How much magnesium is produced?
While metallic magnesium has been known since 1808 when Sir Humphrey Davy succeeded in isolating small quantities, industrial production did not start until 1886 in Germany, the same year that the Hall-Heroult process for aluminum was discovered. By the turn of the century the entire world production was only ten metric tons per year. By 1990 it was over 350,000 metric tons per year. Experts anticipate that the demand for magnesium will rise significantly over the next few years to reach close to 500,000 metric tons by the year 2005. Producers have kept ahead of the steady increase in demand for magnesium by building new capacity ahead of the demand curve.
