It is also used in pigments, coatings and plating, stabilizers for plastics and similar synthetics, lasers and solar cells. Total world refinery production declined to 19,900 tonnes in 1998 from 20,000 tonnes a year earlier, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Japan is the world's leading producer of cadmium, turning out 2,400 tonnes in 1998. Canada was the second-largest producer at 2,300 tons. In the United States, primary cadmium is produced as a byproduct of refining zinc metal from sulfide ore concentrates.
Secondary cadmium is recovered from spent nickel-cadmium batteries.
The USGS estimated world resources of cadmium at about 6 million tonnes based on zinc resources containing about 0.3 percent cadmium. More than 60 percent of the cadmium consumed by Western countries goes into batteries, of which about 75 percent are for cellular telephones and other cordless electronic equipment. The remaining 25 percent are used for industrial purposes, such as emergency power supplies for telephone exchanges and hospital operating rooms. U.S. consumption reached 2,650 tonnes in 1998, up from 2,510 tonnes in 1997, according to USGS figures. Approximately 69 percent of total apparent cadmium consumption in the United States went into batteries.