin, and zinc.
Spain’s real gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 3.5% in 2024 compared with that in 2023; the nominal GDP was \$1.73 trillion. In 2024, the value of mining and quarrying production was $4 billion, an increase of 1.6% compared with that in 2023 and accounting for 0.23% of the country’s GDP. The legislative framework for the mineral sector in Spain is provided Spanish Mining Law 22/1973 of July 21, 1973, and its regulations approved by Royal Decree 2857/1978 of August 25, 1978. The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, and the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain are the agencies overseeing the mineral industry. Most mineral commodities were produced by domestic and international private companies.
