CESIUM

          (Data in kilograms of cesium content, unless noted)

Domestic Production and Use:  Although cesium was not recovered from any domestically
mined ores, it is believed that at least one domestic company manufactured cesium
products from imported pollucite ore.  Cesium, usually in the form of chemical
compounds, was used in research and development and was used commercially in
electronic, photoelectric, and medical applications.

Salient Statistics--United States:  Salient statistics, such as production,
consumption, imports, and exports, are not available.

The cesium market is very small.  As a result, there is no active trading in the
metal and therefore no official market price.  However, several companies publish
prices for cesium and cesium compounds.  These prices are relatively stable over time
periods up to several years in length.  The per-unit price for the metal or compound
purchased from these companies varies inversely with the quantity of material
purchased.  For example, in 1995, one company offered 1-gram ampoules of 99.98%-grade
cesium metal at $40.80.  The price for 100 grams of the same material from this
company was $535.00 or $5.35 per gram.  At another company, the price for a 1-gram
ampoule of 99.95% pure cesium was $45.30.

Recycling:  None.

Import Sources (1991-94):  The United States is 100% import reliant.  Although there
is no information on the countries shipping cesium-bearing material to the United
States, it is believed that Canada is the major source of this raw material.  Other
possible sources of cesium-bearing material include Germany and the United Kingdom.

Tariff:Item                 Number     Most favored nation (MFN)         Non-MFN1/
                                               12/31/95                  12/31/95
Alkali metals, other     2805.19.0000         6.4% ad val.              25% ad val.
Chlorides, other         2827.39.5000         3.7% ad val.              25% ad val.

Depletion Allowance:  14% (Domestic), 14% (Foreign).

Government Stockpile:   None.

Prepared by Robert G. Reese, Jr., (703) 648-4980

                                CESIUM

Events, Trends, and Issues:  It was estimated that U.S. demand for cesium remained
essentially unchanged.  The United States is likely to continue to be dependent upon
foreign sources unless domestic deposits are discovered or technology is developed to
use low-grade raw materials.  The high cost and extreme reactivity of cesium limit
its application at present.  Because of the small scale of production of cesium
products, no significant environmental problems have been encountered.

World Mine Production, Reserves, and Reserve Base:  Data on mine production of cesium
are not available.  Cesium forms independent minerals in pegmatites and is commonly
obtained as a coproduct in the processing of titanium, beryllium, and lithium
minerals.  Reserves and the reserve base are associated mainly with the cesium
silicate mineral pollucite, concentrates of which contain more than 20% cesium.

                                    Reserves2/     Reserve base2/
Canada                            70,000,000         73,000,000
Namibia                            7,000,000          9,000,000
Zimbabwe                          23,000,000         23,000,000
Other countries                           NA                 NA
 World total (may be rounded)    100,000,000        110,000,000

World Resources:  World resources of cesium are not known.

Substitutes:  The properties of rubidium and its compounds are quite similar to those
of cesium and its compounds; thus, rubidium and cesium are used interchangeably in
many applications.  

NA Not available.
1/See Appendix B.
2/See Appendix C for definitions.

                              Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 1996