<p>You can get estimates from the <a href="https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/myb.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">USGS mineral yearbooks</a>. For example, the entry on <a href="https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/2015/myb3-2015-as.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Australia</a> has a data table with the amounts of mined resources. Or, the entry on <a href="https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/copper/mcs-2018-coppe.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">copper</a> lists both US production and international production, including numbers of people employed.</p>

<p>More number are available from government statistics websites, regarding employment. For example <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1718/Quick_Guides/EmployIndustry" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Australia</a> and <a href="https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/employment-by-major-industry-sector.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">USA</a>.</p>

<p>Digging through those websites will give you an order of magnitude of what to expect.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-15T07:01:08.970Z
Very much so. I then used pop and surface area to emulate the percentages I needed - as if a whole planet was "Australia":) Many thanks. Perfect.
Jorge Al Najjar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-15T10:23:18.150Z
@JorgeAlNajjar this might be too much. Australia mostly exports, so scaling “Australia” to planet-size (as much as I find this appealing as an Australia myself), means that you’re mining and producing too much. Australia is one of the countries with the highest percentage of mining as an economic activity.
Gimelist
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-18T18:58:37.570Z
Many thanks, yes, which is exactly what I need in my game, once things are high tech (think year 4783ish)  and a planet is fully developed, with the maximum mining it can produce, the "planet australia/canada" is a very good estimate for a  fully exploited planet  :) Interestingly, in my initial (still crude) model, I run out of tellurium (I always thought it would be Platinum...) very soon after I started to mass produce certain spacecraft items, which is an aim in the game (so you must either colonize a source or trade it or kill someone who has it).
Jorge Al Najjar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-06T22:52:52.563Z
2019-02-06T22:52:52.563Z
Gimelist
<p>I am writing a space colonization game, and I need some guidance on default values for mine productivity. If you also know an estimate of how much people work on them, that's a bonus. Thanks in advance :)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-04T08:28:09.313Z
Mining takes many shapes & forms. Open pit, underground, or both? Conventional mining or dredging of placer deposits or harvesting brine from salt lakes or collection of nodules from the sea floor or harvesting minerals from submarine volcanic vents?  What commodities: iron ore, coal, copper, nickel, tin, lithium, gems, potash, kaolin, ...? The numbers of people employed depends on the degree of mechanization or the availability of cheap labor.  Mines in Africa generally use cheap labor so people can be employed. Mines in developed countries tend to use machines & thus employ fewer people.
Fred
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-04T17:55:47.920Z
this is way too broad,please try to ask a more spesific question and if possible limited to one single material.
trond hansen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-04T18:41:41.870Z
Most mines produce raw ore containing a small percentage of desired minerals. Which do you mean?
Keith McClary
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-04T20:26:47.067Z
And many mines such as some Chinese coal mines are not on any official listings.
blacksmith37
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-06T19:04:05.490Z
Well, I meant it more scientifically, like in "how many mines". It didn't occur to me that the question should differ from "how many people" or "how many cars" in its essence. That's why I said "default values" and "estimate". :)
Jorge Al Najjar
<economic-geology><mining>
How many mines are there on Earth, and what is their output in tonnes?
Jorge Al Najjar
# How many mines are there on Earth, and what is their output in tonnes?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-02-04)

I am writing a space colonization game, and I need some guidance on default values for mine productivity. If you also know an estimate of how much people work on them, that's a bonus. Thanks in advance :)

**Tags:** economic-geology, mining

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Mining takes many shapes & forms. Open pit, underground, or both? Conventional mining or dredging of placer deposits or harvesting brine from salt lakes or collection of nodules from the sea floor or harvesting minerals from submarine volcanic vents?  What commodities: iron ore, coal, copper, nickel, tin, lithium, gems, potash, kaolin, ...? The numbers of people employed depends on the degree of mechanization or the availability of cheap labor.  Mines in Africa generally use cheap labor so people can be employed. Mines in developed countries tend to use machines & thus employ fewer people.  
> **username_2**: this is way too broad,please try to ask a more spesific question and if possible limited to one single material.  
> **username_3**: Most mines produce raw ore containing a small percentage of desired minerals. Which do you mean?  
> **username_4**: And many mines such as some Chinese coal mines are not on any official listings.  
> **username_0**: Well, I meant it more scientifically, like in "how many mines". It didn't occur to me that the question should differ from "how many people" or "how many cars" in its essence. That's why I said "default values" and "estimate". :)  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2019-02-06. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

You can get estimates from the [USGS mineral yearbooks](https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/myb.html). For example, the entry on [Australia](https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/2015/myb3-2015-as.pdf) has a data table with the amounts of mined resources. Or, the entry on [copper](https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/copper/mcs-2018-coppe.pdf) lists both US production and international production, including numbers of people employed.

More number are available from government statistics websites, regarding employment. For example [Australia](https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1718/Quick_Guides/EmployIndustry) and [USA](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/employment-by-major-industry-sector.htm).

Digging through those websites will give you an order of magnitude of what to expect.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Very much so. I then used pop and surface area to emulate the percentages I needed - as if a whole planet was "Australia":) Many thanks. Perfect.  
> **username_5**: @username_0 this might be too much. Australia mostly exports, so scaling “Australia” to planet-size (as much as I find this appealing as an Australia myself), means that you’re mining and producing too much. Australia is one of the countries with the highest percentage of mining as an economic activity.  
> **username_0**: Many thanks, yes, which is exactly what I need in my game, once things are high tech (think year 4783ish)  and a planet is fully developed, with the maximum mining it can produce, the "planet australia/canada" is a very good estimate for a  fully exploited planet  :) Interestingly, in my initial (still crude) model, I run out of tellurium (I always thought it would be Platinum...) very soon after I started to mass produce certain spacecraft items, which is an aim in the game (so you must either colonize a source or trade it or kill someone who has it).  

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