A flame-retardant and lead-hardening metal whose price more than doubled after China restricted exports.
Antimony is a brittle, silvery-white metalloid used mainly as a flame retardant, as a hardener in lead alloys, and in glass, ceramics and rubber. In the United States, USGS reports the leading uses are metal products including flame retardants (49%), antimonial lead and ammunition (40%), and ceramics, glass and rubber products (11%). Supply is concentrated in a few countries, and a series of Chinese export restrictions since August 2024 has made it one of the most policy-driven markets in the library.
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Designations are indicative equivalents. Always confirm the exact standard, edition and temper or form on the purchase order and the mill certificate.
China, Russia and Tajikistan together supply about 85% of the world's estimated 110,000 t, but the figures for all three are USGS estimates, and the world total excludes U.S. output and countries with inadequate data. World output was 119,000 t in 2024. USGS revised 2024 production for China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia using company, government or third-party reports. Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026.
USGS puts world antimony reserves at more than 2 million tonnes, led by China (830,000 t), Russia (350,000 t), Bolivia (310,000 t) and Kyrgyzstan (260,000 t), followed by Burma (140,000 t), Australia (110,000 t), Turkey (99,000 t), Canada (78,000 t), Tajikistan (60,000 t) and the United States (60,000 t, company-reported probable reserves at the Stibnite Gold Project in Idaho). In 2025 a mining company in Idaho broke ground on an antimony mine and mining started at a mine in Montana.
Antimony concentrate is smelted to metal and converted to oxide. In the United States, one company in Montana produced primary antimony metal and oxide from imported feedstock, about 700 t of primary antimony in 2025 (estimated). U.S. imports show which forms move: about 39,000 t of oxide in 2025 (estimated), against 4,500 t of unwrought metal and powder and 600 t of ore and concentrates, and China supplied 55% of U.S. metal and oxide imports between 2021 and 2024.
Secondary antimony is mostly antimonial lead recovered from spent lead-acid batteries and used again in batteries. Secondary production in the United States was about 3,500 t in 2025 (estimated), and recycling supplied 12% of estimated U.S. apparent consumption. Substitutes exist for some uses: organic compounds and hydrated aluminium oxide as flame retardants, and combinations of calcium, copper, selenium, sulphur and tin in lead-acid battery alloys.
China announced export restrictions on antimony in August 2024 and banned all exports of antimony to the United States in December 2024. USGS reports the average monthly price nearly doubled from $9.80 per pound in August 2024 to $18.10 in December, rose another 52% to $27.50 by June 2025, then fell to $20.30 in November. On 9 November 2025 China suspended its December 2024 ban on exports of gallium, germanium and antimony to the United States until 27 November 2026; exporters still need Chinese licences, and a separate prohibition on dual-use items for U.S. military users remains. No extension or replacement had been reported at the review date, so check China's Ministry of Commerce announcements for the current position.
Antimony metal is quoted in dollars per pound or per tonne against a purity basis. USGS uses the Argus price for minimum 99.65% antimony, CIF: $5.31 per pound in 2021, $6.18 in 2022, $5.49 in 2023, $10.24 in 2024 and about $25 in 2025 (estimated). That is an increase of more than 140% in one year, which USGS ties to China's export restrictions.
Trade is shifting in form as well as price. U.S. imports of antimony oxide rose from 24,000 t in 2024 to an estimated 39,000 t in 2025, while imports of unwrought metal and powder fell from 4,920 t to an estimated 4,500 t. For a buyer, availability of a given form from a given origin matters as much as the headline price.
How rare, critical and minor metals are mined, priced and traded, with the other metals in this group.
For antimony, specify the form (concentrate, oxide, metal or antimonial lead), the purity or oxide grade, and the origin, and ask for an independent assay. Ask whether the shipment needs a Chinese export licence and whether it is covered by the current restrictions, because they can change on short notice. Check that the supplier can document origin, and consider secondary sources for lead-alloy applications.
Talk to a SpecialistProduction and reserve figures are USGS estimates for 2025 unless stated. Figures are rounded and change with each annual revision.