The element tellurium occurs in the earth’s crust only in about 0.001 parts per million (ppm), making it one of the least common elements on earth. It is more than three times rarer than gold. It is the 72nd most abundant element on earth.
Quick Overview of Tellurium
✔️A brief overview of tellurium(Te)
✔️The discovery and production of tellurium
✔️How to invest in tellurium
Factors that determine the price of tellurium
Uses of tellurium
A brief overview of tellurium (Te)
Occurrences of tellurium in pure (uncombine) form are extremely rare. It is more commonly found in tellurides, also called telluride minerals. Telluride is a chemical compound of another element such as gold, silver, or platinum. Examples of tellurides are:
- Calaverite, a gold telluride.
- Sylvanite, is a mineral comprising a gold-silver telluride.
- Tellurite, is a mineral that consists of tellurium dioxide.
Tellurium is one of six elements in group 16, also referred to as the oxygen group, of the periodic table of elements. Besides tellurium (Te), the group comprises the elements oxygen (O), sulfur (S), selenium (Se), polonium (Po), and livermorium (Li).
The elements in the oxygen group are also called chalcogens ‘because most ores of copper (Greek chalkos) are oxides or sulfides, and such ores contain traces of selenium and tellurium,’ according to Chemistry LibreTexts.
Tellurium (Te) and selenium (Se) have similar chemical and physical properties, but also notable differences. One main difference is that selenium is classified as a nonmetal while tellurium is recognised as a metalloid, meaning it has properties of metal as well as a nonmetal. Metalloids are typically semiconductors, implying that they insulate and conduct electricity.
The element is also related to the nonmetal element, sulfur (S).
The name tellurium originates from the Latin word for earth, ‘tellus.’
Properties of tellurium
- The atomic symbol on the periodic table: Te
- Atomic number: 52, which is the number of protons in the element’s nucleus
- Melting point: 449.51 degrees Celsius (841.12 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Boiling point: 988 degrees Celsius (1 810.4 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Density: 6.24 grams (g) per cubic metre (cm3)
Some characteristics of tellurium
- The appearance of tellurium:
- In a solid-state, tellurium is silvery-white with a metallic sheen.
- The colour of powdered tellurium can vary between grey, black, and brown.
- When burned in the air, tellurium provides a greenish-blue flame, forming tellurium dioxide.
- It is a mildly toxic
- Tellurium is a brittle metal, meaning it is hard, but it can break easily.
- As a metalloid it is a semiconductor, showing greater electrical conductivity in certain directions depending on its atomic alignment. The conductivity increases slightly when exposed to light.
- It does not react with air or water.
- When in molten form, it is corrosive to iron, stainless steel, and copper.
- Tellurium is solid at room temperature, which is about 20 degrees Celsius.
- The metal is also odourless.
The discovery and production of tellurium
The discovery of the chemical element tellurium
Gaining knowledge about the discovery of tellurium brings not one, but three individuals, to mind, namely: Frans-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein, Martin-Heinrich Klaproth, and Paul Kitaibel.
- Frans-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein (1740 – 1825)
Von Reichenstein was an Austrian mineralogist and chief inspector of, inter alia, mines in Transylvania, a region in Romania.
Due to his interest in chemistry, Von Reichenstein was curious about an ore obtained, called German gold or aurum album, from a mine in Transylvania. He believed the ore to be antinomy. A preliminary investigation showed that no antimony was present in the ore. This happened in 1783, although, some historians believe it was 1782.
Von Reichenstein continued his research for three years, obtaining an element that was not yet known and calling it metallum problematicum. He decided to publish his finding in an unpopular journal, with the result that his finding went largely unnoticed.
- Martin-Heinrich Klaproth (1743 – 1817)
In 1796, Von Reichenstein sent a sample of his metallum problematicum to Klaproth, a German chemist, in order to ensure that he was correct regarding his finding of a new element.
Klaproth, who discovered uranium in 1789, produced a pure sample of tellurium and proved Von Reichenstein correct. In 1798, he mentioned the newly-discovered element in a paper and named it after the Latin word, ‘tellus,’ meaning earth. However, Klaproth gave full credit for the discovery of tellurium to Von Reichenstein.
- Paul Kitaibel (1757 – 1817)
In 1789, Kitaibel, a Hungarian chemist and professor of chemistry and botany, independently discovered an unknown element which was later named tellurium. He also gave credit to Von Reichenstein as the first discoverer of tellurium.
Production of tellurium
Tellurium primarily occurs along with copper ore. Copper anode slimes, resulting from electrolytic copper refining, is the main source of tellurium. More than 90 percent of tellurium production is obtained as a by-product of copper anode slimes.
According to ThoughtCo, other sources of tellurium can be flue dust and gases produced during lead, bismuth, gold, nickel, and platinum smelting.
The following information about the production of tellurium was obtained from MDPI, the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute. (Accentuations are by the article writer.)
- Nowadays, copper anode slime processes primarily used include sulfation roasting leaching, chlorination leaching, and the Kaldo furnace process, during which almost all the tellurium is distributed in the sodium carbonate slag, which is regarded as an important resource for the recovery of tellurium. (The Kaldo furnace is a type of reactor which is commonly used for the production of precious metals from a variety of raw materials.)
- Tellurium separation and purification from tellurium-bearing sodium carbonate (TSCS) is a complex process that involves numerous tellurium intermediates. Furthermore, the precise details differ from one refinery to another.
- In general, ball mill alkali leaching followed by purification, sulfuric acid neutralisation, sodium hydroxide leaching, and electrowinning, has been widely applied to recover tellurium from TSCS on an industrial scale.
- Due to complicated processes, large consumption of acid and alkaline, and a long production cycle, tellurium has a relatively low recovery rate and a high production cost.
- Another important method to recover tellurium is the reduction in tellurium oxide to metallic tellurium by sulfur dioxide.
China is the leading global producer of refined tellurium. Other large global tellurium producers include Canada, the United States of America, Japan, Sweden, and Russia.
According to US Geological Survey (USGS), the estimated refinery production of tellurium in 2019 was 470 tonnes, excluding the amount produced by the USA. China’s production was estimated at 290 tonnes.
Major tellurium refineries are, among others:
- Asarco LLC is based in Tucson, Arizona, USA.
- Uralectromed is a refinery in Russia that is incorporated into the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (UMMC).
- Umicore in Belgium.
- 5N Plus in Canada.
How to invest in tellurium
Although a difficult commodity to invest in, tellurium can be traded in a few ways, namely:
- As a physical product commercial-grade tellurium is usually traded as a powder in units of 200-mesh, which is a US measurement standard.
Tellurium is also available in slabs, lumps, granules, wires, rods, and ingots, to name a few. Tellurium ingots are usually the least costly form of metal and are available in different sizes from manufacturers or dealers. Ingots are available in purities ranging from 99 percent to 99.999 percent purity.
- Tellurium futures
Tellurium futures on the Shanghai Metal Market (SMM) can be used to trade tellurium. According to Trading Economics, tellurium futures contracts traded at CNY 437.50/Kg as of May 11, 2025. (CNY refers to the international code for the Chinese currency, the Chinese yuan renminbi.)
Simply put, a tellurium futures contract refers to a trading instrument that enables a trader/investor to buy tellurium as an underlying commodity at a predefined price at a specified future date.
- Shares of companies involved in tellurium mining, production, or refining
Currently, there are few such companies. The Swedish mining company Boliden is one of the major suppliers of tellurium. Boliden’s tellurium production comes from its Kankberg gold mine, which produces ten percent of the world’s tellurium from underground operations.
However, Boliden focuses more on the gold market while tellurium is considered a by-product.
First Tellurium, a Canadian company formerly known as Deer Horn Metals, announced on 17 January 2025, that the company ‘is pleased … that its common shares have been accepted for listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE),’ and that ‘the Company’s common shares will now be cross-listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange (CSE), the OTC Markets, and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE).’
First Tellurium describes its business model as a unique one ‘to generate revenue and value through mineral discovery, project development, project generation and cooperative access to untapped mineral regions in the Indigenous territory with sustainable exploration.’
Preferably, to mitigate the risk involved in tellurium trading and investing, the guidance and advice of a commodity broker are indispensable. Although, it has to be a professional, regulated, and trustworthy broker.
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Factors that determine the price of tellurium
Tellurium is regarded as a technology-critical metal. As of May 10, 2025, it traded at $65.125/Kg, significantly lower than its price on 28 June 2025 when it peaked at $90.65 per kilogram.
Several price charts are online available for investors and traders who want to analyse the price of tellurium over a specific period of time – periods such as weekly, monthly, yearly, or longer periods.
Tellurium prices are affected by positive factors as well as negative factors.
Positive factors
Modern society is referred to as a ‘large-scale renewable generation.’ Tellurium plays an essential role in our modern technologies and industries, including the solar panel industry, semiconductors, thermoelectric generators, and the production of alloys, to name a few. The growth in these industries and the expansion of technologies increase the demand for tellurium which may subsequently increase the price of the metal.
It is estimated that the manufacturing of cadmium telluride solar panels uses about 40 percent of the global tellurium supply. Thermoelectric generators, converting heat into electricity, use 30 percent of the world’s tellurium supply. The significant increase in the use of these two methods leads to a rapidly increased demand for tellurium.
Negative factors
One of the main factors that negatively affect the demand for tellurium, and consequently causes a decrease in the metal’s price, is the availability of substitutes with thermodynamic properties that are less expensive.
For example, the selenides and sulfides of niobium and tantalum can be used ‘as electrical conducting solid lubricants in place of tellurides of those metals,’ according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Also, several of the chemical process reactions catalysed by tellurium can be performed with other catalysts or through noncatalysed processes.
Although, substitutes usually come with losses in efficiency or quality of the products.
Uses of tellurium
Besides the 70 percent of the world’s supply of tellurium used for cadmium telluride solar panels and thermoelectric generators, the remainder 30 percent is used in metallurgy, the rubber industry, and other applications.
For instance, tellurium is used to vulcanise rubber, improving the quality of the product. It, among other improvements, makes the rubber to be less likely affected by oil, which softens normal rubber.
In addition, tellurium is used to tint glass and ceramics, and as a catalyst in oil refining.
The metal is used in alloys, mostly with copper and stainless steel, improving their machinability.
Note: This article does not constitute investment, financial or trading advice. Please obtain the advice of a professional and regulated commodity broker before making trading and investment decisions.
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