# Rhenium: Overview

Why jet engines claim four-fifths of all rhenium

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rhenium/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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Nickel-base superalloys for jet-engine and gas-turbine blades** | 80% | about 65 t Re a year (primary)basis | Adding a few percent of rhenium to single-crystal nickel superalloys keeps turbine blades strong above 1,000 degrees C, so engines can run hotter and more efficiently. Engine makers qualify each alloy over years, so they lock in supply with long contracts: Pratt & Whitney agreed in 2014 to buy $690 million of rhenium from Molymet (Lipmann Walton 2014). USGS MCS 2026; Cochilco (2016); Lipmann Walton & Co (2014) | Lower-rhenium or rhenium-free superalloy grades (with some loss of temperature capability) Ceramic matrix composites in hot sections (emerging) |
| **Platinum-rhenium catalysts for petroleum reforming (high-octane petrol)** | 15% | about 12 t Re a year (primary)basis | Rhenium makes platinum reforming catalysts resist coking, so refinery reformers run longer between regenerations while making high-octane components for unleaded petrol. Spent catalyst rhenium is recycled in a closed loop back to oil companies or catalyst makers (USGS 2026). USGS MCS 2026; Cochilco (2016) | Platinum-iridium-tin catalysts (in commercial use) Platinum-tin catalysts in continuous reformers |
| **Other: thermocouples, electrical contacts, X-ray targets, filaments, crucibles, medical implants** | 5% | about 4 t Re a yearbasis | Rhenium has the second-highest melting point of any metal and keeps ductility, so tungsten-rhenium and molybdenum-rhenium alloys serve in thermocouples, X-ray tube targets, heating elements and electron emitters. The US FDA approved several molybdenum-rhenium medical devices in 2025 (USGS). USGS MCS 2026 | Rhodium and rhodium-iridium (thermocouples) Tungsten and tantalum (electron emitters) Cobalt and tungsten (X-ray target coatings) |

 USGS shares (80% superalloys, 15% catalysts) are stated for US end uses in 2025; Cochilco (2016) gives similar global shares from several sources. Volumes use 2025 primary output only.

#### From mine to user

1. **1. Porphyry copper-molybdenum mining** Rhenium sits in molybdenite (MoS2) at about 100-3,000 ppm (Cochilco 2016). Chile, the US and China host most such mines.
2. **2. Molybdenite concentrate** Flotation separates a molybdenite concentrate from the copper. Rhenium is not paid for by most buyers of the concentrate.
3. **3. Roasting** Concentrate is roasted at about 630-680 degrees C; rhenium oxidises to a volatile gas and is captured in scrubber water as perrhenic acid (Cochilco 2016). USGS assumes 80% recovery from concentrate.
4. **4. Ammonium perrhenate** Ion exchange or solvent extraction turns the acid into ammonium perrhenate (APR, 69.4% Re). Catalytic-grade APR averaged $2,300/kg in 2025 (USGS).
5. **5. Metal powder and pellets** APR is reduced with hydrogen to metal powder and pressed into pellets. Pellet price averaged $2,600/kg in 2025 (USGS).
6. **6. Superalloy melting and catalyst making** Alloy makers melt pellets into single-crystal blade alloys; catalyst makers impregnate alumina with platinum and rhenium.
7. **7. Recycling** Turbine scrap and revert are recycled; 20-25 t of secondary rhenium was made in 2025, excluding closed-loop catalyst recycling (USGS).

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

No public daily or monthly benchmark price for this commodity in the datasets used.
 World production 77k kg, 2024 Largest producer Chile 70.44% of world

#### Three things to know

- Rhenium metal prices rose 90% in 2025 to about $2,600/kg (USGS).
- Recyclers say rhenium must stay above $3,000/kg to justify recovering it from superalloy scrap (USGS).
- Superalloys for turbine engines take about 80% of rhenium use, and reforming catalysts about 15% (USGS).

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

- [Pebble at Mining Forum Americas 2026: legal ruling could reset project](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiwwFBVV95cUxOUndCbDRqUXZpajNDSkZIU1RLVkRqNmpEd21OM1YybjRMamZyclpPcEtER0JhUzZEYndsT0drQ2ZxdFFBNTc1V3NCRGQ5Qzhqc056TWRHeHprT2k5cGlITnZNUjJvTUg0S3BwOXhQeGpiQ3lzUk9QeHZvdF93VEZTdWdubEpOcDRDTzdacllOci1tNFNkc0R1ckFZLV9jYWhBZkZsbVl2YXlTcEwyVVQ3RDI3b1lYZE9UZHRqSDhYY0ZhUEE?oc=5)Investing.com · 2026-09-28

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

## Other sections

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