Abstract:
Cadmium, as a rare metal, serves as both a vital raw material in traditional industries and a crucial new material for the development of strategic emerging sectors. This paper discusses the basic situation of cadmium resources in global, including distribution, production, consumption, price, and recycling, and explores the cadmium resources trade pattern in global using complex network methods. The research reveals that although cadmium reserves and production in global are concentrated, there is a significant separation between reserves and production, with China leading in both aspects. Cadmium production in global has been growing slowly due to environmental protection policies, with China accounting for approximately 40% of the production in global in recent years as the leading cadmium producer. The consumption structure of cadmium globally has shifted from traditional fields such as batteries, pigments, stabilizers, and coatings to strategic emerging fields like jewelry alloys, thin-film solar cells, infrared devices, and the nuclear industry. Consumer countries have also shifted from developed countries like Belgium and Japan to emerging economies such as India and China, with China consistently ranking first in cadmium consumption in global in recent years. The price of cadmium has been gradually rising, mainly due to increased demand from strategic emerging fields such as cadmium telluride solar cells. Despite the high recycling rate of nickel-cadmium batteries, some cadmium products may gradually disappear from the recycling loop with the emergence of substitutes. Due to its environmental pollution characteristics, the proportion of consumption in traditional fields is expected to further decrease in the future. The participation of countries in global cadmium trade is declining, but the volume of trade within the network is relatively increasing, with a high concentration of major importers and exporters. The trading status is shifting from countries like Belgium, France, China, and Germany to Asian countries such as China, South Korea, Japan, and India, with India emerging as an important player of cadmium trade pattern in global .