Table 1 The top mine-town systems globally by number of mining projects
From: Decarbonization, population disruption and resource inventories in the global energy transition
No. | Regional city | Country | # Mining projects | Commodities (# Mining projectsa) | # Rural towns (Minimal estimated population) | # Urban towns (Minimal estimated population) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Prince George | Canada | 1051 | Gold (829), Copper (483), Silver (395), Zinc (202), Lead (171), Molybdenum (145), Coal (47), Nickel (25), Platinum (23), Palladium (23), Cobalt (18), Rhodium (17), Lanthanides (16), Tungsten (13) | 24 (>12,000) | 10 (>50,010) |
2 | Perth—Armadale | Australia | 984 | Gold (745), Nickel (294), Copper (187), Cobalt (111), Silver (73), Zinc (70), Iron Ore (51), U3O8 (47), Platinum (46), Lead (42), Palladium (41), Lithium (36), Tantalum (22) | 8 (>4000) | 3 (>15,003) |
3 | Sudbury | Canada | 715 | Gold (482), Copper (209), Nickel (156), Platinum (106), Palladium (100), Silver (85), Zinc (69), Cobalt (58), Rhodium (51), Diamonds (49), Lead (45), Graphite (22), U3O8 (21), Lanthanides (11) | 18 (>9000) | 7 (>35,007) |
4 | North Bay | Canada | 711 | Gold (544), Copper (211), Silver (162), Zinc (132), Nickel (65), Platinum (44), Palladium (42), Diamonds (39), Cobalt (37), Lead (37), Rhodium (21), Lithium (19), Lanthanides (18), Molybdenum (14), U3O8 (14) | 30 (>15,000) | 6 (>30,006) |
5 | Saguenay | Canada | 626 | Gold (279), Copper (195), Silver (93), Iron Ore (92), Nickel (85), Zinc (67), Diamonds (64), U3O8 (56), Palladium (50), Platinum (48), Cobalt (35), Lead (35), Lanthanides (30), Titanium (27), Rhodium (24), Magnetite (23), Phosphate (19), Lithium (18), Graphite (16), Vanadium (15), Molybdenum (14) | 45 (>22,500) | 14 (>70,014) |
6 | Sparks | USA | 566 | Gold (521), Silver (227), Copper (56), Lead (23), Zinc (21), Molybdenum (16), Lithium (11) | 11 (>5500) | 3 (>15,003) |
7 | Perth—Joondalup | Australia | 554 | Iron Ore (233), Gold (195), Copper (136), Silver (72), Lead (65), Zinc (59), Nickel (39), Lithium (35), U3O8 (33), Tantalum (30), Manganese (25), Cobalt (22), Tin (18), Platinum (16), Diamonds (15), Ilmenite (15), Palladium (15), Heavy Mineral Sands (14), Zircon (14), Rutile (14) | 18 (>9000) | 4 (>20,004) |
8 | Thunder Bay | Canada | 508 | Gold (352), Copper (161), Silver (100), Platinum (93), Palladium (92), Nickel (87), Zinc (74), Lead (42), Rhodium (42), Molybdenum (23), U3O8 (20), Cobalt (19), Iron Ore (19), Lithium (18), Tantalum (14), Diamonds (13), Lanthanides (12) | 13 (>6500) | 2 (>10,002) |
9 | Darwin | Australia | 455 | Gold (172), Copper (138), U3O8 (99), Diamonds (85), Zinc (74), Lead (69), Silver (65), Nickel (50), Iron Ore (36), Platinum (25), Cobalt (25), Lanthanides (22), Palladium (21), Phosphate (18), Manganese (15), Bismuth (12) | 23 (>11,500) | 6 (>30,006) |
10 | Edmonton | Canada | 447 | U3O8 (180), Diamonds (122), Gold (99), Copper (47), Silver (36), Nickel (27), Zinc (20), Platinum (15), Lead (15), Palladium (13), Cobalt (12), Coal (11), Lanthanides (11), Lithium (11) | 34 (>17,000) | 12 (>60,012) |
