Mercury: average price 2012-2018

In 2018, the average European Union price of mercury was an estimated 1,100 U.S. dollars per flask. Today, mercury is mainly used in the manufacturing of electrical and electronic goods as well as industrial chemicals.

Mercury by the numbers

The production of mercury has had slight fluctuations since 2010. In 2021, around 2,300 metric tons of mercury was produced worldwide. China was the country that produced the largest amount of mercury, with a mine production volume of 2,000 tons in 2021. Following China was Tajikistan. This country had a mine production volume of 170 metric tons that year.

Mercury in the United States

Since 1992, mercury has not been produced in the United States. The main domestic end users of mercury are the chloralkali, dental, electronics, and fluorescent-lighting manufacturing industries. Until the end of 2012, both domestic and international mercury was exported from the U.S. for worldwide use. But beginning in 2013, exports of elemental mercury from the U.S. were banned, and beginning in 2020, exports of five more mercury compounds will be banned for environmental reasons. In 2021, an estimated two metric tons of mercury were imported into the U.S.