Arsenic: Overview
Pesticides, timber and chips: arsenic's unlikely mix of uses
Pesticides, timber and chips: arsenic's unlikely mix of uses What this tab covers What the commodity is used for, why, in what volumes and with what alternatives, and its chain from mine or field to end user. Also the latest price moves, top recent news, three things to know, and buttons into each tab.Key uses
| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood preservatives (chromated copper arsenate), herbicides and insecticides | 80% | more than 5,000 t As a year in the USbasis | Arsenic acid made from arsenic trioxide is the key ingredient of CCA, which protects light poles, marine timber and retaining walls from rot and insects for decades. It is cheap, effective and well understood. Seven US companies made CCA-treated wood in 2025. Toxicity has pushed it out of most residential uses, so demand now rests on industrial and utility timber. USGS MCS 2026, Arsenic | Alkaline copper quaternary and copper azole preservatives Copper naphthenate and copper citrate Concrete, steel or plastic composite poles and posts |
| Zinc electrowinning (purifying zinc sulphate electrolyte) | 69% | n/a basis | Zinc refineries add arsenic trioxide with zinc dust to precipitate cobalt, nickel and other impurities from the electrolyte before electrowinning. Small doses do a job that would otherwise cost current efficiency and cathode quality. In the EU this is the largest single use, which is why arsenic sits on the EU critical list despite its toxicity. EU CRM study 2023 | Antimony trioxide as the purification activator Other cementation reagents (copper sulphate with zinc dust) |
| Glassmaking (fining and decolourising agent) | 18% | n/a basis | Arsenic trioxide releases oxygen in the melt, which helps bubbles rise and leave the glass, and it offsets iron tints. It is used in some specialty and optical glasses where clarity matters. Its use in mass container glass has fallen as safer fining agents became standard. EU CRM study 2023 | Antimony oxide Sodium sulphate and cerium oxide fining Tin oxide in some specialty glasses |
| Chemicals (other arsenic compounds) | 7% | n/a basis | Arsenic compounds are intermediates for pharmaceuticals, veterinary products and laboratory reagents. Volumes are small and spread across many buyers. Strict handling rules and REACH registration in the EU limit new uses. EU CRM study 2023 | Non-arsenical chemistry in most applications |
| Lead alloys: battery grids, shot, wheel weights, bearings | 5% | n/a basis | A fraction of a per cent of arsenic hardens lead and makes battery grids and shot stiffer and more creep resistant. It is also an antifriction additive in bearing metals. The tonnage per battery is tiny but lead-acid volumes are large. EU CRM study 2023; USGS MCS 2026 | Calcium-tin lead alloys for battery grids Antimony as a hardener Steel or tungsten shot |
| High-purity arsenic for GaAs, InAs and InGaAs semiconductors | 1% | n/a basis | Gallium arsenide and indium gallium arsenide handle high frequencies and convert light efficiently, so they are used in phone radio chips, satellites, defence radar, infrared sensors and space solar cells. USGS says no effective substitute exists for GaAs in many defence uses. Japan and Germany are the main allied suppliers of high-purity metal. EU CRM study 2023; USGS MCS 2026; Metal Tech News (Aug 2026) | Silicon CMOS and silicon-germanium (some RF uses) Gallium nitride (power and RF) Indium phosphide (some laser diodes) |
From mine to user
- 1. Mining of copper, gold, lead and cobalt ores Arsenic is not mined for itself. It rides in enargite, arsenopyrite, realgar, orpiment and cobalt arsenides inside ores mined for other metals.
- 2. Concentrate trading with arsenic penalties Smelters charge penalties for arsenic in copper concentrate, and China bans imports of copper ore with more than 0.5% arsenic (Blas and Farchy 2021).
- 3. Roasting or smelting Arsenic volatilises as arsenic trioxide gas and is caught as flue dust in baghouses and electrostatic precipitators at copper, gold and lead smelters.
- 4. Refining to commercial arsenic trioxide Crude dust is resublimed or leached to make white arsenic (As2O3). World output was about 61,000 t in 2025 against 81,000 t of capacity (USGS).
- 5. Conversion to arsenic acid, metal and compounds Arsenic acid goes to CCA makers; carbon reduction gives 99% metal; sublimation and zone refining give 99.9999% metal for chips.
- 6. End users Wood treaters, zinc refineries, glassmakers, battery and alloy makers, and GaAs wafer and chip makers.
- 7. Waste and residues Most arsenic that is not sold is stabilised and stored as hazardous waste at smelters. No arsenic is recovered from end-of-life products (USGS).
Price movement snapshot 2026-10-25
No public daily or monthly benchmark price for this commodity in the datasets used.
World production 63k tonnes, 2024 Largest producer Peru 51.03% of worldThree things to know
- Arsenic trioxide and arsenic metal have not been produced in the United States since 1985 (USGS).
- China supplied 95% of US arsenic metal imports in 2021-24 (USGS).
- China bans imports of copper ore containing more than 0.5% arsenic (Blas & Farchy).
Top recent news snapshot 2026-10-25, last 30 days
- Fortescue demonstrates effectiveness of world's first arsenic removal tech for copperMining Weekly · 2026-10-19
- Fortescue sells copper concentrate cleaned with arsenic removal processMining Technology · 2026-10-19
- Fortescue sells copper treated with arsenic-removal technologyMining.com.au · 2026-10-19