ANTIMONY

Antimony is a silvery- white metal that is found in the earth's crust.

Antimony is a silvery- white metal that is found in the earth's crust. Antimony ores are mined and then mixed with other metals to form antimony alloys or combined with oxygen to form antimony oxide.



Antimony in Pakistan



The chief source in stibnite. Its reserves are 12, 000 tons. The alloy is used in chemical industry. It is located in krinj (Kamalgol) , Qila Abdullah, and Pishin It is also found in Kamalgol mines in Chitral. Its production is 33% per year.





Application



Antimony is increasingly being used in the semiconductor industry in the production of diodes, infrared detectors, and Hall- effect devices. As an alloy, this metalloid greatly increases lead's hardness and mechanical strength. The most important use of antimony is as a hardener in lead for storage batteries. Antimony compounds in the form of oxides, sulfides, sodium antimonate, and antimony trichloride are used in the making of flame- proofing compounds, ceramic enamels, glass, paints, and pottery.



Sources



Even though this element is not abundant, it is found in over 100 mineral species. Antimony is sometimes found native, but more frequently it is found in the sulfide stibnite (Sb2S3) which is the predominant ore mineral. Co mm ercial forms of antimony are generally ingots, broken pieces, granules, and cast cake. Other forms are powder, shot, and single crystals.





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