With 22% of the world output, Canada is the second-largest producer of chrysotile in the world, after Russia, and the world's leading exporter. All our chrysotile mines are located in Québec.
| (metric tonnes) | |
| Commonwealth of Independent States | 1,000,000 |
| Canada | 510,800 |
| China | 250,000 |
| Brazil | 180,000 |
| Zimbabwe | 145,000 |
| South Africa | 100,000 |
| Greece | 50,000 |
| Swaziland | 30,000 |
| India | 25,000 |
| United States | 9,000 |
| Colombia | 5,000 |
| Romania | 3,000 |
| Yugoslavia | 1,000 |
| (metric tonnes) | |
| CIS | 700,000 |
| China | 220,000 |
| Japan | 195,000 |
| Brazil | 190,000 |
| Thailand | 164,000 |
| India | 123,000 |
| South Korea | 85,000 |
| Iran | 65,000 |
| France | 44,000 |
| Indonesia | 43,000 |
| Mexico | 38,000 |
| Colombia | 30,000 |
| Spain | 29,000 |
| USA | 29,000 |
| Turkey | 25,000 |
| Malaysia | 21,000 |
| South Africa | 20,000 |
| Asia | The Americas | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 85,202 | Colombia | 22,383 |
| Thailand | 75,898 | United States | 21,779 |
| Korea | 44,422 | Mexico | 15,533 |
| India | 42,936 | Brazil | 14,700 |
| Malaysia | 17,327 | Chile | 8,033 |
| Indonesia | 26,296 | Venezuela | 4,760 |
| Sri Lanka | 4,940 | Peru | 4,256 |
| Pakistan | 3,821 | Argentina | 2,424 |
| Taiwan | 3,779 | ||
| Australia | 1,397 | ||
| Africa/The Middle East | Europe | ||
| Turkey | 5,348 | France | 29,978 |
| Nigeria | 3,944 | Spain | 13,800 |
| Israel | 1,646 | Belgium | 6,936 |
| UAE | 3,218 | United Kingdom | 8,430 |
| Morocco | 2,776 | Portugal | 4,185 |
| Tunisia | 920 | Ireland | 2,970 |
An additional 34 countries purchased chrysotile fibre from Canada in 1995. Total combined exports to these countries and those listed above were 509,575 metric tonnes.
Canadian chrysotile consumption
The majority of the 500,000 metric tons of chrysotile asbestos produced annually in Québec is exported. Canada uses some 6,000 tons of chrysotile asbestos every year. Friction products, composite materials and asbestos textiles are the main domestic market outlets.
Unlike most countries, Canada no longer manufactures chrysotile-cement products. In the residential sector, the North American market has turned to wood because of the availability of this raw material. On the infrastructure side, which includes networks of water mains made of asbestos-cement pipe, the work is for all intents and purposes complete. Though no longer manufactured in Québec, 2,000 to 3,000 tons of asbestos cement are imported and used on construction sites each year.