Antimony

Overview

Antimony is a semi-metal. In metallic form it is silvery, hard and brittle. Small additions harden and strengthen lead and other metals, which is why it is used in battery alloys, bullets and cable sheathing. Its compounds are used to make flame retardants and in paints, enamels, glass and pottery. Antimony and many of its compounds are toxic.¹

Antimony is critical because mine supply is concentrated in a few countries, and China, the largest producer, controls exports. China has required export licences for antimony since September 2024.²³ The United States and the European Union both list antimony as critical. It is not one of the EU's strategic raw materials.⁴⁵

Where it comes from

Antimony is not especially abundant, but it occurs in more than 100 minerals. The most common is antimony(III) sulfide (stibnite). The metal is extracted by roasting the sulfide to an oxide and then reducing the oxide with carbon.¹ The world's main identified resources are in Australia, Bolivia, Burma, China, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and Tajikistan.²

World mine production was an estimated 110,000 t in 2025, down from 119,000 t in 2024. China (40,000 t), Russia (32,000 t) and Tajikistan (22,000 t) supplied about 85% of the total. USGS made large revisions to its 2024 figures for China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. It also notes that other countries may produce antimony but lacks reliable estimates for them.²

• China40,000 t · 36%
• Russia32,000 t · 29%
• Tajikistan22,000 t · 20%
• Bolivia5,000 t · 5%
• Burma4,500 t · 4%
• Turkey3,000 t · 3%
• Other countries4,220 t · 4%

World total shown is the sum of USGS country estimates; USGS rounds it to 110,000 t. US production is withheld by USGS and not included. Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Antimony

China also holds the largest reserves, about 830,000 t, followed by Russia and Bolivia. USGS gives world reserves only as more than 2 million t.²

• China830,000 t · 35%
• Russia350,000 t · 15%
• Bolivia310,000 t · 13%
• Kyrgyzstan260,000 t · 11%
• Burma140,000 t · 6%
• Australia110,000 t · 5%
• Turkey99,000 t · 4%
• Canada78,000 t · 3%
• Other countries218,000 t · 9%

World total shown is the sum of USGS country estimates; USGS gives the world total only as more than 2 million t. Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Antimony

US mine production restarted on a small scale in 2025. One company began mining antimony in Montana, and one company in Montana produced primary metal and oxide from imported feed. In October 2025 a company in Idaho broke ground on an antimony mine with conditional funding from the US Department of War. In November another company said mining had started at the Stibnite Hill Mine in Montana. Most US output is still secondary: an estimated 3,500 t was recovered in 2025 as antimonial lead from spent lead-acid batteries.²

What it is used for

In the United States, metal products including flame retardants accounted for 49% of use. Antimonial lead and ammunition took 40%, and nonmetal products such as ceramics, glass and rubber took 11%.² Antimony is also used in electronics to make infrared detectors and diodes.¹

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US apparent consumption rose to an estimated 45,000 t in 2025 from 28,600 t in 2024. Most of the increase came from oxide imports, which rose to 39,000 t from 24,000 t.²

Grades and forms

Antimony is traded as ore and concentrates, as oxide, and as unwrought metal and powder. These are the categories USGS uses to track US trade, and oxide is by far the largest import category.² China's export controls cover the same chain, from ores and raw materials to metal and compounds.³

Trade and policy

The United States relied on imports for 91% of its antimony consumption in 2025, up from 86% in 2024. In 2021–24, its imports of metal and oxide came mainly from China (55%), Belgium (12%), Thailand (8%) and India (6%). Ore and concentrates came mostly from Mexico (86%) and Italy (9%).²

China's antimony export controls have changed several times since 2024:

In the United States, the Annual Materials Plan for the National Defense Stockpile listed up to 700 t of antimony as a potential acquisition in fiscal year 2025. The fiscal year 2026 plan was not released.²

This section is factual background, not legal or trade-compliance advice.

Recycling and substitution

Recycling supplied 12% of estimated US apparent consumption in 2025. Most secondary antimony is recovered at secondary lead smelters as antimonial lead. Most of it comes from the lead-acid battery industry and goes back into it.²

Some uses have substitutes. Selected organic compounds and hydrated aluminum oxide can replace antimony in flame retardants. Compounds of chromium, tin, titanium, zinc and zirconium can replace it in enamels, paints and pigments. In lead-acid battery alloys, combinations of calcium, copper, selenium, sulfur and tin can be used.²

Sources

1. Antimony: element information, properties and uses. Royal Society of Chemistry, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Antimony. U.S. Geological Survey, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

3. Export Controls on Antimony and Other Items (MOFCOM/GAC Announcement No. 33 of 2024). International Energy Agency, Policies Database, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

4. Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals. Federal Register, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

5. EU critical raw materials. European Commission, Joint Research Centre (RMIS), accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

6. Ministry of Commerce Notice 2024 No. 46: Notice Concerning Strengthening Controls on Exports of Relevant Dual-Use Items to the United States (translation). Center for Security and Emerging Technology, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

7. MOFCOM Announcement No. 72 of 2025 on adjusting the implementation of Announcement No. 46 of 2024. Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

8. China suspends ban on gallium, germanium, antimony exports to US. Mining Technology, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

9. MOFCOM Announcement No. 1 of 2026 on strengthening export controls on dual-use items to Japan. Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩