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Selenium, copper refining (Tongling)
Tongling, China30.95°N 117.82°E
computed criticality10/100
reading
China ~32% of refined selenium, a copper by-product (2024, USGS)
2024Fault line
Selenium is recovered from the anode slimes of copper electrolysis. Its supply is therefore capped by copper output and follows its big refiners, including those at Tongling in China. A metal with no mine of its own, hostage to copper's pace, tightened by thin-film CIGS solar demand.
Actors
Tongling Nonferrous Metals
Sources
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, 2025estimate