Thallium: Criticality

Toxic companion: why studies flag it but lists do not

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 produced no thallium since 1981, consumed about 25 kg in 2025e, and sources imports mainly from Mexico (90% in 2021-24) (USGS 2026).
EU	n/a	–	–	–	–	No	No primary production is reported, and thallium is not assessed in EU CRM 2023; France supplied 4% of US imports in 2021-24 (USGS 2026).
India	n/a	–	–	–	–	No	Has no reported production and imports small amounts; not on India's 2023 critical list.
China	n/a	–	–	–	–	No	Is a leading producer and has substantial thallium-rich deposits, including newly studied uranium-molybdenum-thallium mineralisation in the northeast (USGS 2026).
Japan	n/a	–	–	–	–	Yes	Supplied 4% of US thallium imports in 2021-24; no production figure is published (USGS 2026).
Latin America	n/a	–	–	–	–	no list	Mexico supplied 90% of US imports in 2021-24 and Brazil has thallium-rich deposits (USGS 2026).
Middle East	n/a	–	–	–	–	no list	Israel supplied 2% of US imports in 2021-24; no production is reported (USGS 2026).
Australia	n/a	–	–	–	–	No	No thallium production is reported (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.

Thallium is not on the US 2025 or India 2023 lists and is not assessed by the EU. Yet studies that evaluate it tend to flag it, citing by-product supply and production concentrated in Asia (Hayes & McCullough). Nassar et al. warn that a zinc miner may choose not to invest in recovering a toxic companion, constraining supply. Substitutes exist for imaging (technetium-99m) and heavy liquids (tungsten compounds), but not yet at equal cost for gamma detectors and infrared optics.

EU 2023 Not assessed US 2025 list No India 2023 list No

Substitutes

Technetium-99m for cardiac imaging; tungsten compounds for heavy liquids; other materials for gamma detectors and infrared optics, though thallium is still superior there