Rhenium: Extraction
How rhenium is caught in molybdenum roaster flue gas
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.Rhenium has no ore of its own worth mining. It occurs mostly in molybdenite within porphyry copper deposits. When copper miners separate molybdenum concentrate and roast it, rhenium escapes in the flue gas. Scrubbers capture it, and it is purified into ammonium perrhenate (APR), which is 69.4% rhenium, or reduced to metal. In Poland, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Uzbekistan, rhenium also comes from sedimentary copper ores and is recovered from smelter residues. So supply depends on two hosts at once: copper mining and molybdenum roasting.
Rhenium is the rarest of the industrial metals, produced at about 81 t a year. About 80% comes from roasting molybdenite concentrates from porphyry copper mines, where rhenium escapes in roaster gas and is scrubbed out (Cochilco 2016). The rest comes from residues at copper smelters treating sedimentary copper ores in Poland, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia and Russia (USGS 2026). Only roasters fitted with recovery circuits capture it, so supply is set by a handful of plants, led by Molymet in Chile. Recycling adds 20-25 t a year.
Methods compared
| Method | Share of supply | Typical scale | Recovery / efficiency | By-products | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recovery during roasting of molybdenite concentrate | about 80% of total rhenium production (Cochilco 2016) | Molymet exported about 18,000 kg in 2015 and peaked at about 39,000 kg in 2007 (Cochilco); US output 9,800 kg in 2025 from roasters treating Arizona and Montana concentrates (USGS) | USGS assumes 80% of rhenium in concentrate is recovered | Rhenium is itself the by-product; molybdenum oxide is the main product, and copper the mine's main product | n/a |
| Recovery from copper smelter residues (sedimentary copper ores) | about 20% (remainder after molybdenite roasting) | Poland 10,000 kg (2025), Uzbekistan 7,000 kg, Kazakhstan 1,000 kg (USGS) | n/a | copper, silver, sulphuric acid | n/a |
| Recycling of superalloy scrap and spent catalysts | 20-25 t in 2025, excluding catalyst loop (USGS) | n/a | EU end-of-life recycling input rate 50% (EU CRM 2023); world recycling rate including catalysts 35-40% (BRGM 2020) | nickel, cobalt, tantalum, platinum (from catalysts) | Indicative: recyclers need prices consistently above $3,000/kg to cover processing costs (industry sources via USGS 2026) |
How each method works
Recovery during roasting of molybdenite concentrateMolybdenite concentrate from copper-molybdenum mines is roasted to make molybdenum oxide. Rhenium leaves as volatile rhenium heptoxide, is captured in wet scrubbers as perrhenic acid, and recovered by ion exchange or solvent extraction as ammonium perrhenate, then reduced to metal with hydrogen.
Cheap where roasters already exist; a roaster without a circuit loses the rhenium up the stack.
Cochilco (2016); USGS MCS 2026 Recovery from copper smelter residues (sedimentary copper ores)In Poland, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia and Russia, rhenium-bearing copper ore is smelted directly and rhenium collects in smelter dusts and acid-plant solutions, from which APR is made.
Adds supply outside the molybdenum chain; tied to a few smelters.
USGS MCS 2026 Recycling of superalloy scrap and spent catalystsTurbine blades, vanes and superalloy scrap are dissolved hydrometallurgically to recover rhenium, or remelted as engine revert. Spent reforming catalysts are returned to catalyst makers in a closed loop. Recyclers operate in the US, Germany, Canada, Estonia, France, Japan, Poland and Russia.
Large share of supply and price-responsive; costly at low prices.
USGS MCS 2026; EU CRM 2023; BRGM criticality sheet (2020) Unit economics are indicative ranges from the sources named; costs vary widely by deposit, region and year.By-product supply
Companionality is about 95%: rhenium comes from molybdenum roasting, and the molybdenum itself is mostly a by-product of copper. So rhenium supply depends on copper mine plans, on molybdenite grades and on whether roasters have recovery circuits. Price spikes do not bring more mining. They do bring more recycling, which is why secondary supply (20-25 t) is now a quarter of the market and why recyclers watch the $3,000/kg threshold.
Share produced as a by-product
About 95% of primary supply comes as a by-product of molybdenum (from copper porphyries) (Nassar, Graedel & Harper 2015, approximate).Who does it: global
| Company | Country | Activity | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Molymet (Molibdenos y Metales) latest published figure; Chile's total output was 30,000 kg in 2025 (USGS) | Chile | molybdenum roasting and rhenium refining (Chile, plus roaster residues from Belgium, Mexico and Peru) | 18,000 kg Re exported | 2015 | Cochilco (2016) |
| Codelco (Molyb subsidiary) planned figure; actual output not published | Chile | molybdenum roasting with rhenium recovery | 6,500 kg Re/yr expected (range 6,000-7,000) | from 2017 | Cochilco (2016) |
| KGHM Polska Miedz Poland produced 10,000 kg in 2025 (USGS) | Poland | rhenium from copper smelter residues | 7,000 kg Re (about) | 2014 | Lipmann Walton & Co (2014) |
| Freeport-McMoRan not published | US | rhenium from roasting molybdenite concentrates | not published | 2025 | BRGM (2020) names Freeport among main producers; US output 9,800 kg (USGS MCS 2026) |
| LS Nikko Copper not published | South Korea | rhenium from copper smelting residues | not published | 2025 | BRGM (2020); Korea output 3,000 kg (USGS MCS 2026) |
| Jiangxi Copper not published | China | rhenium recovery | not published | 2025 | BRGM (2020); China output 20,000 kg (USGS MCS 2026) |
| Pratt & Whitney (buyer) | US | jet-engine maker; long-term rhenium purchase from Molymet | 690 US$ million contract value | 2014 | Lipmann Walton & Co (2014) |
Who does it: India
India produces no rhenium. It imports rhenium in reforming catalysts for its oil refineries and in superalloys for aero-engine and gas-turbine work; rhenium is on India's 2023 critical list.