Antimony: Characteristics
A brittle metal that earns its keep as a compound
What this tab covers The supply and physical characteristics of the commodity. Supply: current production, inventories and stocks, capacity utilisation, geographic and producer concentration, how fast supply responds to price, the project pipeline and capital spending, and logistics and export flows. Material: the physical and chemical properties that set its grade, price and end uses (for example purity and conductivity for metals, API gravity, sulfur and energy content for fuels, moisture, protein and fibre quality for crops).Supply volume characteristics
| Characteristic | Figure | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current production volume | about 110 kt Sb mine output (2025e), down from 119 kt in 2024 | China (40 kt), Russia (32 kt) and Tajikistan (22 kt) lead. Secondary antimony from battery scrap adds supply; the US made 3,500 t secondary in 2025. | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Inventory and stock levels | not published; US stockpile buying | The US stockpile plan listed 700 t of potential acquisitions for FY2025. No exchange stocks exist. China's state reserve has bought antimony in the past, but volumes are not published. | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Capacity utilisation | not published | USGS gives no smelter capacity. Chinese smelters have been short of concentrate as domestic mines deplete and imports from Myanmar and Russia shift, so utilisation is believed low, but no figure is published in the sources used. | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Geographic and producer concentration | China 36%, top 3 (China, Russia, Tajikistan) 85%, HHI about 2,600 (2025 mine output, derived); WMD 2024 HHI 2,129 | China's share of refining is higher than of mining, since it smelts imported concentrates. Hsikwangshan Twinkling Star is described as the largest producer; no top-5 company share is published. | USGS MCS 2026 (derived); World Mining Data 2026; Fastmarkets |
| Supply elasticity | medium in the short run for primary mines, low for by-product and new Western supply (5-10 years) | About 85% of antimony is co-produced, mainly with gold and lead. New Western projects such as Stibnite in Idaho depend on gold economics and permitting that took over a decade. | Nassar et al. 2015; USGS MCS 2026 |
| Project pipeline and CapEx | Stibnite Gold (Idaho): 60 kt Sb probable reserves, about 35% of US consumption from late 2028; Montana mining started 2025 | Perpetua broke ground in October 2025 with $80 million of conditional US defence funding. Another company started mining at Stibnite Hill, Montana in November 2025. Costerfield (Australia) produces gold-antimony concentrate. | USGS MCS 2026; this tile's company data |
| Logistics and export flows | world HS 8110 exports about $348 million, imports $806 million (2024) | Thailand (25.9%), China (20.8%) and Turkey (15.4%) lead metal exports; France and Belgium are the largest importers, for flame-retardant trioxide. China's August 2024 export controls and December 2024 US ban rerouted trade; US oxide imports rose to 39 kt in 2025. | UN Comtrade 2024; USGS MCS 2026 |
Material characteristics Metal / hard commodity
Antimony is used mostly as a compound, not a structural metal. Antimony trioxide boosts halogenated flame retardants, so its purity, whiteness and particle size matter. As a metal it is brittle but hardens lead for battery grids and bullets. Impurities such as arsenic, lead and sulphur define grades and penalties.
| Property | Value / specification | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purity / grade | Rotterdam benchmark: Standard Grade II, at least 99.65% Sb, with limits on As, Pb, S and Fe | Sets the price basis (Argus 99.65% CIF used by USGS); higher grades suit chemicals and electronics | MMTA; Argus via USGS MCS 2026 |
| Concentrate grade | Stibnite concentrates often 40-60% Sb; penalties for arsenic and mercury | Payability and smelter acceptance depend on grade and deleterious elements | Fastmarkets (indicative) |
| Antimony trioxide purity and particle size | Sb2O3 at least 99.5%; particle size about 0.2-3 microns | Fine, white oxide disperses in plastics without spoiling colour; coarser grades suit glass | Producer specifications (indicative) |
| Hardening of lead | 1-6% Sb in lead alloys | Stiffens battery grids and bullets; lower-antimony grids are used in maintenance-free batteries | Industry practice (indicative) |
| Melting point and brittleness | 630.6 C; brittle, Mohs hardness about 3 | Cannot be rolled or drawn, so it is used as an alloying addition or compound | CRC Handbook |
| Toxicity classification | Sb2O3 classified as suspected carcinogen (Carc. 2, H351) under EU CLP | Drives handling costs and substitution pressure in flame retardants | EU CLP Regulation |