Prices
No single exchange-settled price exists for cadmium. Trade settles over-the-counter against benchmarks published by independent price-reporting agencies. We do not republish those numbers — consult the publishers directly:
Asian Metal ↗
Daily benchmark quotations for cadmium from Asian producers (subscription).
Fastmarkets ↗
Industry benchmark prices, market reports, and price discovery for cadmium.
Shanghai Metals Market ↗
Real-time and historical Chinese spot prices for cadmium.
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 ↗
Annual U.S. Geological Survey reference — production, reserves, prices, and trade statistics for cadmium.
About Cadmium
Editorial overviewWhat is cadmium?
Cadmium (Cd, atomic number 48) is a soft, bluish-white heavy metal in the zinc group, and USGS classifies it as a byproduct metal recovered mainly during zinc refining. USGS Cadmium MCS 2026
How cadmium is priced
Cadmium has no regulated futures contract. The reference price is the European 99.99% cadmium ingot in-warehouse Rotterdam, assessed daily by Fastmarkets. SMM publishes the Chinese domestic 99.99% / 99.95% cadmium prices. Production is by-product of zinc refining; supply tracks zinc concentrate output.
Where cadmium comes from
Cadmium is not mined as a primary ore; it is recovered from zinc smelters, so its supply tracks zinc production rather than a cadmium-specific mining stream. USGS lists the largest cadmium refinery producers in 2024–25e as China (9,500 t in 2025e), Korea, Republic of (4,300 t), Canada (1,300 t), Japan (1,300 t), and Russia (1,000 t), with the world total at 23,000 t in 2025e. USGS Cadmium MCS 2026 Full breakdown in the production and reserves sections.
Who produces cadmium
USGS identifies U.S. cadmium production as coming from one zinc smelter in Tennessee and one recycler in Ohio, while globally cadmium is recovered at zinc smelters rather than dedicated cadmium mines. The commodity is therefore produced by zinc-smelting and recycling operators, including U.S. zinc refiner/recycler operations cited by USGS; no cadmium-specific mining companies are listed in the USGS chapter. USGS Cadmium MCS 2026 Full list of producers below.
What cadmium is used for
Cadmium metal and compounds are mainly consumed for nickel-cadmium batteries, but USGS also says they are used in alloys, coatings, pigments, and semiconductors such as CdTe thin-film solar panels, CdZnTe radiation detectors, and CdSe optoelectronics. Because USGS did not provide an application percentage split for cadmium, I am not assigning unsupported shares. USGS Cadmium MCS 2026
Key facts about cadmium supply
- USGS Cadmium MCS 2026: U.S. primary refined production was estimated at 200 t in 2025e, up from 180 t in 2024. USGS Cadmium MCS 2026
- USGS Cadmium MCS 2026: world refinery production was 23,000 t in 2025e, with China at 9,500 t and Korea, Republic of at 4,300 t. USGS Cadmium MCS 2026
- USGS Cadmium MCS 2026: quantitative cadmium reserves were not available, and the cadmium content of typical zinc ores averages about 0.03%. USGS Cadmium MCS 2026
- USGS Cadmium MCS 2026: secondary cadmium is mainly recovered from spent consumer and industrial NiCd batteries, with additional recovery from copper-cadmium alloy scrap, nonferrous alloy scrap, dust from electric-arc furnaces, and CdTe solar panels. USGS Cadmium MCS 2026
- USGS Cadmium MCS 2026: U.S. net import reliance was estimated at less than 25% of apparent consumption in 2025e. USGS Cadmium MCS 2026
Sources: USGS Cadmium MCS 2026, USGS Zinc MCS 2026
Mine Production by Country
Source: USGS MCS 2026| Country | 2024 | 2025e |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 180 | 200 |
| Australia | 601 | 600 |
| Bulgaria | 379 | 380 |
| Canada | e1,300 | e1,300 |
| China | e8,900 | e9,500 |
| Germany | e130 | e220 |
| Japan | e1,580 | e1,300 |
| Kazakhstan | e1,100 | e1,100 |
| Korea, Republic of | e4,300 | e4,300 |
| Mexico | 1,190 | 1,000 |
| Netherlands | 592 | 600 |
| Norway | e350 | e430 |
| Peru | 664 | 600 |
| Poland | 382 | 400 |
| Russia | e1,000 | e1,000 |
| Uzbekistan | e170 | e230 |
| World total (rounded) | 22,800 | 23,000 |
Unit: metric tons. "e" = estimated, "W" = withheld, "NA" = not available. Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026
Major Producers (0)
No producer data available for this metal.
Latest News
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Frequently Asked Questions
Auto-generated from primary-source dataWhich countries produce the most cadmium?
The largest cadmium producing countries are China (e8,900 metric tons), Korea, Republic of (e4,300 metric tons), Japan (e1,580 metric tons). Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026.
What is the primary source for cadmium production and reserves data?
Country-level cadmium production and reserves figures on TSM Hub are sourced directly from the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, the U.S. Geological Survey's authoritative annual reference. Company-level production figures come from each producer's official annual report, production report, or regulated exchange filing.