# Where does bismuth come from?

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

Bismuth comes mainly from China, which produced 14,000 tonnes in 2025, 86% of the world's 16,280 tonnes (USGS MCS). South Korea (6.1%), Japan (3.1%) and Laos (3.1%) follow; the top five together supply 99%. The biggest exporter of bismuth of more than 99.99% purity, including waste and scrap (HS 810610) is China (52% of world export value in 2024, CEPII BACI). Bismuth is rarely mined for its own sake, so USGS reports where it is refined rather than where it is mined, and that refining is concentrated in China, with the rest spread across a handful of smelter countries that recover it as a by-product of lead, tungsten and zinc.

*A heavy, low-melting metal recovered mostly as a by-product of processing lead, tungsten and zinc ores and used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, alloys and as a replacement for lead.* Also called: Bi, bismuth metal.

## Where does bismuth come from?

| Rank | Country | Production 2025 (tonnes) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 14,000 | 86% |
| 2 | South Korea | 1,000 | 6.1% |
| 3 | Japan | 500 | 3.1% |
| 4 | Laos | 500 | 3.1% |
| 5 | Kazakhstan | 180 | 1.1% |
| 6 | Bolivia | 50 | 0.3% |
| 7 | Bulgaria | 50 | 0.3% |
| | Rest of world | 0 | <0.1% |
| | World | 16,280 | 100% |

Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, MCS 2026.

USGS reports bismuth as refinery production, not mine production, because of how the metal occurs. Its chapter says bismuth minerals rarely occur in amounts large enough to be mined as the principal product. Bismuth is most often a by-product of processing lead ores; in China and Vietnam it is also a by-product or co-product of tungsten and other ores, and in Japan and South Korea of zinc ores. USGS names only two mines where bismuth has been the main product: the Tasna mine in Bolivia, inactive since 1996, and one mine in China.

In 2025 China refined 14,000 tonnes of bismuth, 86% of the 16,280 tonnes world total (USGS MCS). South Korea followed with 6.1%, then Japan and Laos with 3.1% each, and Kazakhstan with 1.1%. The top three account for 95% and 7 producing countries are listed, plus the United States with no production. The United States is shown with no refinery production: USGS says it stopped producing primary refined bismuth in 1997.

Three cautions. The world figure is the sum of the listed countries, because USGS rounds its own world total; dividing by that rounded number, USGS's text gives China a slightly higher share than the one calculated here. The figures are estimates, and USGS revised its 2024 figures for Bolivia and Laos using company and government reports. And USGS says capacity figures were unavailable, so the table shows output but not spare capacity. There is no reserves table on this page: USGS states that bismuth reserves and resources are generally not reported at mine or country level and are difficult to quantify, and this site does not estimate them.


## Who exports and imports bismuth?

Bismuth is not mined for itself; it is recovered as a by-product at lead, tungsten and zinc operations, so its supply follows those metals.

### Exporters of bismuth, more than 99.99% bismuth, including waste and scrap (HS 810610), 2024

| Rank | Country | Value (US$) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | $26.8 million | 52% |
| 2 | South Korea | $9.6 million | 19% |
| 3 | United States | $4.1 million | 8% |
| 4 | Netherlands | $3.7 million | 7.1% |
| 5 | Belgium | $1.8 million | 3.5% |
| 6 | Japan | $1.7 million | 3.4% |
| 7 | Germany | $1 million | 2% |
| 8 | Poland | $980,427 | 1.9% |
| 9 | France | $265,180 | 0.5% |
| 10 | Luxembourg | $240,852 | 0.5% |
| 11 | Mexico | $176,566 | 0.3% |
| 12 | Italy | $176,108 | 0.3% |
| 13 | United Kingdom | $151,993 | 0.3% |
| 14 | Bolivia | $140,146 | 0.3% |
| 15 | Czechia | $139,298 | 0.3% |

### Importers of bismuth, more than 99.99% bismuth, including waste and scrap (HS 810610), 2024

| Rank | Country | Value (US$) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $12.4 million | 24% |
| 2 | Germany | $10.3 million | 20% |
| 3 | India | $5 million | 9.7% |
| 4 | Netherlands | $4.2 million | 8.1% |
| 5 | China | $3.8 million | 7.3% |
| 6 | Japan | $2.9 million | 5.5% |
| 7 | Italy | $2.4 million | 4.6% |
| 8 | Austria | $1.2 million | 2.3% |
| 9 | Belgium | $1.1 million | 2.2% |
| 10 | Brazil | $909,875 | 1.8% |
| 11 | Mexico | $852,034 | 1.7% |
| 12 | Turkey (Türkiye) | $828,613 | 1.6% |
| 13 | United Kingdom | $775,307 | 1.5% |
| 14 | Other Asia, nes | $711,827 | 1.4% |
| 15 | Canada | $509,393 | 1% |

### Exporters of bismuth, other: 99.99% or less and articles n.e.c., including waste and scrap (HS 810690), 2024

| Rank | Country | Value (US$) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $10.1 million | 28% |
| 2 | China | $8.8 million | 24% |
| 3 | Germany | $4.6 million | 13% |
| 4 | Japan | $3.1 million | 8.5% |
| 5 | Mexico | $1.5 million | 4.2% |
| 6 | Kazakhstan | $1.3 million | 3.6% |
| 7 | United Kingdom | $1.1 million | 3.1% |
| 8 | France | $928,498 | 2.6% |
| 9 | Other Asia, nes | $721,795 | 2% |
| 10 | Hong Kong | $529,895 | 1.5% |
| 11 | Belgium | $477,533 | 1.3% |
| 12 | Netherlands | $421,137 | 1.2% |
| 13 | Canada | $375,190 | 1% |
| 14 | South Korea | $280,288 | 0.8% |
| 15 | Luxembourg | $220,913 | 0.6% |

### Importers of bismuth, other: 99.99% or less and articles n.e.c., including waste and scrap (HS 810690), 2024

| Rank | Country | Value (US$) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | $6.3 million | 18% |
| 2 | Germany | $4.5 million | 12% |
| 3 | South Korea | $3.4 million | 9.5% |
| 4 | United States | $3.1 million | 8.6% |
| 5 | Canada | $2.1 million | 5.9% |
| 6 | United Kingdom | $2.1 million | 5.8% |
| 7 | Mexico | $1.7 million | 4.6% |
| 8 | Greece | $1.2 million | 3.4% |
| 9 | Hong Kong | $1.1 million | 3.1% |
| 10 | Brazil | $992,254 | 2.7% |
| 11 | France | $841,130 | 2.3% |
| 12 | Belgium | $671,413 | 1.9% |
| 13 | India | $556,376 | 1.5% |
| 14 | Thailand | $528,737 | 1.5% |
| 15 | Poland | $503,265 | 1.4% |

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

Bismuth is traded under two customs lines, and neither is a clean measure of the metal. HS 810610 covers bismuth of more than 99.99 percent purity, including waste and scrap; HS 810690 is the rest, including lower-purity metal and articles. The first line is a fair guide to refined metal but also takes in scrap. The second mixes metal, alloys and articles. Neither captures bismuth in chemicals such as pharmaceutical and pigment compounds, and neither says where the metal was originally refined.

In 2024 China was the largest exporter of bismuth of more than 99.99% purity, including waste and scrap (HS 810610) with 52% of world export value, ahead of South Korea (19%) and the United States (8%), on world trade of $51.6 million (CEPII BACI). The largest importer was the United States with 24%, followed by Germany (20%) and India (9.7%). China leads both refining and exports, which is the simple case. The United States is less simple: USGS reports no US primary refined production since 1997, though it estimates secondary production from scrap at 80 tons a year. US exports of this line are therefore probably mostly re-exports of imported metal or scrap, although customs data do not show origin.

In HS 810690 the leading exporter in 2024 was the United States (28% of world export value), ahead of China (24%) and Germany (13%), on world trade of $36.1 million. The largest importer was China (18%). The two lists differ from each other and from the refinery table. See [producing, exporting and processing](/learn/producing-vs-exporting-vs-processing/) and [HS codes](/learn/hs-codes/) for how to read such tables.


## What does bismuth cost?

### How it is priced

This page shows no bismuth price series, because this site has no free public series for it and does not hold a license to publish a commercial one. This site uses no exchange benchmark for bismuth. The USGS price series comes from Fastmarkets: the in-warehouse Rotterdam price of bismuth metal of 99.99 percent purity, in lots of at least one ton, in dollars per pound.

That description shows how narrow a bismuth quote is: one purity, one location and one minimum lot size. A buyer of alloys, chemical-grade material or smaller lots is not buying on that basis.

USGS records that the price moved sharply in 2025. It reports that average monthly prices (in-warehouse, Rotterdam) increased from $5.96 per pound in January to $17.50 per pound in October, and that the highest monthly average, $34.22 per pound, was in March, which USGS links to the export controls China issued in February. It estimates the 2025 annual average at $20 per pound, almost four times the 2024 average and the highest annual average on record. These are USGS figures for 2025, not a current price. Naming a company on this page is not investment advice.


## What moves the price of bismuth?

### By-product supply from lead, tungsten and zinc refining

USGS lists lead, tungsten and zinc as the sources of bismuth, depending on the country, so supply follows what those industries do. Mines run for bismuth alone are very rare, so the practical question is whether refineries recover the bismuth already passing through them.

### Chinese export controls

China's licensing requirement for exports of bismuth items took effect on 4 February 2025 and was still listed as valid in a November 2025 law-firm tracker and in a trade-control profile reviewed in August 2026; this page has found no notice lifting it. USGS ties the highest monthly average price of 2025 to these controls. Because China refines most of the world's bismuth, a licensing regime there reaches most of the market.

### Lead-free plumbing and other lead substitution

USGS reports that bismuth is a nontoxic substitute for lead in brass, free-machining alloys and solders, and that its use in plumbing brass (pipe fittings, fixtures and water meters) increased after 2014, when the definition of lead-free under the Safe Drinking Water Act was modified.

### Pharmaceutical and cosmetic chemicals

USGS reports that most US bismuth consumption is for chemicals used in cosmetic, industrial, laboratory and pharmaceutical applications, including bismuth subsalicylate, the active ingredient in over-the-counter stomach remedies.

### Import dependence

USGS describes the United States as highly import reliant and reports that the last domestic primary lead smelter closed at the end of 2013, after which all US lead concentrates were exported for smelting. USGS reports that US supply of primary bismuth has depended completely on imports since 1997.

### Substitution and recycling

USGS lists substitutes for many uses, for example cadmium, indium, lead and tin in low-temperature solders, and estimates that recycled bismuth-containing alloy scrap made up as much as 10 percent of US apparent consumption in each year from 2021 to 2025.

## How is bismuth produced?

Bismuth is recovered at refineries that process other metals; it is not mined and processed on its own. According to USGS, the usual source is lead ore processing, with tungsten and other ores also yielding bismuth in China and Vietnam and zinc in Japan and South Korea. This page does not describe the refining steps, because they differ by plant and a general description could be wrong for any given refinery.

What can be said is what the finished metal looks like. As of October 2026, Korea Zinc lists bismuth as a rare-metal product with a minimum purity of 99.99 percent, a typical analysis a little higher, supplied as slabs of about 20 kilograms bundled into lots of about a tonne. That is close to the threshold the customs system uses to separate refined metal (HS 810610) from the rest. Los Alamos National Laboratory describes bismuth as a brittle, crystalline white metal with a pinkish tinge and a density of about 9.8 grams per cubic centimetre. USGS gives its melting point as 271 degrees Celsius, low for a heavy metal, which is behind many of its metallurgical uses. Recycling starts from alloy scrap rather than ore, and everything on this page is refined bismuth unless stated.


## What is bismuth used for?

USGS publishes no world split of bismuth by end use, and this page does not invent one. The USGS chapter describes US use, and what follows is that description.

On chemicals, USGS says most domestic consumption is for chemicals used in cosmetic, industrial, laboratory and pharmaceutical applications. It names bismuth subsalicylate, the active ingredient in over-the-counter stomach remedies, and other compounds used for burns, intestinal disorders and stomach ulcers. Bismuth nitrate, oxychloride and vanadate go into ceramic glazes, crystalware and pigments. As of October 2026, the company 5N Plus, which makes bismuth-based pharmaceutical ingredients, lists subsalicylate, subgallate, oxychloride and citrate among its products.

In metallurgy, bismuth improves the integrity of malleable cast iron, and it is a nontoxic replacement for lead in brass, free-machining aluminum alloys and steels, and solders. That is why lead-free rules matter to bismuth. USGS also lists fishing weights, hunting ammunition and lubricating greases.

USGS also says fusible bismuth alloys are used in holding devices for grinding optical lenses, plugs for abandoned oil wells, a temporary filler during tube bending, and the triggering mechanism in fire sprinklers. For many uses USGS names a substitute, for example pharmaceuticals, pigments, solders, holding alloys and free-machining alloys; glycerin-filled glass bulbs can replace bismuth alloys in sprinkler triggers.


## Supply chain and chokepoints

The chain runs from a lead, tungsten or zinc ore to a smelter or refinery, where bismuth is recovered, then to refined metal, and then to alloy makers, chemical makers and fabricators. Because the metal is recovered at plants that process other metals, supply is tied to where those plants are, and the refinery table is concentrated: 95% of output from three countries. See [lead](/commodities/lead/), [tungsten](/commodities/tungsten/) and [zinc](/commodities/zinc/) for the linked metals.

The European Commission lists bismuth among the 34 critical raw materials on its critical raw materials page, so it is a [critical mineral](/critical-minerals/) there; the [glossary entry](/glossary/critical-mineral/) defines the term. The United States added bismuth to its final 2025 list of critical minerals, released on 6 November 2025 (USGS). The concern for a consuming country is what the data show: output is concentrated, there are no stated reserves to point to, and a government controls export licenses from the leading producer.

In the United States, USGS reports no primary refined bismuth production since 1997, high import reliance and no government stockpile. On 4 February 2025 China's Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs announced export controls on items related to tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum and indium, effective that day (Xinhua). The IEA policy database describes the bismuth items as the metal and products, bismuth germanate, triphenyl bismuth and triethoxyphenyl bismuth, with related technology, and says exporters need a license. A Pillsbury law-firm tracker of November 2025 listed the measure as still valid and not among those suspended that month. This page has not confirmed its status after November 2025 and makes no prediction about it.


## Key companies

- Korea Zinc: metals producer that lists refined bismuth (99.99 percent minimum) as a rare-metal product (as of October 2026), South Korea, listed (010130)
- 5N Plus: specialty materials producer that makes bismuth-based pharmaceutical ingredients (Lübeck, Germany; as of October 2026), Canada, listed (VNP)

## Timeline

- 1753: Geoffroy shows that bismuth is chemically distinct from lead. Los Alamos National Laboratory says bismuth was long confused with lead and tin, that Georgius Agricola separated it from them in the 1500s on physical properties, and that Claude Francois Geoffroy showed in 1753 that it is chemically different from lead. (https://www.lanl.gov/science-engineering/periodic-table/element/bismuth)
- 1996: The Tasna mine in Bolivia is inactive from 1996. USGS names the Tasna mine, inactive since 1996, and one mine in China as the only mines where bismuth has been the primary product, which shows how rarely bismuth is mined for itself. (https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-bismuth.pdf)
- 1997: The United States stops producing primary refined bismuth. USGS reports that the United States ceased production of primary refined bismuth in 1997 and has since depended completely on imports for primary bismuth. (https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/bismuth-statistics-and-information)
- 2013: The last US primary lead smelter closes. USGS reports that the last domestic primary lead smelter closed at yearend 2013, after which all US lead concentrates were exported for smelting. (https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-bismuth.pdf)
- 2014-01: The US lead-free definition for plumbing is tightened. Public Law 111-380, approved 4 January 2011, defines lead-free plumbing as a weighted average of no more than 0.25 percent lead on wetted surfaces, effective 36 months later on 4 January 2014; USGS says bismuth use in plumbing brass increased after 2014, when the definition was modified. (https://www.congress.gov/111/plaws/publ380/PLAW-111publ380.htm)
- 2025-02: China announces export controls on bismuth items. On 4 February 2025 China's Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs announced export controls on items related to tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum and indium, effective the same day; the IEA and a November 2025 Pillsbury tracker describe the measure as a licensing requirement. (http://english.news.cn/20250204/cb07a7cd42a94ba3b4ed44cbcdecd9e4/c.html)
- 2025-03: The monthly average bismuth price reaches its 2025 high. USGS reports that the highest monthly average price of 2025 came in March and attributes it to China issuing export controls on bismuth in February, which USGS links to the United States imposing import tariffs on Chinese goods that month. (https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-bismuth.pdf)
- 2025: The annual average bismuth price is the highest on record. USGS estimates that the 2025 annual average price was almost four times the 2024 average and the highest annual average on record, and reports that US imports of bismuth metal from China fell in 2025. (https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-bismuth.pdf)

## Frequently asked questions

### which country produces the most bismuth

China refined 14,000 tonnes of bismuth in 2025, 86% of the 16,280 tonnes world total (USGS MCS). South Korea was second with 6.1% and Japan and Laos each had 3.1%. These are refinery figures, the world total is the sum of the countries listed, and the figures are estimates.

### what is bismuth used for

USGS describes US use as mostly chemicals for cosmetic, industrial, laboratory and pharmaceutical applications, including bismuth subsalicylate, the active ingredient in over-the-counter stomach remedies. It is also a nontoxic replacement for lead in brass, solders and some other alloys, an additive in malleable cast iron, and a component of low-melting alloys such as fire-sprinkler triggers. USGS gives no world end-use split.

### is bismuth mined

Rarely for itself. USGS says bismuth minerals seldom occur in amounts large enough to be mined as principal products, and that bismuth is produced most often as a by-product of lead ore processing, as a by-product or co-product of tungsten and other ores in China and Vietnam, and of zinc ores in Japan and South Korea. USGS therefore reports refinery production, not mine production.

### how much bismuth is left

There is no reserves table for bismuth on this page. USGS says reserves and resources data were generally not reported at mine or country level and are difficult to quantify. Because bismuth is a by-product, the more useful question is how much lead, tungsten and zinc is being processed and whether the bismuth in it is recovered.

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

This site has no free public series for it and does not hold a license for a commercial one. USGS draws its price from Fastmarkets, for bismuth metal of 99.99 percent purity at a warehouse in Rotterdam in lots of at least one ton, in dollars per pound. USGS reports that the 2025 annual average was almost four times the 2024 average.

### what are china's bismuth export controls

On 4 February 2025 China's Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs announced export controls on items related to tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum and indium, effective at once and requiring a license, according to the IEA and Pillsbury. The IEA policy database lists the bismuth items as the metal and products, bismuth germanate and two organobismuth compounds. A Pillsbury tracker of November 2025 listed the measure as still valid and not among those suspended that month; this page has not confirmed its status after November 2025.

## 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 2026-10-07. 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 bismuth come from?", https://commodityorigins.com/commodities/bismuth/.