# Caesium: Overview

Clocks, catalysts and drilling brines: cesium by the gram

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/overview/

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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Catalysts: cesium carbonate and hydroxide (sulphuric acid, methyl methacrylate, organic synthesis)** | n/a | n/a basis | Cesium promoters have largely replaced potassium in sulphuric acid catalysts because they work at lower ignition temperatures and cut stack emissions. Cesium catalysts also enable methyl methacrylate production without the older cyanide route, lowering cost and environmental impact. Only small amounts are needed per tonne of catalyst, which makes cesium affordable despite its scarcity. USGS MCS 2026, Cesium | Potassium-promoted vanadium catalysts (sulphuric acid) Acetone cyanohydrin route (methyl methacrylate) Rubidium compounds (similar chemistry) |
| **Cesium formate brines for high-pressure, high-temperature wells** | n/a | about 550 t of cesium formate replaced a yearbasis | Cesium formate makes a clear, solids-free brine dense enough (up to about 2.3 t/m3) to control pressure in deep, hot wells without the formation damage caused by solid weighting agents. It is rented to operators and about 85% is recovered and reprocessed after each job, so the stock lasts many years. USGS MCS 2026, Cesium; Asian Metal (Aug 2025) | Potassium and sodium formate brines (lower density) Zinc and calcium bromide brines Barite-weighted muds |
| **Cesium iodide for X-ray panels and scintillators** | n/a | n/a basis | Cesium iodide crystals turn X-rays into visible light efficiently and can be grown as fine needles that keep images sharp. They are the standard input phosphor in X-ray image intensifiers and digital radiography panels. Since 2020 cesium iodide has been recycled from panels into new ones, now believed to be industry practice (USGS). USGS MCS 2026, Cesium | Gadolinium oxysulphide scintillators Direct-conversion amorphous selenium detectors |
| **Atomic clocks (GPS, aircraft guidance, telecoms and internet timing)** | n/a | n/a basis | The second is defined by a cesium-133 atomic transition, so cesium clocks are the primary time standard. They keep satellite navigation, aircraft guidance and mobile and internet networks in sync. Each clock uses only grams, but there is no practical alternative for primary standards. USGS MCS 2026, Cesium | Rubidium oscillators (secondary standards) Hydrogen masers Optical lattice clocks (strontium, ytterbium) in research |
| **Isotopes and specialty uses (cesium-131 cancer therapy, cesium-137 gauges, glass, photoelectric cells)** | n/a | n/a basis | Cesium-131 seeds treat some cancers, and cesium-137 is used in industrial gauges, well logging and sterilisation. Radioactive cesium-137 is being phased out of US blood irradiators by 2027 in favour of X-ray systems. Stable cesium compounds also go into specialty glass, infrared optics and photoelectric cells. USGS MCS 2026, Cesium | X-ray irradiators (instead of cesium-137) Iodine-125 or palladium-103 seeds Rubidium in photoelectric uses |

 No official world consumption or end-use shares exist. USGS estimates US use at no more than a few thousand kilograms of cesium chemicals a year, and ranks products by quantity: carbonate and hydroxide, then formate, iodide, nitrate and chloride.

#### From mine to user

1. **1. Pegmatite mining** Pollucite, the main ore mineral, occurs in lithium-rich zoned granite pegmatites. Most pollucite contains 5-32% cesium oxide (USGS).
2. **2. Ore sorting and stockpiling** Pollucite is hand or optically sorted and stockpiled; Tanco (Canada) produced intermittently from ore and stockpiles in 2025, and Bikita (Zimbabwe) tailings are reprocessed for shipment to China.
3. **3. Acid digestion** Ground pollucite is digested in sulphuric or other acids to dissolve cesium, which is then purified as a sulphate or alum.
4. **4. Conversion to compounds** Purified cesium is converted to carbonate, hydroxide, formate, iodide, chloride or nitrate.
5. **5. Formate brine rental** Cesium formate is rented to well operators and about 85% is returned and reprocessed after each well (USGS).
6. **6. End users** Catalyst makers, oil and gas operators, X-ray panel makers, clock makers, laboratories.

#### Price movement snapshot 2026-10-25

No public daily or monthly benchmark price for this commodity in the datasets used.

#### Three things to know

- About 11,000 t of cesium formate brine is in use in drilling, with only 5% depleted and replaced each year.
- Congress set a goal to eliminate cesium-137 blood irradiators in the United States by 2027.
- Cesium metal has no market price because it is not traded in commercial quantities.

#### Top recent news snapshot 2026-10-25, last 30 days

No recent articles from the listed publishers were found in the snapshot.

#### Read the tabs
[Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/extraction/)[Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/production/)[Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/stocks/)[Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/cycles/)[Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/trading/)[Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/movement/)[Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/criticality/)[Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/characteristics/)[Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/emissions/)

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/links/index.md)