# Mercury: Trading

Priced by the 76-pound flask in a thin market

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

What this tab covers How and where it is bought and sold: who buys and sells, exchanges and benchmarks, contract types, the big trading houses and how prices are discovered.

Mercury has no exchange. It is traditionally priced per 76-pound flask and traded among a few producers, recyclers and dealers. Agencies such as Fastmarkets and Argus assess prices in thin markets. Legal trade has shrunk under the Minamata Convention, which restricts mining, trade and use. Export bans in the US and the EU narrow the buyer pool further. Much demand from small-scale gold mining is met informally, so official prices capture only part of the market.

#### Where it is bought (buyers)

- Artisanal gold mining regions in Latin America, Africa and Asia, often through informal or illegal channels
- Importers in 2024: South Africa (42.7% by value), India (19.9%), Togo (14.6%), Argentina (5.7%), Guyana (2.7%) and Brazil (2.2%) (Comtrade)
- Chinese VCM producers, supplied mainly by domestic mines
- Remaining chlor-alkali plants, dental and product makers

#### Where it is sold (sellers)

- Tajikistan (45.9% of world exports by value in 2023) and the UAE (39.7%), which mines none and acts as a trading hub (Comtrade)
- Peru (4.8%), Thailand (3.2%), Japan (2.6%) and Switzerland (0.9%) (Comtrade)
- Chinese, Kyrgyz and Mexican producers

#### Exchanges and benchmarks

| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **None** | No exchange contract | Traditionally priced per 76-lb (34.5 kg) flask |

#### Contract types

- Bilateral sales under Minamata Convention written-consent rules for exports
- Government storage contracts (US DOE contract for up to 7,000 t, awarded 2024)
- Recycling and retorting contracts with lamp, dental and chlor-alkali waste holders
- Informal cash trade to artisanal miners, outside official statistics

#### Top trading houses

- Few licensed dealers and recyclers remain; names and volumes are not published in the sources used

#### How prices are discovered

- Fastmarkets discontinued its fortnightly global mercury assessment (99.99%, in-warehouse, $/flask) because spot trade had become too thin; USGS records the global price ending on 1 December 2019
- Comtrade unit values and US import unit values (USGS) now serve as proxies

## 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)
- [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)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/mercury/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/mercury/links/index.md)