Rubidium (Rb): Uses, Supply Chain and Market
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Rubidium is produced as a byproduct of pollucite (cesium) and lepidolite (lithium) mining, and USGS says no rubidium production was reported anywhere in the world in 2025. US net import reliance for rubidium in 2025 was 100% (the United States imports all the rubidium it uses). Rubidium is on the US critical minerals list.
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official critical minerals lists (US, EU, Australia, Canada) that include rubidium
Which countries produce rubidium?
USGS reports no rubidium production in 2025. Known production of rubidium ore from all countries ceased within the past two decades: mining in Namibia ended in the early 2000s, the Bikita Mine in Zimbabwe depleted its pollucite ore reserves in 2018, and the Sinclair Mine in Australia completed shipments of all economically recoverable pollucite in 2019. Refined rubidium compounds were believed to be processed in China and Germany from existing stockpiles, and the primary producers, including refined compounds, were estimated to include China, Germany and Russia.
What is rubidium used for?
US consumption is below 2,000 kilograms of rubidium a year, according to industry information cited by USGS.
- Specialty glasses: the leading market; rubidium carbonate reduces electrical conductivity, improving stability and durability in fiber-optic telecommunications networks
- Atomic clocks: rubidium frequency references synchronize telecommunications networks and global positioning systems; the US Naval Observatory timescale includes six rubidium fountain clocks
- Biomedical: rubidium-82 as a blood-flow tracer in positron emission tomographic imaging, and rubidium salts in some medicines
- Electronics and industrial catalysts: magnetometers, night-vision devices, photoelectric cells and photomultiplier tubes; catalyst in ammonia synthesis and sulfuric acid synthesis
- Research: ultracold rubidium atoms in quantum computing research, a future application with potential for relatively high consumption
How much does rubidium cost?
USGS reports no market price. At the end of September 2025 one company offered 1-gram ampoules of 99.75% (metal basis) rubidium for $138.00, up 8% from $128.00 in 2024, and 100-gram ampoules for $2,453, up 7%. These are catalogue prices for laboratory quantities.
Is rubidium a critical mineral?
Rubidium is on the US critical minerals list. Each government builds its list with its own method, so a mineral can be critical in one place and not in another.
| Jurisdiction | Status |
|---|---|
| United States | Critical mineral (final 2025 list) |
| European Union | Not listed |
| Australia | Not listed |
| Canada | Not listed |
Lists last checked against the primary publications on October 12, 2026. See the comparison of all four lists.
What are the substitutes for rubidium?
| Application | Substitute and trade-off |
|---|---|
| Many applications | Cesium, which has similar physical properties and atomic radii; cesium is more electropositive and preferred for some uses |
Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Rubidium. USGS says substitutes often cost performance or money; the table gives its wording for each application.
Can rubidium be recycled?
USGS reports no recycling of rubidium.
What are the supply risks and recent events for rubidium?
- December 2024 to September 2025. A developer of a lepidolite mine and processing plant in Namibia brought in an independent administrator at the end of 2024 for lack of financing; another company was securing financing to take ownership as of September 2025. Historical estimates for the project include a measured and indicated resource of 23,000 tons of rubidium.
- 2025. In Western Australia, a company reported that testing of a rubidium extraction technology at the Mount Edon project yielded a 97% rubidium recovery rate. The project has an inferred resource of 3.6 million tons containing an estimated 7,900 tons of rubidium oxide, and the company planned to seek funding to scale up the pilot plant in 2026.
Resources. Significant rubidium-bearing pegmatites have been identified in Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Kazakhstan, Namibia, Peru, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zambia. Minor quantities occur in brines in northern Chile and China and in evaporites in the United States, France and Germany.
Which companies produce or process rubidium?
| Company | Country | Role | What the source says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sinomine Resource Group | China (Tanco mine in Canada, Bikita mine in Zimbabwe) | Rubidium salt producer (SZSE: 002738) | Its 2025 annual report, in Chinese, says its rubidium salts, mainly carbonate and nitrate, are made by solvent extraction from the mother liquor left after pollucite is leached for cesium, and are used in acrylonitrile catalysts, special glass, miniature high-energy batteries and scintillation counters. It calls itself a main global supplier of rubidium salts, which is its own claim. Sinomine Resource Group: 2025 annual report, in Chinese (10 April 2026) |
Each row links to the document that supports it. The list is not exhaustive and is not a ranking.
Frequently asked questions
What is rubidium used for?
Rubidium is used in specialty glasses, atomic clocks and biomedical. Specialty glasses: the leading market; rubidium carbonate reduces electrical conductivity, improving stability and durability in fiber-optic telecommunications networks.
Where is rubidium produced?
USGS reports no rubidium production in 2025. Known production of rubidium ore from all countries ceased within the past two decades: mining in Namibia ended in the early 2000s, the Bikita Mine in Zimbabwe depleted its pollucite ore reserves in 2018, and the Sinclair Mine in Australia completed shipments of all economically recoverable pollucite in 2019.
Is rubidium a critical mineral?
Yes. Rubidium is on the US critical minerals list. Rubidium was already on the 2022 US list and stays on the final 2025 list of 60 minerals. US net import reliance for rubidium in 2025 was 100% (the United States imports all the rubidium it uses).
How much does rubidium cost?
USGS reports no market price. At the end of September 2025 one company offered 1-gram ampoules of 99.75% (metal basis) rubidium for $138.00, up 8% from $128.00 in 2024, and 100-gram ampoules for $2,453, up 7%. These are catalogue prices for laboratory quantities.
Sources
Read on October 14, 2026. Figures on this page come from these documents; where a number is an estimate, the source says so.
- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Rubidium. Production, reserves, uses, substitutes, recycling and events
- Federal Register: Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2024/1252
- Department of Industry, Science and Resources: Australia’s Critical Minerals List and Strategic Materials List
- Government of Canada: Canada’s critical minerals
- Sinomine Resource Group: 2025 annual report, in Chinese (10 April 2026)
