Thallium is a tiny, toxic byproduct metal rather than a standalone mining industry. USGS reports no U.S. domestic production since 1981 and estimates global production at only about 10,000 kilograms in 2023, recovered from flue dust generated while roasting copper, lead, and zinc ores. That makes thallium supply structurally dependent on base-metal smelting systems and producer willingness to recover a very small, hazardous side stream.

Demand is similarly niche. The USGS chapter describes thallium consumption as a collection of specialty applications in medical imaging, radiation detection, infrared optics, superconductors, specialty glass, catalysts, and dense liquids for mineral separation. The most visible demand erosion is in nuclear cardiology, where technetium-99m continues to displace thallium-201. Prices remain extremely high on a per-kilogram basis because the market is quoted in small 100-gram retail lots of 99.99%-pure granules rather than in bulk commodity contracts.