# Where does antimony come from?

Source: Commodity Origins, https://commodityorigins.com/commodities/antimony/ — data JSON: https://commodityorigins.com/data/commodities/antimony.json — license CC BY 4.0 (upstream data keeps its license; see Sources below).

Antimony comes mainly from China, which produced 40,000 tonnes in 2025, 36% of the world's 110,720 tonnes (USGS MCS). Russia (29%), Tajikistan (20%) and Bolivia (4.5%) follow; the top five together supply 93%. The biggest exporter of antimony ore and concentrate (HS 261710) is Thailand (29% of world export value in 2024, CEPII BACI). Antimony forms in scattered hydrothermal veins, so mines turn up in many countries, but mining is concentrated in China, Russia and Tajikistan and the processing of ore into oxide and metal is concentrated further still.

*A brittle silvery metalloid mined from stibnite, used mainly as antimony trioxide in flame retardants and to harden lead in batteries and ammunition.* Also called: Sb, stibnite, antimony trioxide, antimony oxide.

## Where does antimony come from?

| Rank | Country | Production 2025 (tonnes) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 40,000 | 36% |
| 2 | Russia | 32,000 | 29% |
| 3 | Tajikistan | 22,000 | 20% |
| 4 | Bolivia | 5,000 | 4.5% |
| 5 | Myanmar | 4,500 | 4.1% |
| 6 | Turkey (Türkiye) | 3,000 | 2.7% |
| 7 | Australia | 1,300 | 1.2% |
| 8 | Kazakhstan | 800 | 0.7% |
| 9 | Kyrgyzstan | 700 | 0.6% |
| 10 | Mexico | 600 | 0.5% |
| | Rest of world | 0 | 0.7% |
| | World | 110,720 | 100% |

Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, MCS 2026.

In 2025 China mined 40,000 tonnes of antimony content, 36% of the world's 110,720 tonnes (USGS MCS). Russia followed with 29% and Tajikistan with 20%, so the top three mine 85% between them. Bolivia (4.5%) and Myanmar (4.1%) come next, the top five account for 93%, and 15 countries are listed. World output changed -7% on the previous year, and the USGS table shows that the decline came mainly from a lower Russian estimate. USGS also revised its 2024 figures for China, Russia and several smaller producers in the 2026 edition using company, government and third-party reports, and it marks the Chinese, Russian and Tajik figures as estimates, so these numbers are best read as good approximations rather than audited counts. The world total excludes United States output, which USGS withholds to avoid disclosing a single company's data.

The ore is almost always stibnite, antimony sulfide, which forms in veins where hot, mineral-rich water has deposited it at relatively low temperature, often alongside gold, lead or silver. That is why antimony is mined both as the main product and as a by-product or co-product of other metals, and why deposits are scattered through belts of hydrothermal mineralisation from central Asia to Bolivia to eastern Australia rather than being concentrated in a few giant orebodies.

Reserves stand at 2.4 million tonnes in 2025, the sum of the national figures USGS reports, with China holding 35%, Russia 15%, Bolivia 13% and Kyrgyzstan 11% (USGS MCS). Reserves and output do not line up. Tajikistan is the third-largest miner but reports a small reserve, while Bolivia and Kyrgyzstan hold far more than they mine. Some of the reserve figures are also unusually soft: the United States figure is the company-reported probable reserve of a single project in Idaho, and Australia's headline reserve differs sharply from the figure compliant with the JORC reporting code.


## Who exports and imports antimony?

Little antimony is traded as ore; most of the trade and the value is in the oxide and the unwrought metal, which is where processing capacity, not mining, decides who supplies the world.

### Exporters of antimony ores and concentrates (HS 261710), 2024

| Rank | Country | Value (US$) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thailand | $137.7 million | 29% |
| 2 | Myanmar | $112.1 million | 24% |
| 3 | Australia | $53.7 million | 11% |
| 4 | Bolivia | $44.3 million | 9.4% |
| 5 | Turkey (Türkiye) | $36.7 million | 7.8% |
| 6 | Tajikistan | $26.7 million | 5.7% |
| 7 | Russia | $11.4 million | 2.4% |
| 8 | Hong Kong | $9.2 million | 1.9% |
| 9 | Oman | $6.5 million | 1.4% |
| 10 | Kyrgyzstan | $4.8 million | 1% |
| 11 | Mexico | $3.2 million | 0.7% |
| 12 | Vietnam | $2.6 million | 0.5% |
| 13 | United States | $2.5 million | 0.5% |
| 14 | Libya | $2 million | 0.4% |
| 15 | Laos | $1.8 million | 0.4% |

### Importers of antimony ores and concentrates (HS 261710), 2024

| Rank | Country | Value (US$) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | $259 million | 55% |
| 2 | Thailand | $81.4 million | 17% |
| 3 | India | $25.3 million | 5.3% |
| 4 | Vietnam | $23.1 million | 4.9% |
| 5 | Myanmar | $23 million | 4.9% |
| 6 | Italy | $16.6 million | 3.5% |
| 7 | Austria | $15.6 million | 3.3% |
| 8 | Hong Kong | $10.5 million | 2.2% |
| 9 | Malaysia | $3.9 million | 0.8% |
| 10 | United States | $3.3 million | 0.7% |
| 11 | Mexico | $3 million | 0.6% |
| 12 | Oman | $1.6 million | 0.3% |
| 13 | Turkey (Türkiye) | $1.4 million | 0.3% |
| 14 | South Korea | $879,038 | 0.2% |
| 15 | Belgium | $848,282 | 0.2% |

### Exporters of antimony oxides (HS 282580), 2024

| Rank | Country | Value (US$) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | $467 million | 50% |
| 2 | Belgium | $141.1 million | 15% |
| 3 | France | $123.6 million | 13% |
| 4 | Bolivia | $44.1 million | 4.7% |
| 5 | United States | $26.4 million | 2.8% |
| 6 | Spain | $23.5 million | 2.5% |
| 7 | South Korea | $20.5 million | 2.2% |
| 8 | Japan | $19.6 million | 2.1% |
| 9 | Thailand | $19.2 million | 2% |
| 10 | Italy | $10.4 million | 1.1% |
| 11 | Turkey (Türkiye) | $9.5 million | 1% |
| 12 | Malaysia | $5.4 million | 0.6% |
| 13 | India | $5.3 million | 0.6% |
| 14 | Germany | $3.2 million | 0.3% |
| 15 | Mexico | $2.3 million | 0.2% |

### Importers of antimony oxides (HS 282580), 2024

| Rank | Country | Value (US$) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $243.8 million | 26% |
| 2 | India | $70.5 million | 7.5% |
| 3 | Italy | $65.1 million | 7% |
| 4 | Germany | $52.5 million | 5.6% |
| 5 | Japan | $45.5 million | 4.9% |
| 6 | Other Asia, nes | $40.3 million | 4.3% |
| 7 | South Korea | $35.8 million | 3.8% |
| 8 | Turkey (Türkiye) | $30.1 million | 3.2% |
| 9 | Mexico | $29.2 million | 3.1% |
| 10 | France | $28.4 million | 3% |
| 11 | Canada | $22.7 million | 2.4% |
| 12 | Thailand | $20.5 million | 2.2% |
| 13 | Indonesia | $18.6 million | 2% |
| 14 | Vietnam | $16.9 million | 1.8% |
| 15 | Poland | $16.4 million | 1.8% |

### Exporters of antimony, unwrought, and powders (HS 811010), 2024

| Rank | Country | Value (US$) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tajikistan | $240.3 million | 30% |
| 2 | Vietnam | $122.7 million | 16% |
| 3 | Thailand | $111.6 million | 14% |
| 4 | China | $90 million | 11% |
| 5 | Myanmar | $86.1 million | 11% |
| 6 | South Korea | $24 million | 3% |
| 7 | India | $21.4 million | 2.7% |
| 8 | Turkey (Türkiye) | $16.1 million | 2% |
| 9 | United States | $13 million | 1.6% |
| 10 | Oman | $7.8 million | 1% |
| 11 | Italy | $7.7 million | 1% |
| 12 | United Kingdom | $7.5 million | 0.9% |
| 13 | Bolivia | $7.5 million | 0.9% |
| 14 | Peru | $3.7 million | 0.5% |
| 15 | Netherlands | $3.5 million | 0.4% |

### Importers of antimony, unwrought, and powders (HS 811010), 2024

| Rank | Country | Value (US$) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | $135.4 million | 17% |
| 2 | Belgium | $134.2 million | 17% |
| 3 | Thailand | $115.3 million | 15% |
| 4 | United States | $90 million | 11% |
| 5 | Japan | $85.3 million | 11% |
| 6 | South Korea | $34.5 million | 4.4% |
| 7 | India | $29.7 million | 3.8% |
| 8 | Spain | $23.5 million | 3% |
| 9 | Netherlands | $21.4 million | 2.7% |
| 10 | Pakistan | $16.7 million | 2.1% |
| 11 | Canada | $13.6 million | 1.7% |
| 12 | China | $10.7 million | 1.4% |
| 13 | Brazil | $8.7 million | 1.1% |
| 14 | Slovenia | $7.4 million | 0.9% |
| 15 | Austria | $7.2 million | 0.9% |

Source: CEPII BACI international trade database (HS22, V202601).

The antimony chain is best read through three trade lines rather than one, because each has a different set of leading exporters. In 2024 Thailand was the largest exporter of antimony ore and concentrate (HS 261710) with 29% of world export value, ahead of Myanmar (24%) and Australia (11%), on world trade of $472.7 million (CEPII BACI). China took 55% of ore imports, with Thailand second on 17%. The production table lists no Thai mine output, so Thailand's lead among ore exporters suggests a processing or transit role, and the trade data alone cannot say more than that.

Antimony oxide (HS 282580) is a larger trade, worth $934.9 million in 2024, and the leading exporter is China with 50%, followed by Belgium (15%) and France (13%). Belgium and France do not appear among the mine producers in the USGS table, so their oxide exports are made from imported material. The largest importer of oxide was the United States with 26%, followed by India and Italy.

Unwrought antimony and powders (HS 811010) were worth $791.4 million, and here the exporters are different again: Tajikistan (30%), Vietnam (16%) and Thailand (14%), with China fourth on 11%. The leading importers were France (17%) and Belgium (17%).

The contrast is the main point. The ore trade leads to Asian smelters and oxide plants, the oxide trade is led by a different set of countries, and the metal trade by a third. The trade data are for 2024, the year China's export controls began (described below), so they do not show the full effect of those controls.


## What does antimony cost?

### How it is priced

This page quotes no antimony price, because there is no free public benchmark. Antimony has no exchange futures contract, and metal and oxide are assessed by private price reporting agencies, with the United States Geological Survey drawing its annual price from Argus Media's assessment of antimony metal of a stated minimum grade on a cost, insurance and freight basis. Publishing a price series would require a licence this site does not hold.

What can be said is how the market works. Antimony trioxide, ingot and concentrate are separate products with separate assessments, and the figures are not interchangeable: oxide and metal have been through processing that concentrate has not, so a price for one says little about the others.

Prices have also behaved differently from the larger metals. USGS reports that the average price in 2025 was more than double the 2024 average, and that monthly average prices climbed through the second half of 2024 after China announced export restrictions in August and then a ban on exports to the United States in December. USGS adds that the price had risen further by June 2025 and was lower again by November, but that describes one assessment, not a benchmark. Companies named on this page are listed for context on who operates in the market, and naming a listed company is not investment advice.


## What moves the price of antimony?

### Chinese export licensing

China has required export licences for antimony items since September 2024. Whether licences are granted, how quickly, and to whom are variables set by the Chinese government, and they affect what reaches buyers outside China independently of how much is mined.

### Processing capacity for oxide and metal

Antimony is useful only after it has been turned into trioxide or metal, and that capacity is concentrated in a small number of plants. A country can mine antimony without being able to process it, which is why the oxide and metal export lists differ from the mine production list and why new mines outside China do not by themselves diversify supply.

### Flame-retardant demand

Antimony trioxide works as a synergist with halogenated flame retardants, boosting their effect in plastics, textiles and cable coatings. Demand follows production of electronics, construction materials and vehicles, which makes it a steady, broad-based use that rises and falls with industrial activity.

### Lead-acid batteries

Antimony hardens the lead alloy used in battery plates, so a large part of its use is tied to vehicle and backup-power batteries. Because antimonial lead is recovered from spent batteries at lead smelters, this is also the main route by which antimony is recycled.

### Munitions and military use

Antimony is used in ammunition and other military applications, and USGS reports that antimonial lead and ammunition were among the leading end uses in the United States.

### Solar glass

Antimony compounds, in particular sodium antimonate, are used to clarify molten glass, including the low-iron glass used in photovoltaic panels. The USGS summary does not quantify this use, so this page gives no figure for it.

### New mines outside China

USGS records a US mine start in Montana in 2025 and the start of construction at a project in Idaho, and companies in Australia and elsewhere are developing or expanding antimony output. Mines take years to permit and build, and an operating mine is only the first step, because the concentrate still has to be processed.

## How is antimony produced?

Stibnite is mined from underground veins or, in some places, open pits. High-grade ore can be hand-sorted or crushed and sent directly to a furnace. Lower-grade ore is crushed, ground and concentrated by froth flotation, and the resulting concentrate is smelted. Where antimony occurs with gold, as at some Australian and North American deposits, it is recovered alongside the gold.

There are two main routes from stibnite to a usable product. In one, the sulfide is roasted to oxide and then reduced with carbon to make metal. In the other, the sulfide is reduced directly with iron. Antimony trioxide, the main chemical product, is produced in furnaces from either the ore or the metal, and the oxide is then sold as a powder or blended into masterbatch for plastics.

The metal is often alloyed with lead rather than used pure, and antimonial lead is the form used in batteries. Secondary antimony is recovered at secondary lead smelters from spent lead-acid batteries, and the resulting alloy goes back into battery manufacturing.

Antimony and its compounds are toxic, and the processing steps involve furnace gases and dusts that need controlling.


## What is antimony used for?

The largest group of uses is flame retardants. Antimony trioxide works as a synergist, boosting the effect of halogen-based flame retardants. It is used in plastics, textiles, cables and electronics housings, and USGS puts flame retardants and other metal products as the leading use in the United States.

The second major use is lead alloys, mainly the antimonial lead used for battery plates and for ammunition. Antimony hardens lead and improves how it casts and cycles, which is why it has stayed in lead-acid batteries and in bullets and shot for so long, although USGS notes that combinations of calcium, copper, selenium, sulfur and tin can replace antimony in battery alloys.

A third group is glass, ceramics and pigments. Antimony compounds clarify glass, including the glass used for solar modules, and are used in enamels and paints, where compounds of chromium, tin, titanium, zinc and zirconium are listed by USGS as alternatives. Selected organic compounds and hydrated aluminium oxide can replace antimony as flame retardants, but the substitution has costs and performance trade-offs that vary by product.

Smaller uses include semiconductors and other military applications.


## Supply chain and chokepoints

The chain runs from stibnite mine to concentrate, then to smelter or oxide plant, then to fabricators of plastics, batteries, ammunition and glass. Mining is concentrated, with 85% of output from three countries. The processed lines have different leading exporters from the mines, and China's share is larger in oxide exports (50% by value) than in mining (36%); it is not among the five largest ore exporters and ranks only fourth for unwrought metal.

That is the critical-mineral point about antimony. The question for antimony is where each stage of the chain sits: the ore, oxide and metal trades have different leading exporters, so dependence differs at each step. The US 2025 list and the EU 2024 list both include antimony; the [critical minerals](/critical-minerals/) hub explains what those lists are and how they differ, and the [glossary entry](/glossary/critical-mineral/) defines the term.

In August 2024 China announced export licensing for antimony items, and in December 2024 it announced that exports of antimony to the United States would in principle not be permitted. In November 2025 it suspended that second measure, and the suspension runs to 27 November 2026 unless extended. The other controls, including licensing and the prohibition on dual-use exports to US military users, were not part of the suspension. As of 6 October 2026 this page has found no announcement extending or ending the suspension, and it makes no prediction about what happens next. USGS reports that the United States met most of its apparent consumption from imports, that one Montana company makes primary metal and oxide from imported feedstock, and that new US mines started or began construction in 2025.

Physical logistics are not the constraint. Antimony moves in bags and drums in modest tonnages, and shipping is cheap relative to its value. USGS describes recycling (antimonial lead from spent batteries) and substitution (in battery alloys and flame retardants) as the other levers.


## Key companies

- United States Antimony Corporation: antimony smelter, miller and miner in the United States and Mexico, United States, listed (UAMY)
- Campine: antimony trioxide and lead processor, Belgium, listed (CAMB)
- Alkane Resources: gold and antimony producer (Costerfield mine, Australia), Australia, listed (ALK)
- Larvotto Resources: developer of the Hillgrove antimony-gold project in New South Wales, Australia, listed (LRV)

## Timeline

- 1960s: Belgian smelter shifts to flame-retardant antimony trioxide. Campine, a long-established Belgian antimony and lead processor, says it shifted its focus in the 1960s from antimony oxide for glass to antimony trioxide for flame retardants, the use that still defines the chemical side of the market. (https://www.campine.com/over-campine/)
- 2024-08: China announces export controls on antimony and superhard materials. The Ministry of Commerce and Customs announced on 15 August that antimony-related items and superhard materials would require export permission from 15 September 2024, bringing an export licensing regime to a metal where China dominates oxide exports. (https://english.news.cn/20240815/c16b2e5b0708425bb9a87d3d04f1c783/c.html)
- 2024-12: China announces that antimony exports to the United States are generally not permitted. Ministry of Commerce Announcement 46 of 2024, issued on 3 December, stated that exports of gallium, germanium, antimony and superhard materials to the United States are in principle not permitted, and prohibited dual-use exports to US military users. (https://cset.georgetown.edu/publication/china-rare-earth-export-ban/)
- 2025-06: Antimony price reaches its 2025 high. USGS reports that the Argus-assessed metal price rose after the December 2024 announcement to a higher level by June 2025, and had decreased again by November 2025. (https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-antimony.pdf)
- 2025-10: China sets state-trading export criteria for tungsten, antimony and silver. The Ministry of Commerce published qualification criteria for exporters of tungsten, antimony and silver for 2026 and 2027, including credit records and past export volumes. (https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202510/1346978.shtml)
- 2025-10: Construction begins at an antimony project in Idaho. USGS records a mining company breaking ground in Idaho with conditional US Department of War funding, and the start of mining at the Stibnite Hill Mine in Montana the following month. (https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-antimony.pdf)
- 2025-11: China suspends its antimony export ban to the United States. Ministry of Commerce Announcement 72 of 2025, dated 9 November, suspended Article 2 of Announcement 46; the suspension runs to 27 November 2026 unless extended, and the measure leaves in place the other controls, including licensing and the dual-use ban for US military users. (https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zwgk/zcfb/art/2025/art_5c68985a6b1a46778e2e8dbff1bb1601.html)

## Frequently asked questions

### which country produces the most antimony

China mined 40,000 tonnes of antimony content in 2025, 36% of the world's 110,720 tonnes (USGS MCS). Russia was second with 29% and Tajikistan third with 20%. The USGS figures for these three are estimates.

### what is antimony used for

Mainly as antimony trioxide, which works with halogenated compounds as a flame-retardant synergist in plastics, textiles and cables, and as a hardener in lead alloys for batteries and ammunition. It is also used in glass, including solar glass, in ceramics and pigments, and in semiconductors and military items.

### which country exports the most antimony oxide

China was the largest exporter of antimony oxide in 2024 with 50% of world export value, followed by Belgium (15%) and France (13%) (CEPII BACI). The leading exporter of ore was Thailand and of unwrought metal Tajikistan, so each stage of the chain has a different leader.

### has china banned antimony exports

China introduced export licensing for antimony items on 15 September 2024 and announced on 3 December 2024 that exports to the United States would in principle not be permitted. On 9 November 2025 it suspended that second measure; the suspension runs to 27 November 2026 unless extended, and the licensing regime and the prohibition on dual-use exports to US military users stayed in place. As of 6 October 2026 this page has found no announcement extending or ending the suspension.

### how much antimony is left

World reserves are 2.4 million tonnes, the sum of national figures, with China holding 35% and Russia 15% (USGS MCS). Several of the figures are company-reported or estimated, and reserves are only the part of identified resources that is economic to mine at the time.

### why is there no antimony price on this page

No free public series exists. Antimony metal and oxide are assessed by private price reporting agencies, and there is no exchange contract to act as a public benchmark. USGS reports its annual average price from Argus Media's assessment of antimony metal of a stated minimum grade.

## Sources

- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, MCS 2026, fetched 8 October 2026. License: Public domain (US Government work). https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/mineral-commodity-summaries
- CEPII BACI international trade database (HS22, V202601), BACI HS22 V202601, fetched 6 September 2026. License: Etalab Open Licence 2.0. https://www.cepii.fr/CEPII/en/bdd_modele/bdd_modele_item.asp?id=37

Text last reviewed 2026-10-06. The text is written with AI assistance and checked against the cited data; figures are computed by scripts from the sources (https://commodityorigins.com/about/#how-ai-is-used). Cite as: Commodity Origins, "Where does antimony come from?", https://commodityorigins.com/commodities/antimony/.