USGS Mineral Resources Program

Antimony—A Flame Fighter

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2015–3021

April 2015

Time-lapse burn test comparing industrial suits with (left) and without (right) 

flame retardants that include antimony trioxide. Photograph courtesy of Thor, 

suppliers of AFLAMMIT® flame retardants for work wear. 

Antimony is a brittle, silvery-white semimetal that conducts heat poorly. The chemical compound antimony 

trioxide (Sb2O3) is widely used in plastics, rubbers, paints, and textiles, including industrial safety suits and some 

children’s clothing, to make them resistant to the spread of flames. Also, sodium antimonate (NaSbO3) is used 

during manufacturing of high-quality glass, which is found in cellular phones.

Humans have known about stibnite (Sb2S3), a lead-gray antimony sulfide mineral, since ancient

times.

Egyptians used powdered stibnite in black eye makeup to create their signature look. Pedanius Dioscorides, a 1st 

century A.D. Greek physician, recommended stibnite for skin ailments. French and German doctors in the 17th 

century prescribed antimony-containing mixtures to induce vomiting. Antimony was later recognized to be an 

intense skin irritant and a lethal toxin, particularly when swallowed.

In the 11th century, the word antimonium was used by medieval scholar Constantinus Africanus, but 

antimony metal was not isolated until the 16th century by Vannoccio Biringuccio, an Italian metallurgist. In the 

early 18th century, chemist Jons Jakob Berzelius chose the periodic symbol for antimony (Sb) based on stibium, 

which is the Latin name for stibnite.

How Do We Use Antimony?

Most of the world’s antimony is used 

(as antimony trioxide) in flame-retardant 

materials; powdered trioxide is chemically 

inserted or physically blended into many 

different materials, including textiles. 

Although antimony trioxide is not a flame 

retardant by itself, when it is combined 

with halogens (such as bromine) in 

polymers, the resulting mixture suppresses, 

reduces, and delays the spread of flames.

Alloys of antimony and lead 

provide enhanced electrical properties to 

batteries as well as increased hardness to 

ammunition. Battery electrodes coated 

As part of a broad 

mission to conduct 

research and provide 

information on nonfuel 

mineral resources, the 

U.S. Geological Survey 

(USGS) supports science 

to understand 

•	 How and where antimony resources form 

and concentrate in 

Earth’s crust

•	 How antimony 

resources interact 

with the environment 

to affect human and 

ecosystem health

•	 Trends in the supply of 

and demand for antimony in the domestic 

and international 

markets

•	 Where undiscovered 

antimony resources 

might be found 

Why is this information 

important? Read on to 

learn about antimony 

and the important role 

it plays in the national 

economy, in national 

security, and in the lives 

of Americans every day.

with antimony-lead alloys have more efficient recharge and are able to be fully drained multiple times with 

sustained performance. Many cellular phones use antimony-bearing batteries. Research for lithium-ion battery 

replacements led to the development of antimony nanocrystals for future use in high energy density batteries. 

Ammunition made with antimony-lead alloys is capable of penetrating some armor.

Antimony is used during the production of plastics, including polyethylene terephthalate or PET, 

used for common items like soda bottles. Sodium antimonate is used during the manufacturing of highquality glass to remove bubbles and trace iron and impart a sun-resistant property. 

Where Does Antimony Come From? 

Although antimony occurs worldwide and in many types of deposits, just two deposit types 

contain the majority of the global antimony supply. Carbonate-replacement deposits (for example, 

Xikuangshan, Hunan Province, China) and gold-antimony epithermal deposits (for example, Yellow 

Pine, Idaho, U.S.) provide 80 percent of the world’s antimony.

The carbonate-replacement deposit type accounts for 60 percent of the world’s antimony and is the 

main source of commercially consumed antimony. Stibnite, the most common antimony mineral, occurs 

in veins hosted in carbonate rocks such as limestone. Nearly pure stibnite may occur in lenses tens of 

meters long, making for very rich ore. Gold-antimony epithermal deposits are the second most common 

type and contain 20 percent of the world’s antimony. In these deposits, ore occurs in veins but in lower 

overall concentrations than carbonate-replacement type. Veins connect to each other in three-dimensional 

networks to form a low-grade, high-tonnage deposit that can be mined in open pits. Host rocks 

commonly include shale, limestone, quartzite, granite, calc-silicate rocks, and various volcanic rocks. The 

remaining 20 percent of antimony comes from magmatic polymetallic veins and hot spring deposits. 

Bust of Queen 

Nefertiti, 

sculpted 

around 

1340 B.C., 

with the 

signature 

Egyptian eye 

makeup likely 

made with stibnite. 

Nefertiti, renowned 

for her beauty, was the 

royal wife of Egyptian 

king Akhenaten. 

Photograph 

courtesy of the 

Egyptian Museum 

of Berlin.

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The open pit in the Yellow Pine deposit, Idaho was a major producer of gold, 

antimony, and tungsten, and contains the largest antimony resource in the 

United States. Photograph by Stephen Box; property access courtesy Midas 

Gold, Inc.

Did you know . . . The word “alcohol” is rooted in the Egyptian word “kuhl” for powdered antimony.

Did you know . . . Antimony was a favorite slow-acting poison among murderers in the 1900s. 

For More Information

• On production and consumption of antimony:

http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/

antimony/

• On grouped stibnite-quartz deposits: 

http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1995/ofr-95-0831/CHAP26.pdf

• Descriptive model of simple antimony deposits: 

http://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/b1693/Md27d.pdf

• A thorough overview of antimony:

http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/of03-019/of03-019.pdf

Text prepared by Niki E. Wintzer and David E. Guberman

The USGS Mineral Resources Program is the principal Federal provider of 

research and information on antimony and other nonfuel mineral resources.

For more information, please contact:

Mineral Resources Program Coordinator

U.S. Geological Survey

913 National Center

Reston, VA 20192

Telephone: (703) 648-6100

Fax: (703) 648-6057

Email: minerals@usgs.gov

Home page: http://minerals.usgs.gov

ISSN 2327-6916 (print) ISSN 2327-6932 (online)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/fs20153021

Worldwide Supply and Demand for Antimony

The world’s production could satisfy the consumption 

of antimony in the near future, but the amount produced may 

not be enough if global antimony consumption substantially 

increases and new sources are not developed. China is the world 

leader in antimony production, but in 2013 their antimony mine 

production declined by about 20 percent from that in 2011. In 

2013, the U.S. imported 85 percent of the antimony that was 

consumed domestically—71 percent of that came from China. 

No U.S. antimony mines were active in 2013, but a smelter 

in Montana produced antimony from imported concentrates 

and oxides. As of 2015, there is renewed interest in mining 

the historic Yellow Pine deposit, which is a gold-antimony 

epithermal deposit in central Idaho. The Sunshine Mine, in the 

Coeur d’Alene mining district in northern Idaho, was the sole 

domestic producer of antimony from the late 1990s until early 

2001. However, the tripling of antimony prices between 2009 

and 2014 may provide an economic incentive for mines to open. 

How Do We Ensure Adequate Supplies of Antimony for the Future?

The U.S. defense, energy, and manufacturing industries are dependent upon foreign antimony sources and 

could be affected by the declining global antimony supply. Although antimony substitutes are available, they 

are less effective and more expensive. Thus, potential domestic sources of antimony are being explored, and 

stockpiling strategies are planned. The Stibnite mining district (including the historic Yellow Pine deposit in 

central Idaho) contains an estimated 41,000 metric tons of antimony, making it the largest domestic antimony 

resource. The Coeur d’Alene mining district, in northern Idaho, has a quartz-stibnite vein deposit, making this 

district the second largest in the nation having produced a significant amount of antimony in the past. 

In order to predict where future antimony supplies might be located, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 

scientists study how and where antimony resources are concentrated in Earth’s crust and use that knowledge to 

assess the likelihood that undiscovered antimony deposits may exist in an area. Techniques to assess mineral 

resources have been developed by the USGS to support the stewardship of Federal lands and to evaluate mineral 

resource availability in a global context. The USGS also compiles statistics and information on the worldwide 

supply of, demand for, and flow of antimony. These data are used to inform U.S. policymakers.

Did you know . . . Antimony occurs naturally in more than 260 minerals.

Did you know . . . Antimony expands when it freezes, just like water.

Stibnite specimen from 

Wuling Antimony Mine, 

Jiangxi Province, China. 

Similar stibnite specimen 

shown in headers, 

photograph by Joseph Budd. 

Both stibnite photographs 

courtesy of the Robert 

Lavinsky collection (http://

www.irocks.com/). 

51

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