All fact sheets · The Strata Memo
Rubidium
Hover, focus or tap to see the real thing
Photo Dnn87. “Rb5.JPG.” CC BY 3.0. Wikimedia Commons. File page
Chemical details
- State at room conditions
- Solid
- Melting point
- 312 K (39 °C)
- Boiling point
- 961 K (688 °C)
- Density
- 1.53 g/cm³
- Common oxidation states
- +1
- Electronegativity (Pauling)
- 0.82
- Atomic radius
- 303 pm
- First ionization energy
- 4.177 eV
- Discovered
- 1861
Source: U.S. National Library of Medicine, PubChem, Periodic Table of Elements (element Rubidium) (current at retrieval)
On the USGS 2025 List of Critical Minerals. Figures: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 (data release, public domain). Estimates are USGS's; check the USGS chapter for notes. Each panel names its source; full citations are in the methodology source register.
Overview
The headline numbers: how much the U.S. depends on imports and how concentrated supply is.
How much does the U.S. import?
of U.S. rubidium needs were met by imports, as USGS states in its chapter text (no table figure).
Source says: “the United States was 100% net import reliant for its rubidium needs”
USGS gives no table figure for rubidium; this is the sentence in its chapter. Consumption, export and import data were not available.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Rubidium (whole-book PDF) (February 2026)
Did you know?
Rubidium and ruby share the same Latin root, rubidus, meaning deep red.
Checked against two independent sources. Verified 2026-10-26.
Sources: Wikipedia · Los Alamos National Laboratory Periodic Table (Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA)
Supply
Who produces it, where the reserves are, where U.S. imports come from, and how U.S. supply has moved.
Where U.S. imports come from
Choose a data set, then a view. A country keeps the same color in every chart on this page. Grey means other countries, or a country beyond the seven colors (always labeled). Hover or focus a mark for its value, or use the table view.
- China, Germany, and Russia100%
| Country | Share of U.S. imports | Share of this chart |
|---|---|---|
| China, Germany, and Russia | 100% | 100.0% |
Average share of U.S. imports of all forms, 2021–24, as printed by USGS (rounded, so shares may not sum to 100). Other countries are USGS's own grouping.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Rubidium (February 2026)
- China45% · $9.6M
- Germany42% · $8.9M
- France10% · $2.2M
- India1% · $125K
- United Kingdom0% · $92K
- Korea, South0% · $55K
- All other countries1% · $137K
| Country | U.S. imports, 2025 | Share of this chart |
|---|---|---|
| China | 45% · $9.6M | 45.5% |
| Germany | 42% · $8.9M | 42.2% |
| France | 10% · $2.2M | 10.4% |
| India | 1% · $125K | 0.6% |
| United Kingdom | 0% · $92K | 0.4% |
| Korea, South | 0% · $55K | 0.3% |
| All other countries | 1% · $137K | 0.6% |
U.S. general imports (customs value) in calendar 2025 under HS 2805.19; countries beyond the top six are grouped. The code can include goods beyond this mineral. The Shift view compares each country's share of 2025 with its share of Jan to Aug 2026 (shares of each period's total).
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Trade API: U.S. imports by HS code and country (calendar 2025; Jan to Aug 2026) (data months 2025-12, 2026-08)
Trade and tariffs
Tariff codes and the countries behind U.S. imports and exports.
Trade codes and tariffs
| HTS code | What it covers | Normal rate | Column 2 rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2805.19 | Alkali or alkaline-earth metals: Other | Free to 5.5% | 25% |
Rates from the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule (USITC, saved 2026-10-26). The normal rate is column 1 general; column 2 applies to countries without normal trade relations. A range means different products under the code have different rates. Section 232, Section 301, emergency tariffs and antidumping or countervailing duties are set in separate notices and are not shown. Look up any code at hts.usitc.gov. These are the main codes for this mineral, not a complete list.
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, general and column 2 rates (edition current when saved)
U.S. trade by country
U.S. imports in 2025 by source country, code 2805.19
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| China | 45% · $9.6M |
| Germany | 42% · $8.9M |
| France | 10% · $2.2M |
| India | 1% · $125K |
| United Kingdom | 0% · $92K |
| Korea, South | 0% · $55K |
U.S. exports in 2025 by destination, code 2805.19
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 33% · $11.7M |
| Belgium | 17% · $6.0M |
| Netherlands | 11% · $3.8M |
| China | 7% · $2.6M |
| Dominican Republic | 4% · $1.6M |
| Canada | 4% · $1.4M |
2805.19 Alkali metals except sodium
Top import sources China 45%, Germany 42%, France 10%
Top export destinations United Kingdom 33%, Belgium 17%, Netherlands 11%
U.S. Census Bureau International Trade API, saved 2026-10-26. Imports are general imports (customs value) and exports are total exports, in U.S. dollars. Duty collected is Census's calculated duty on imports for consumption. Figures cover every 10-digit product under the code, so they can include goods beyond this mineral, and the duty shown is not split into Section 232, Section 301 or antidumping duties. Bars show the largest code for each direction. Group rows such as the EU or OECD are left out so no country is counted twice.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Trade API: U.S. imports and exports by HS code and country (calendar 2025, and January to Aug 2026) (data months 2025-12, 2026-08)
Value chain and risk
Where in the chain the bottlenecks sit, and what other governments and sources say about supply risk.
Value chain: where the bottlenecks are
Mining bottleneck
No rubidium was mined in the United States in 2025, and no rubidium production was reported globally. (no U.S. activity)
The source says
“In 2025, no rubidium was mined in the United States”
“During 2025, no rubidium production was reported globally.”
Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Rubidium (PDF page 162) (2026-02)
Ore processing and primary recovery
Rubidium concentrate is a byproduct of pollucite and lepidolite mining and is imported for processing in the United States. (partly U.S.)
The source says
“Rubidium concentrate is produced as a byproduct of pollucite (cesium) and lepidolite (lithium) mining and is imported from other countries for processing in the United States.”
Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Rubidium (PDF page 162) (2026-02)
Refining and separation bottleneck
The United States is 100% net import reliant for rubidium, and refined rubidium compounds are believed to be processed in China and Germany from existing stockpiles. (no U.S. activity)
The source says
“The United States was 100% net import reliant for its rubidium needs”
“Refined rubidium compounds were believed to be processed in China and Germany from existing stockpiles.”
Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Rubidium (PDF page 162) (2026-02)
Metal, alloy and chemical
No sourced data yet.
Components and end use
Specialty glasses are the leading market for rubidium. (U.S. role not stated)
The source says
“Specialty glasses are the leading market for rubidium”
Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Rubidium (PDF page 162) (2026-02)
Recycling
USGS lists rubidium recycling as none. (no U.S. activity)
The source says
“Recycling: None.”
Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Rubidium (PDF page 162) (2026-02)
Pilot. Summaries are ours, from official pages; each quoted passage is checked against the saved page. “Bottleneck” (orange dot) is shown only where the quote shows one country dominating the stage or the United States relying on imports for it. “No sourced data yet” means we have not found a source, not that the stage is unproblematic.
Policy and funding
Federal items we track for this mineral, each linked to its original.
Federal awards already made
Brown University · National Science Foundation · $408K obligated · started 2026-10-01
Source: usaspending.gov, retrieved 2026-10-29
The 1 largest of 1 AI-tagged awards from USAspending (last 12 months, found by keyword; some are only loosely about this mineral). See all awards for Rubidium.
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, USAspending.gov: spending by award (contracts and grants, last 12 months) (award start dates per item)
Data tables
The USGS figures behind the charts. Click a column heading to sort.
Rubidium: USGS tables
United States
| Measure | Unit | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic consumption rate of less than 2,000 kilograms of rubidium per year | kilograms | <2,000 | |
| 1?gram ampoules of 99.75% (metal basis) rubidium | dollars per gram | 128 | 138 |
| 10-gram ampoules of 99.8% (metal basis) rubidium formate hydrate | dollars per 10-grams | 302 | 301 |
| 10 grams of 99.8% (metal basis) rubidium acetate | dollars per 10-grams | 72.1 | |
| 10 grams of 99.8% (metal basis) rubidium bromide | dollars per 10-grams | 104.4 | |
| 10 grams of 99.8% (metal basis) rubidium carbonate | dollars per 10-grams | 71.7 | |
| 10 grams of 99.8% (metal basis) rubidium chloride | dollars per 10-grams | 90.1 | |
| 10 grams of 99.8% (metal basis) rubidium nitrate | dollars per 10-grams | 67.1 | |
| rubidium-plasma standard solution (10,000 micrograms per milliliter) | dollars per 100 milliliters | 130 |
World reserves
USGS note: Australia, Canada, China, and Namibia were estimated to have reserves totaling less than 200,000 tons of recoverable rubidium materials. Other countries: <200,000 metric tons.
U.S. import sources: All (percent of imports, 2021–24)
| Country | Share (%) |
|---|---|
| China, Germany, and Russia | 100 |
Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Rubidium (February 2026)