# Strontium

Mined as celestite, mostly for oil-well drilling mud, ceramic ferrite magnets and red fireworks; Iran and Spain dominate supply.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/strontium/

Tech & minor metals · No. 50

- EU critical 2023
- India critical 2023
 Tech & minor metals · Foundation · Matter

The red in fireworks is strontium, but most of the mineral is simply ground up and pumped down oil wells.

Chart: Illustration: Strontium

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Strontium comes almost entirely from celestite, strontium sulphate, dug from open pits in sedimentary deposits. World output was about 450,000 t in 2025.

##### Three things to know

1. Strontium nitrate gives fireworks and flares their red, and pyrotechnics and signals took 14% of US use in 2025.
2. Ceramic ferrite magnets, made from strontium carbonate, took another 14%; barium can stand in, but the magnets then work at lower temperatures.
3. World strontium sales were only about $16 million in 2014, yet a strontium optical lattice clock went on sale in Japan in 2025 for $3.3 million.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Celestite**Sedimentary strontium sulphate deposits
2. 2 **Open pit**Mined and ground
3. 3 **Drilling mud**Ground celestite used as it is
4. 4 **Carbonate**Converted to strontium carbonate
5. 5 **Compounds**Nitrate and other salts
6. 6 **End uses**Ferrite magnets, fireworks, zinc refining, glass

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## Other sections

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