The Periodic Table of Scarcity and Abundance Cd Cadmium
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Cadmium: Where it is found

What is it found in, and where on Earth?

Cadmium occurs in zinc ores, mostly in the zinc sulfide sphalerite. Typical zinc ores hold about 0.03% cadmium. It is recovered wherever zinc concentrates are refined, so its deposits are the world's zinc deposits.

Last updated 3 October 2026.

Minerals and ores

In a 2002 profile, USGS names three cadmium minerals. Greenockite and hawleyite are two crystal forms of cadmium sulfide (CdS), and otavite is cadmium carbonate (CdCO3). None is found in enough quantity to be mined as an ore1. There are a few other rare ones, such as cadmoselite, a cadmium selenide known from Tuva in Russia and from Argentina2. On weathered zinc minerals, the cadmium minerals sometimes form thin coatings1.

Most of the cadmium in ore deposits is in zinc sulfide ores1. Sphalerite (ZnS), the main zinc mineral, commonly holds small amounts of cadmium. Cadmium is chemically close to zinc and takes its place in the crystal3. Typical zinc ores hold about 0.03% cadmium3. In 2014 USGS put the ratio of zinc to cadmium in typical ores at 200 to 1 up to 400 to 14.

Concentrating the ore raises the grade. USGS says zinc concentrates typically hold 0.2% to 0.3% cadmium5. The International Cadmium Association gives 0.07% to 0.83%, with an average of 0.23%6.

How deposits form

Cadmium and zinc occur together, but not in a fixed ratio. It bonds more readily with sulfur than zinc does, and it stays dissolved in cooling magma longer. So it is most concentrated, relative to zinc, in zinc ores that formed late and at low temperature from hot water solutions (hydrothermal ores)1.

It is concentrated even more in low-temperature, oxygen-poor settings, such as those where black shales form. These shales hold too little zinc to mine, so their cadmium is not counted as a resource1.

The British Geological Survey lists the deposit types that supply cadmium as sediment-hosted deposits, volcanic massive sulfide deposits and others. In all of them cadmium comes with zinc, lead or copper7. Some coals that contain zinc also hold cadmium, but it is not economic to recover8.

Where the deposits are

Reserves by country
China 18% 92,000 t
Peru 11% 55,000 t
Mexico 9.4% 47,000 t
Russia 8.8% 44,000 t
India 7% 35,000 t
United States 6.4% 32,000 t
Kazakhstan 6% 30,000 t
Canada 4.6% 23,000 t
Rest of the world 28% 142,000 t
2013. Cadmium content of zinc reserves. The last country table USGS published; Australia was listed as not available. World: 500,000 t4

Cadmium deposits are zinc deposits, so cadmium and zinc deposits are in the same places. The last USGS country table is for 2013. In it, USGS put the largest cadmium reserves in China (92,000 tonnes), Peru (55,000 tonnes), Mexico (47,000 tonnes) and Russia (44,000 tonnes). India, the United States and Kazakhstan followed with 30,000 to 35,000 tonnes each. The world total was 500,000 tonnes, and Australia, a large zinc miner, was listed as “not available”4.

In a 2002 profile, USGS said that Australia, Canada and the United States held more than 60% of identified cadmium resources1. The two lists cannot be compared directly. The first is of resources around 2000, and the second is of reserves in 2013.

The ore and the refinery are often in different countries. Around 2000, the main flows of zinc concentrates ran from Australia and North America to eastern Asia and Europe, where the cadmium was recovered1.

What it comes with

All cadmium is a by-product. The British Geological Survey counts 100% of it as recovered from the ores of zinc, lead and copper7. Zinc is the main host. Lead and copper smelters also catch cadmium in their flue dust1.

The amounts are small next to the host. Mines produced about 13 million tonnes of zinc in 2025, and refineries produced about 23,000 tonnes of cadmium93. That is about 0.18% (23,000 of 13,000,000 tonnes). The International Cadmium Association says a tonne of zinc in concentrate comes with about 3 kilograms of cadmium, enough for about 42,000 tonnes a year. Only about 24,000 tonnes were refined in 2018, because not every zinc refinery recovers cadmium6.

So cadmium output follows zinc output, but refiners can still choose. In 2007 the Canadian Electrolytic Zinc refinery near Montreal stopped making cadmium, because it had become unprofitable, and kept making zinc10.

Sources

  1. 1

    W.C. Butterman and J. Plachy, U.S. Geological Survey, 2002. Mineral Commodity Profiles: Cadmium (Open-File Report 02-238) , pp. 3-24.

    History, minerals, refining process, uses by period, environment and price history to 2000.

    • Greenockite and hawleyite are the hexagonal and isometric polymorphic forms of cadmium sulfide, CdS. Otavite is cadmium carbonate
    • none of which is found in sufficient concentration to be mined alone as an ore
    • On altered or weathered zinc minerals, the cadmium minerals sometimes form coatings
    • the bulk of the cadmium is associated with zinc sulfide ores
    • Because it is more chalcophile than zinc, cadmium tends to remain in solution in the magma more readily than zinc and, consequently, is concentrated most heavily, relative to zinc, in hydrothermal zinc ores formed in the later lower temperature stages
    • concentrated even more heavily, relative to zinc, in low-temperature reducing environments, such as those in which black shales are formed
    • Australia, Canada, and the United States have more than 60 percent of cadmium resources
    • the predominant flows of cadmium-containing zinc concentrates are from Australia and North America towards eastern Asia and Europe
    • Refuming is necessary at lead and copper smelters where the cadmium content of the concentrates is lower than at zinc smelters
  2. 2

    J.W. Anthony and others, Handbook of Mineralogy (Mineralogical Society of America), 2005. Cadmoselite .

    Cadmium selenide mineral, known from Tuva (Russia) and Argentina.

    • Distribution: From the Ust’Uyuk V-Se-U deposit, Tuva, Russia. At Tuminico, Sierra de Cacho, La Rioja Province, Argentina
  3. 3

    U.S. Geological Survey, 2026. Cadmium, in Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 , pp. 52-53.

    World refinery production, price, US trade, substitutes and events for 2025.

    • Sphalerite, the most economically significant zinc ore mineral, commonly contains minor amounts of cadmium
    • The cadmium content of typical zinc ores averages about 0.03%
    • World total (rounded) … 22,800 23,000
  4. 4

    U.S. Geological Survey, 2014. Cadmium, in Mineral Commodity Summaries 2014 , World Refinery Production and Reserves table.

    Last USGS estimate of cadmium reserves, by country, for 2013.

    • Zinc-to-cadmium ratios in typical zinc ores range from 200:1 to 400:1
    • Reserves 32,000 NA NA 23,000 92,000 35,000 ... 30,000 ... 47,000 ... 55,000 16,000 44,000 130,000 500,000
    • Reserves 32,000 NA NA 23,000 92,000 35,000 … 30,000 … 47,000 … 55,000 16,000 44,000 130,000 500,000
  5. 5

    R.M. Callaghan, U.S. Geological Survey, 2024. Cadmium, in 2019 Minerals Yearbook (advance release) , pp. 15.1-15.4.

    Uses, trade, consumers, China's pollution campaign and the outlook.

    • Zinc concentrates typically contain between 0.2% and 0.3% cadmium
  6. 6

    International Cadmium Association (industry association), 2021. Worldwide Production, Trade and Consumption of Cadmium , pp. 2-3, 6-9.

    World production and consumption about 24,450 t in 2018; India's use mostly in jewellery; NiCd batteries listed first among 2019 uses, estimated at 11,000 to 14,000 t; alloys, including jewellery, estimated as the remainder.

    • ranging from 0.07 to 0.83 per cent with an average of 0.23 %
    • there is a potential production of 42 000 tonnes of cadmium. However, not all zinc refiners do refine contained cadmium. In 2018, the cadmium production was estimated to be about 24 000 t
  7. 7

    G. Mudd and others, British Geological Survey, 2024. UK 2024 Criticality Assessment (Open Report OR/24/047) , Results tables; appendix tables on end uses and by-product status.

    Cadmium rated non-critical; by-product status; end-use table citing the International Cadmium Association.

    • Zn, Pb, Cu Sediment-hosted, volcanic massive sulfide, others 100
  8. 8

    U.S. Geological Survey, 2009. Cadmium, in Mineral Commodity Summaries 2009 , World Resources.

    Identified world resources of about 6 million t; the last edition that gives a number.

    • Zinc-bearing coals of the central United States and Carboniferous age coals of other countries also contain large subeconomic resources of cadmium
  9. 9

    U.S. Geological Survey, 2026. Zinc, in Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 , World Mine Production and Reserves table.

    World zinc mine production and reserves, 2025.

    • World total (rounded) … 11,900 13,000
  10. 10

    A.C. Tolcin, U.S. Geological Survey, 2010. Cadmium, in 2007 Minerals Yearbook , pp. 15.1-15.3.

    The 2007 price rise, producers by country, Belgium's compound makers and the EU battery directive.

    • halted the production of cadmium at the Canadian Electrolytic Zinc refinery (CEZinc), near Montreal. According to the company, cadmium production had become unprofitable