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Arsenic, copper and lead by-product (Yunnan)
Gejiu, China23.36°N 103.15°E
computed criticality17/100
reading
China ~70% of world arsenic, a metallurgical by-product (2024, USGS)
2024Fault line
Arsenic is a toxic by-product of copper and lead refining, whose trioxide and high-purity metal output concentrates in Chinese non-ferrous smelters. A small, hazardous and unattractive market, hence the retreat of the few Western producers and a growing dependence for gallium arsenide.
Actors
Yunnan and Hunan non-ferrous smelters
Sources
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, 2025estimate