Production and consumption
Metallic lead - General data

Of the 10,617,000 tonnes of lead produced worldwide in 2012, 43% came from ore ("primary lead") and 57% from recycling ("secondary lead").

78% of this production was destined for the lead-acid battery market, in the form of alloys for grids or oxides for active materials (48% for starter batteries and 30% for stationary batteries).

The remainder of production was divided between sheaths for buried or submarine cables, construction, nuclear power, the chemical industry and munitions (source: ILZSG).

The alloys used in these different applications are discussed in