Bromine: Extraction
Why bromine is pumped from brines, not dug up
What this tab covers How it is mined, drilled or grown, and processed into a tradeable form: the main methods compared, their unit economics, by-products, and the companies that do this work globally and in India.Bromine is dissolved, not mined. Seawater holds about 65 ppm, and the Dead Sea an estimated 1 billion tons. Producers pump brine from salt lakes or deep formations, such as those under southern Arkansas. Chlorine oxidises the bromide to bromine, which is stripped out with steam and condensed. Bromine is also a coproduct of evaporating seawater for salt. Herbert Dow built his company on Michigan brines, making bromine more cheaply than German rivals. Dow later found its Arkansas bromine brines were also rich in lithium (Scheyder).
Bromine is extracted from brine, never mined as rock. The richest source is the Dead Sea, where Israel and Jordan recover bromine from the concentrated end brines of potash production at very low cost. Other producers pump deep underground brines (Arkansas, Shandong in China) or use bitterns from solar salt works and seawater (India, Japan). The chemistry is the same everywhere: chlorine displaces bromine from bromide, and the bromine is stripped out with steam.
Methods compared
| Method | Share of supply | Typical scale | Recovery / efficiency | By-products | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dead Sea end-brine recovery (Israel, Jordan) | Israel 200,000 t and Jordan 110,000 t of 430,000 t world output in 2025 (excluding US), about 72% (USGS 2026) | Jordan achieved record output in H1 2025 (USGS) | n/a | Potash, magnesium chloride, salt | n/a |
| Underground brine wells (Arkansas, US; Shandong, China) | US output withheld; two Arkansas companies hold a large share of world capacity; China 90,000 t in 2025 (USGS) | Gulf Resources (Shandong) sold 7,951 t in 2023 and 2,250 t in 2024 at 8% utilisation (Gulf Resources, Apr 2025) | n/a | Lithium is now being developed from Arkansas bromine brines; salt | Gulf Resources said about RMB 29,000/t (March 2025) was above breakeven (price indicator, not a full cost) |
| Sea salt bitterns and seawater (India, Japan, Ukraine) | Japan 20,000 t, India 7,000 t, Ukraine 6,000 t in 2025 (USGS) | n/a | n/a | Salt, sulphate of potash, magnesium compounds | n/a |
How each method works
Dead Sea end-brine recovery (Israel, Jordan)After potash and salt crystallise in solar ponds, the residual brine is very rich in bromide. It is treated with chlorine and steam-stripped in large integrated plants at Sodom (Israel) and Safi (Jordan), which convert much of the output to compounds.
Lowest-cost, largest resource; concentrated in a conflict-prone region.
USGS MCS 2026 Underground brine wells (Arkansas, US; Shandong, China)Deep brines from the Smackover formation in Arkansas or shallow brines along the Shandong coast are pumped, oxidised with chlorine, steam-stripped and reinjected. Chinese plants are small and many were shut for environmental compliance.
Large US reserves (11 million t); Chinese brines are depleting and face closures.
USGS MCS 2026; Gulf Resources business update, Apr 2025 Sea salt bitterns and seawater (India, Japan, Ukraine)Bitterns left after salt crystallises in solar pans, or seawater itself, are processed with chlorine and air or steam stripping. In India this is done in Gujarat alongside salt works, notably by Archean Chemical in the Rann of Kutch.
Uses waste bitterns and seawater; low bromine concentration means higher unit costs.
USGS MCS 2026; Archean annual report FY2025 Unit economics are indicative ranges from the sources named; costs vary widely by deposit, region and year.By-product supply
Bromine is mostly a co-product: of potash and salt at the Dead Sea and of salt in India, and increasingly a partner product to lithium in Arkansas brines. Dead Sea output follows potash pond operations, so supply is not very responsive to bromine prices.
Who does it: global
| Company | Country | Activity | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICL Group (Dead Sea Bromine) Company volume not published in sources reviewed; national output shown. | Israel | Dead Sea bromine and bromine compounds | 200,000 t (Israel national output) | 2025 | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Jordan Bromine Company (Albemarle and Arab Potash) Company volume not published in sources reviewed; national output shown. | Jordan | Dead Sea bromine and compounds at Safi | 110,000 t (Jordan national output) | 2025 | USGS MCS 2026 (record H1 2025) |
| Albemarle (Magnolia, Arkansas) Not published. | US | brine bromine and specialties | not published | 2025 | USGS MCS 2026 (two Arkansas companies; output withheld) |
| Lanxess (El Dorado, Arkansas) Not published. | Germany / US | brine bromine and flame retardants | not published | 2025 | USGS MCS 2026 (two Arkansas companies; output withheld) |
| Gulf Resources | China | Shandong brine bromine | 2,250 t sold | 2024 | Gulf Resources business update, Apr 2025 (7,951 t in 2023) |
| Japanese seawater bromine producers (e.g. Tosoh) Company volume not published; national output shown. | Japan | seawater bromine | 20,000 t (Japan national output) | 2025 | USGS MCS 2026 |
Who does it: India
| Company | Country | Activity | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archean Chemical Industries Bromine volume not published in the annual report. | India | bromine from Rann of Kutch subsoil brine; exports | not published | FY2025 | Archean annual report FY2025: leader in Indian merchant bromine sales; customers in over 15 countries |
India produced about 7,000 t of bromine in 2025 (USGS), mostly from Gujarat salt bitterns and subsoil brine, and both exports (6.0% of world value) and imports (7.1%) bromine (Comtrade 2024). Archean Chemical is the main merchant producer. Bromine is not on India's 2023 critical list.