Strontium: Criticality

Why concentration in Iran worries Europe

What this tab covers How exposed economies are to a supply disruption: the EU, US and India listings, the concentration score, and a quantified exposure for the US, EU, India, China, Japan, Latin America, the Middle East and Australia. Where the EU scored it, a chart of supply risk against economic importance, with import reliance, recycling input and substitutes.

Exposure by region

Region	Exposure	Share of world output	Share of world imports	Share of world exports	Net trade (US$)	On own critical list	Position
US	n/a	–	–	–	–	No	Has mined no strontium since 1959 and made no large-scale carbonate since 2006, so it is 100% import reliant (12,000 t Sr apparent consumption in 2025e), mainly from Mexico and Germany (USGS 2026).
EU	n/a	–	–	–	–	Yes	Lists strontium as critical (EU CRM 2023); Spain mines about 100,000 t a year, 34% of world extraction in the CRM assessment and 99% of EU sourcing, with 0% recycling.
India	n/a	–	–	–	–	Yes	Has no reported production, imports carbonate and nitrate, and lists strontium as a critical mineral (2023).
China	n/a	–	–	–	–	No	Mined 80,000 t of celestite in 2025e with 12 Mt of reserves and holds the largest carbonate capacity (about 205,000 t/yr), but imports high-grade celestite from Iran (USGS 2026; Guidechem).
Japan	n/a	–	–	–	–	Yes	Has no production and imports strontium compounds; a Japanese firm began selling a strontium optical lattice clock for $3.3 million in 2025 (USGS 2026).
Latin America	n/a	–	–	–	–	no list	Mexico mined 20,000 t of celestite and hosts a major carbonate plant; Argentina mined 700 t (USGS 2026).
Middle East	n/a	–	–	–	–	no list	Iran is the largest miner (250,000 t in 2025e, reserves 2 Mt), and its April 2025 port explosion disrupted exports (USGS 2026; Payne Institute).
Australia	n/a	–	–	–	–	No	Has no production; an Australia-based company bought a strontium deposit in California in 2025 (USGS 2026).

Exposure rating: High when the region is a net importer whose import share is at least three times its share of world output (or, for farm goods, it produces under 70% of what it consumes); Medium for other net importers (or 70-95% self-sufficiency), raised to High when world supply is highly concentrated in another country; Low for net exporters or self-sufficient regions. Net importer status uses tonnage where reported, otherwise value. Output: n/a. Trade: UN Comtrade (EU = sum of member states, including intra-EU trade). Critical lists: US 2025, EU 2024/1252, India 2023, China 2016 strategic minerals, Japan METI, Australia 2024.

The EU rates strontium critical, with supply risk 2.6 and high economic importance of 6.5. India lists it, but the US 2025 list does not. The risk lies in concentration: Iran mines over half the celestite, and carbonate supply faltered in 2025. Substitutes are partial. Barium can replace strontium in ferrite magnets, but with a lower maximum operating temperature. Fireworks lose brilliance without it. In drilling mud, barite is the preferred material anyway.

EU 2023 Critical US 2025 list No India 2023 list Yes

EU 2023 assessment

Chart: EU 2023 criticality: supply risk against economic importance

Each dot is a material assessed by the EU in 2023. The shaded corner is the critical zone (supply risk ≥ 1.0, economic importance ≥ 2.8). Strontium: supply risk 2.6, economic importance 6.5. EU import reliance, extraction 0% EU recycling input rate 0% US net import reliance, 2025 100% share of apparent consumption

Substitutes

Barium in ferrite magnets (lower operating temperature); barite in drilling mud; little substitution in pyrotechnics