RUBIDIUM

         (Data in kilograms of rubidium content, unless noted)

Domestic Production and Use:  Although rubidium is not recovered from any
domestically mined ores, it is believed that at least one domestic company
manufactured rubidium products from imported lepidolite ore.  Small quantities of
rubidium, usually in the form of chemical compounds, were used mainly in research and
development.  Rubidium also was used in electronic and medical applications.

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

The rubidium market is very small.  There is no active trading in the metal and
therefore no market price.  However, several companies publish prices for rubidium
and rubidium compounds.  These prices are relatively stable over time periods up to
several years in length.  The per-unit price for the metal or compounds purchased
from these companies varies inversely with the quantity of material purchased.  For
example, in 1995, one company offered 1-gram ampoules of 99.8% grade rubidium metal
at $42.40.  The price for 100 grams of the same material from this company was
$571.00 or $5.71 per gram.  At another company, the price for a 1-gram ampoule of
99.6% pure rubidium was $42.40.

Recycling:  None.

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

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.

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

Government Stockpile:  None.


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

                               RUBIDIUM

Events, Trends, and Issues:  Rubidium and its compounds were largely the subject of
laboratory study and were of little commercial significance.  No major breakthroughs
or developments were anticipated that would change the production or consumption
patterns.  Domestic rubidium production is entirely dependent on imported lepidolite
ores.  Because of the small scale of production of rubidium products, no significant
environmental problems have been encountered.

World Mine Production, Reserves, and Reserve Base:  Data on mine production of
rubidium are not available.  Reserves and the reserve base2/ for rubidium in North
America were estimated at 2 million kilograms and 2.3 million kilograms,
respectively.

World Resources:  Rubidium forms no known minerals in which it is the predominant
metallic constituent.  It occurs chiefly as a replacement for potassium, especially
in minerals formed late in the crystallization of pegmatites.  Meaningful estimates
of world rubidium resources have not been made, but lepidolite, a potassium lithium
mica, may contain up to 1.35% rubidium, and pollucite, a cesium silicate, may contain
up to 3.15% rubidium.

Substitutes:  The properties of cesium and its compounds are so similar to those of
rubidium and its compounds that compounds of rubidium and cesium are used
interchangeably in many applications.  

1/See Appendix B.
2/See Appendix C for definitions.

                              Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 1996