lamm-mit/bgs-production

BGS World Mineral Statistics

Query the British Geological Survey's World Mineral Statistics database for mineral production, imports, and exports by commodity, country, and year. Covers global mineral data with country-level breakdowns.

Usage

Basic search:

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/bgs_query.py --query "lithium"

Production by country:

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/bgs_query.py --query "Cobalt" --country "Congo"

Filter by year range:

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/bgs_query.py --query "Copper" --year-from 2018 --year-to 2022

Get country ranking:

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/bgs_query.py --query "Graphite" --ranking --top-n 10

Filter by statistic type:

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/bgs_query.py --query "Nickel" --statistic-type "Exports"

JSON output:

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/bgs_query.py --query "Rare earths" --format json --limit 20

Parameters

| Parameter | Description | Default | |-----------|-------------|---------| | --query | Commodity name to search for | Required | | --country | Filter by country name | - | | --year-from | Start year for date filter | - | | --year-to | End year for date filter | - | | --statistic-type | Statistic type: Production, Imports, Exports | Production | | --ranking | Show country ranking by production | false | | --top-n | Number of top countries in ranking | 15 | | --limit | Maximum records to return | 50 | | --format | Output format: summary, detailed, json | summary |

Examples

# Top lithium producers
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/bgs_query.py --query "Lithium" --ranking --top-n 10

# Cobalt production in Congo over time
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/bgs_query.py --query "Cobalt" --country "Congo" --year-from 2015 --format detailed

# Rare earth exports globally
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/bgs_query.py --query "Rare earths" --statistic-type "Exports" --format json

# Graphite production ranking for 2021
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/bgs_query.py --query "Graphite" --ranking --year-from 2021 --year-to 2021

Notes

• Data from the BGS OGC API (free, no authentication required)
• Covers global mineral production, imports, and exports statistics
• Country names use BGS conventions (e.g., "Congo (Democratic Republic)" not "DRC")
• Year filtering is applied client-side after fetching records
• Rate limiting: be courteous, avoid excessive requests