# Where does tellurium come from?

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

Tellurium comes mainly from China, which produced 800 tonnes in 2025, 80% of the world's 1,000 tonnes (USGS MCS). Russia (6.7%), Japan (6.1%) and Canada (2.8%) follow; the top five together supply 97%. Tellurium is mostly not mined for itself, since USGS says more than 90 percent has come from copper-refinery anode slimes, and China accounts for about four-fifths of USGS's estimated world refinery total (which excludes US output and countries USGS could not estimate), while Chinese exports of tellurium require a license.

*A brittle semimetal recovered as a by-product of copper refining and used mainly in cadmium-telluride solar cells, in thermoelectric devices and in metallurgy.* Also called: Te.

## Where does tellurium come from?

| Rank | Country | Production 2025 (tonnes) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 800 | 80% |
| 2 | Russia | 67 | 6.7% |
| 3 | Japan | 61 | 6.1% |
| 4 | Canada | 28 | 2.8% |
| 5 | Uzbekistan | 18 | 1.8% |
| 6 | South Africa | 5 | 0.5% |
| 7 | Bulgaria | 1 | 0.1% |
| | Rest of world | 20 | 2% |
| | World | 1,000 | 100% |

Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, MCS 2026.

USGS tabulates refinery production for tellurium; tellurium is a by-product, mainly of copper refining. In 2025 China refined 800 tonnes of tellurium, 80% of the 1,000 tonnes world total (USGS MCS). Russia followed with 67 tonnes (6.7%), then Japan with 61 tonnes (6.1%), Canada with 2.8% and Uzbekistan with 1.8%. South Africa (0.5%) and Bulgaria (0.1%) complete the list of 7 countries with a published figure. The top three account for 93%. USGS's own text puts China's share at 80% of estimated world production (leaving out countries whose output it could not estimate) and says Chinese tellurium output has risen significantly over ten years, alongside an increase of nearly 75% in the capacity of electrolytic copper refining.

The United States appears in the table with its figure withheld, to avoid disclosing company data. USGS's world total excludes US production, so every share on this page is a share of a total that leaves out the United States. USGS says two primary copper refineries operated in the United States in 2025, one in Texas and one in Utah, and produced copper telluride from anode slimes, but that tellurium itself was not refined there; the copper telluride was exported for further processing.

Three cautions. First, the world figure is USGS's own rounded total, and each share on this page is a country's figure divided by it. The seven listed countries add up to 98% of that total, and the remaining 2% is simply the gap, not a list of other producers. Second, USGS shows Sweden in a separate row labelled concentrate, so this site does not count it as refinery production, and it says that Australia, Belgium, Chile, Germany, India, Indonesia, South Korea and the Philippines may have produced refined tellurium but that information was inadequate to estimate output. Third, the figures are estimates, and USGS leaves out countries that produced tellurium in anode slimes but did not recover refined metal.

USGS also publishes a capacity column. For each listed country with a capacity figure, capacity is above 2025 output. This page does not quote the capacity figures, because they are USGS estimates kept separate from the production series. There is no reserves figure: USGS says reserves and resources of tellurium are generally not reported at mine or country level and cannot be reliably quantified, and this site does not estimate them.


## Who exports and imports tellurium?

Tellurium is recovered mainly from the anode slimes of copper refineries (more than 90% according to USGS) and the rest from lead-refinery skimmings and smelter flue dusts, so its supply follows copper refining.

This page has no trade table, and that is deliberate. In the international customs classification, tellurium shares a single six-digit line, HS 2804.50, with boron: the US tariff schedule titles the line "Boron; tellurium" and splits it only into national statistical suffixes. Customs data at the six-digit level that this site uses therefore cannot separate tellurium from boron, and any export or import ranking for the line would mostly measure something else. See [HS codes](/learn/hs-codes/) for how such lines work.

What can be said comes from USGS, which describes the United States. It reports US imports for consumption of 6 tonnes of tellurium content in 2024 and an estimated 14 tonnes in 2025, and exports of 3 tonnes in each of those years, with a note that exports may include copper telluride. Production, consumption and stocks are withheld. USGS gives net import reliance as greater than 25% of apparent consumption in 2025 (estimated), and says the country was a net exporter in 2023. For 2021 to 2024 it lists import sources as Canada 64%, the Philippines 14%, Japan 8%, Germany 5% and others 9%. The tariff under normal trade relations was free as of 31 December 2025, and USGS says there is no government stockpile.

Those numbers are small and partly withheld, so read them as a description of US imports and not as a map of world trade. Where a material is shipped from is not where it was first recovered: see [producing, exporting and processing](/learn/producing-vs-exporting-vs-processing/). USGS's own example is that copper telluride from both US refineries was exported for further processing.


## What does tellurium cost?

### How it is priced

USGS cites no exchange price for tellurium, and this page shows no price series because this site has no free public series for it and does not hold a license to publish a commercial one. USGS takes its prices from Argus Media's Argus Non-Ferrous Markets, which assesses two different quotes: tellurium of at least 99.95% purity, free on board at a US warehouse, and tellurium of at least 99.99% purity, in warehouse at Rotterdam. They differ in purity and place, so they are not interchangeable.

USGS gives annual averages in dollars per kilogram. The US quote was $74.77 in 2024 and an estimated $120 in 2025, a rise USGS puts at 60%. The European quote was $81.54 in 2024 and an estimated $150 in 2025, a rise of 84%. USGS links the European increase to Chinese export controls, which it says significantly limited availability in Europe, and says tight supply in Europe led to more spot buying in the United States. These are USGS annual figures, not current prices, and another grade or form would not necessarily trade at either number. Naming a company here is not investment advice.


## What moves the price of tellurium?

### Copper refining output

USGS says the supply of tellurium is directly affected by the supply of the materials it is a by-product of, primarily copper, and that recovery of copper telluride from US anode slimes was estimated to have fallen in 2025 because the two primary US electrolytic refineries produced less copper cathode. First Solar's 2025 annual report makes a related point, that tellurium's supply is largely dependent upon demand for copper.

### Cadmium-telluride solar demand

USGS estimates that solar cells took 70% of global tellurium consumption in 2025, thermoelectric devices 15%, metallurgy 10% and other uses 5%. USGS also reports a fifth US plant of the leading US module producer opening in August 2025, with production expected by the end of 2026. The company's own 2025 annual report instead says its fourth and fifth US plants have started operating and its sixth is expected in the second half of 2026, so this page does not rely on the USGS timing.

### Chinese export licensing

China's Ministry of Commerce and customs administration announced on 4 February 2025 that exports of metallic tellurium; single- or polycrystalline cadmium telluride, cadmium zinc telluride and cadmium mercury telluride products (including substrates and epitaxial wafers); and the related production technology require a license. USGS reports that exporters in China had to submit documents verifying end users and end uses, that a license typically took 45 days, and that a new license was needed for any change of recipient or intended use. First Solar's annual report, signed 24 February 2026, still described exporters of tellurium and related products as generally required to obtain a Chinese license. As of 9 October 2026 this page has found no notice ending or suspending the tellurium measure, but has not found a primary Ministry notice confirming that it is still in force.

### Concentrated refining

With China refining 80% of the world total and the top three countries 93%, exports from China have required a license since February 2025.

### Substitution between solar technologies

USGS names amorphous silicon and copper indium gallium diselenide as the two principal competitors with cadmium telluride in thin-film solar cells. For thermoelectric devices it lists bismuth selenide and organic polymers as possible substitutes. USGS says substitutes usually bring losses in efficiency or product characteristics.

### Recycling and government listing

USGS says tellurium was recycled from cadmium-telluride solar cells in the United States, but the quantity was limited because most of those cells had not reached the end of their useful life. Tellurium is also on the 2025 US critical minerals list; a listing is a government assessment, not a statement that there is a shortage.

## How is tellurium produced?

Tellurium is a by-product of copper. USGS says it is recovered principally from the electrolytic refining of primary copper, where it accumulates in the residues, called anode slimes, of copper anodes. More than 90% of the tellurium produced has come this way, with the remainder from skimmings at lead refineries and from flue dusts and gases produced when bismuth, copper and lead-zinc ores are smelted.

In the United States the process stops at an intermediate: copper telluride is made from slimes at two refineries and exported, and downstream companies turn imported tellurium into high-purity products, specialty compounds and tellurium dioxide. Rio Tinto said on 11 May 2022 that it had started tellurium production at its Kennecott refinery in Utah, using a new circuit that recovers it from copper refining by-product streams and that it said would yield about 20 tons a year. Rio Tinto said the material would be refined in North America by 5N Plus; 5N Plus said it would refine it at its Montreal facility, mainly for supply to First Solar. That is a company statement of expected output, not a production statistic.

The Los Alamos National Laboratory describes tellurium as a semi-metal in the chalcogen group with two forms: a crystalline one that is silvery, brittle and easily crushed, and an amorphous black-brown powder. The figures on this page are refined tellurium, not tellurium in slimes.


## What is tellurium used for?

USGS gives a global end-use split for 2025, estimated: solar power cells 70%, thermoelectric devices 15%, metallurgy 10% and other applications 5%. The solar use is cadmium telluride (CdTe) for thin-film cells. USGS names bismuth telluride, used in thermoelectric devices for cooling and power generation, as the other significant application.

In metallurgy USGS lists steel, where tellurium improves machining; cast iron, where it controls the depth of chill; lead alloys, where it improves resistance to vibration and fatigue; and copper alloys, as a minor additive that improves machinability without reducing conductivity. USGS also lists blasting caps, rubber processing, catalysts for synthetic fiber, photodetectors, pigments for glass and ceramics, and thermal-imaging devices.

One consequence concerns the export controls. The Ministry of Commerce's FAQ No. 2 on tungsten and tellurium (12 March 2025; marked for reference only, to be read against official documents and actual implementation) says solar modules made with cadmium telluride, cadmium-telluride thin-film modules, cadmium-telluride power-generation glass and cadmium zinc telluride high-resolution detector heads are outside the controls, while cadmium zinc telluride targets are inside them ([FAQ](http://exportcontrol.mofcom.gov.cn/article/cjwt/202503/1112.html)). This page has not verified how it is applied in practice.


## Supply chain and chokepoints

The chain runs from copper ore to anode, from anode to refinery slimes, from slimes to copper telluride or crude tellurium, then to high-purity tellurium and compounds, and finally to cadmium-telluride module makers, thermoelectric makers and metallurgical users. Supply is tied to where copper is refined; see [copper](/commodities/copper/). [Bismuth](/commodities/bismuth/) and [indium](/commodities/indium/) were covered by the same Chinese announcement of February 2025.

Companies at several steps show how it works. Rio Tinto recovers tellurium from copper refining at Kennecott, 5N Plus refines and makes compounds, and First Solar says in its 2025 annual report that several key raw materials, including tellurium and products containing it, are single-sourced or come from a limited number of suppliers.

Tellurium is on the 2025 US critical minerals list, while the European Commission's page of critical raw materials, read in October 2026, does not name it. The [critical minerals](/critical-minerals/) hub explains what those lists are, and the [glossary entry](/glossary/critical-mineral/) defines the term. For the United States, USGS reports that tellurium was not refined there in 2025, that production, consumption and stocks are withheld, that there is no government stockpile, and that net import reliance was estimated above 25%. The data show that refining is concentrated, no reserves figure exists, the main producer reportedly requires export licenses (as of the sources above), and the metal is a by-product of another industry.


## Key companies

- First Solar: thin-film solar module maker whose cadmium-telluride modules use tellurium, and which lists tellurium supply as a key raw-material risk (as of its February 2026 annual report), United States, listed (FSLR)
- 5N Plus: specialty materials producer that makes cadmium telluride for First Solar and refines tellurium from Rio Tinto's Kennecott operation (as announced in 2022), Canada, listed (TSX:VNP)
- Rio Tinto: copper producer that said in May 2022 it had started tellurium production at its Kennecott refinery in Utah, United Kingdom (London; Rio Tinto Limited has its corporate office in Melbourne, Australia), listed

## Timeline

- 1780s: Müller investigates a gold ore from a Romanian mine. Los Alamos National Laboratory says Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein began investigating a gold ore from a Romanian mine in the early 1780s and concluded that it contained an unknown substance. (https://www.lanl.gov/science-engineering/periodic-table/element/tellurium)
- 1796: Klaproth confirms the new element and names it tellurium. Los Alamos says Müller sent ore to Martin Klaproth in 1796, and that Klaproth confirmed a new element and chose the name tellurium, from the Latin tellus, meaning earth. (https://www.lanl.gov/science-engineering/periodic-table/element/tellurium)
- 2022-05: Rio Tinto starts tellurium production at Kennecott. Rio Tinto said on 11 May 2022 that it had started tellurium production from a new circuit at its Kennecott refinery in Utah, recovering it from copper refining by-products at an expected rate of about 20 tons a year, with refining by 5N Plus and supply mainly to First Solar. (https://www.riotinto.com/en/news/releases/2022/rio-tinto-starts-tellurium-production-at-kennecott)
- 2025-02: China announces export controls covering tellurium. On 4 February 2025 China's Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs published Announcement No. 10 of 2025, requiring licenses for exports of metallic tellurium, cadmium-telluride-family products (cadmium telluride, cadmium zinc telluride and cadmium mercury telluride) and related production technology, effective on publication. (https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zwgk/zcfb/art/2025/art_e623090907fc4e1092f0a4db72f57b95.html)
- 2025-08: 5N Plus expands its cadmium-telluride supply agreement with First Solar. 5N Plus announced on 5 August 2025 that it would raise its cadmium-telluride production and delivery under its First Solar contract by 33% for 2025-26 compared with initial levels and by an additional 25% for 2027-28, and begin supplying cadmium selenide in 2026. (https://www.5nplus.com/en/news/5n-plus-inc-scales-up-and-expands-critical-materia/)
- 2025-11: A law-firm tracker lists the tellurium controls as still valid. A tracker prepared by Pillsbury and dated by its file properties 13 November 2025 listed Announcement No. 10 of 2025 among the still-valid Chinese dual-use export controls, separate from those suspended that month. (https://www.pillsburylaw.com/a/web/oTMwFMStqGaqYLVRdkHW3g/china-suspends-export-controls.pdf)
- 2025-11: The United States lists tellurium among 60 critical minerals. The Interior Department and USGS announced the final 2025 list of critical minerals on 6 November 2025 (Federal Register notice 7 November 2025), with 60 minerals, and tellurium is on it, described as used in solar cells, to strengthen steel and copper, and to produce rubber, microchips and laser diodes. (https://www.usgs.gov/news/science-snippet/interior-department-releases-final-2025-list-critical-minerals)
- 2025: Annual average tellurium prices rise in the United States and Europe. USGS reports that the 2025 annual average price rose by an estimated 60% in US warehouses and 84% in Europe from 2024, and attributes the European increase to Chinese export controls that significantly limited availability there. (https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-tellurium.pdf)

## Frequently asked questions

### which country produces the most tellurium

China refined 800 tonnes of tellurium in 2025, 80% of the 1,000 tonnes world total (USGS MCS). Russia was second with 6.7% and Japan third with 6.1%. These are refinery figures, the world total is USGS's rounded estimate, and the United States figure is withheld.

### what is tellurium used for

USGS estimates that in 2025 solar cells (cadmium telluride thin film) took 70% of global tellurium consumption, thermoelectric devices 15%, metallurgy 10% and other uses 5%. Metallurgical uses include improving machinability in steel and copper alloys. Other uses include rubber processing, catalysts, pigments for glass and ceramics, photodetectors and thermal imaging.

### is tellurium mined

Mostly not for itself. USGS says tellurium is recovered principally as a by-product of the electrolytic refining of primary copper, where it collects in anode slimes, and that more than 90% of tellurium produced has come from this source. The rest has come from lead-refinery skimmings and from flue dusts and gases at bismuth, copper and lead-zinc smelters. USGS tabulates refinery production for tellurium.

### how much tellurium is left

There is no reserves figure on this page. USGS says reserves and resources of tellurium are generally not reported at mine or country level and cannot be reliably quantified. Because it is a by-product, the more useful question is how much copper is refined and how much of the tellurium in the slimes is recovered.

### what are china's tellurium export controls

On 4 February 2025 China's Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs announced, in Announcement No. 10 of 2025, that exports of metallic tellurium, single- or polycrystalline cadmium telluride, cadmium zinc telluride and cadmium mercury telluride products, and the related technology require a license, effective at once; the same announcement covered tungsten, bismuth, molybdenum and indium items. USGS reports end-user and end-use documents were required and a license typically took 45 days. This page found it still described as in force in November 2025 (Pillsbury), in February 2026 (First Solar) and in an August 2026 listing on the secondary site materialsdispatch.com, but has not found a primary notice confirming its status in October 2026.

### why is there no tellurium trade table or price on this page

Tellurium shares HS line 2804.50 with boron, so customs data cannot separate it, and a table for that line would not describe tellurium. There is also no free public price series. USGS draws its prices from Argus Media, for 99.95% purity free on board at a US warehouse and 99.99% purity in warehouse at Rotterdam, and gives annual averages for 2024 and 2025 that are described in the pricing section above.

## 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

Text last reviewed 2026-10-09. 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 tellurium come from?", https://commodityorigins.com/commodities/tellurium/.