Cadmium, a soft, malleable, ductile, bluish-white metal, was discovered in Germany in 1817, and Germany remained the only important producer for 100 years. Currently, a large percentage of global cadmium metal production takes place in Asia.

Cadmium is generally recovered as a byproduct from zinc concentrates. Zinc-to-cadmium ratios in typical zinc ores range from 200:1 to 400:1. Sphalerite (ZnS), the most economically significant zinc mineral, commonly contains minor amounts of other elements; cadmium, which shares certain similar chemical properties with zinc, will often substitute for zinc in the sphalerite crystal lattice. The cadmium mineral, greenockite (CdS), is frequently associated with weathered sphalerites and wurtzites [(Zn, Fe)S], but usually at microscopic levels. A significant amount of cadmium is also recovered from spent nickel cadmium batteries.

Cadmium is primarily consumed for the production of rechargeable nickel cadmium batteries; other end uses include pigments, coatings and plating, and as stabilizers for plastics. Solar cell manufacturing may become another significant market for cadmium in the future. Cadmium telluride thin-film photovoltaics are an alternative to the traditional silicon-based solar cells and are a preferred photovoltaic technology for commercial rooftop applications and for large-scale, ground-mounted utility systems.

Subscribe to receive an email notification when a publication is added to this page.

Annual Publications

Mineral Commodity Summaries

• Cadmium
    PDF Format:
       | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |2013 |2014 |2015 |2016 |2017 |2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
• Appendixes

Minerals Yearbook

• Cadmium
    PDF Format:
       | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
    XLS Format:
       | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 tables-only release |
• Archive
       | 1932-1993 |
• Recycling-Metals

Special Publications

• Byproduct mineral commodities used for the production of photovoltaic cells
  Circular 1365
• Cadmium Recycling in the United States in 2000
  C-1196-O
• Factors that Influence the Price of Al, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Rare Earth Elements, and Zn
  Open-File Report 2008-1356
• Historical Global Statistics (Data Series 896)
• Historical Statistics for Mineral and Material Commodities in the United States
  Data Series 140
  • Cadmium
• Flow of Cadmium from Rechargeable Batteries in the United States, 1996-2007
  Scientific Investigations Report 2007-519832
• Material Use in the United States-Selected Case Studies for Cadmium, Cobalt, Lithium, and Nickel in Rechargeable Batteries
  Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5141
• Metal Prices in the United States through 2010 Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5188
• Mineral Commodity Profiles: Cadmium
  Open-File Report 02-238
• Cadmium (Materials Flow)
  U.S. Bureau of Mines Information Circular 9380
• U.S. Mineral Dependence-Statistical Compilation of U.S. and World Mineral Production, Consumption, and Trade, 1990-2010
  Open-File Report 2013-1184