# Mercury: Emissions

Why nobody has measured mercury's carbon footprint

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/mercury/emissions/

Why nobody has measured mercury's carbon footprint What this tab covers The greenhouse-gas footprint of the commodity at a global level, split by lifecycle phase: extraction (or farming), refining and processing, movement, usage, and recycling or end of life. Intensities are per unit of product; the global total combines intensity with world output. Also covers other environmental impacts and the main levers to cut emissions.

Per t of elemental mercury, cradle-to-gate. Intensity: not available. Global total: Derived bound from USGS MCS 2026 and World Mining Data 2026.

#### Footprint by lifecycle phase

| Phase | Intensity | Share | Main sources of emissions | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Extraction** | not quantified: underground and open-pit cinnabar mining | – | diesel, explosives | Gold mines that capture by-product mercury allocate little burden to it | USGS MCS 2026 (qualitative) |
| **Refining / processing** | not quantified: retorting or furnace roasting of ore at several hundred degrees, condensing vapour | – | coal, wood or fuel oil for roasting | Small Chinese and Central Asian furnaces also release mercury vapour | USGS MCS 2026 (qualitative) |
| **Movement** | negligible per tonne | – | flasks by container and truck, often informally | Not material for carbon | Qualitative |
| **Usage** | no direct CO2; artisanal gold mining releases about 838 t of mercury to air a year | – | amalgam burning in artisanal gold mining, VCM catalysts, chlor-alkali | Usage is where mercury does most harm | UNEP Global Mercury Assessment 2018 via USGS MCS 2026 |
| **Recycling / end of life** | rising: retorting of lamps, dental amalgam, thermostats and chlor-alkali cells | – | eight US facilities, Japan recovered 65 t in 2016 | Export bans in the US and EU mean recovered mercury goes to permanent storage | USGS MCS 2026; J. Material Cycles and Waste Management (2023) |

#### Other environmental impacts

Global anthropogenic mercury emissions to air were about 2,220 t in 2015: artisanal gold mining 838 t, coal combustion 474 t, non-ferrous metals 327 t, cement 233 t, waste 147 t. Mercury converts to methylmercury and builds up in fish.

#### Levers to cut emissions

- Replace mercury in artisanal gold mining with gravity, borax or cyanide-leach methods under Minamata national action plans
- Mercury-free catalysts for China's coal-based vinyl chloride industry
- Close remaining mercury-cell chlor-alkali plants and store the mercury safely
- Flue-gas controls at coal plants and smelters, which capture mercury and turn it into a by-product for storage

#### India

India produces no primary mercury but was the largest importer in 2016 (349 t) and took 19.9% of world import value in 2024. Its coal-fired power plants are a major mercury emitter, and the 2015 emission norms for coal plants set a mercury limit of 0.03 mg/Nm3.
 Emission figures are indicative global averages from the life-cycle studies named; actual footprints vary widely by site, energy mix and method.

## Other sections

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