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Antimony
Antimony is a silver-gray, brittle semi-metal that has the
symbol Sb. This metalloid has four allotropic forms. The stable
form is a blue-white metal. Yellow and black antimony are
unstable non-metals.
Antimony rarely occurs in nature as a native element, but
is found in a number of different minerals. Of these minerals,
only stibnite (SbS3) is mined commercially as a source for
metallic antimony.
The most important use of antimony is for the manufacture
of flame-proofing compounds. Antimony is widely used to impregnate
plastics, textiles, rubber and other materials. These flame-retardant
applications include such markets as children's clothing,
toys, aircraft and automobile seat covers.
A portion of the consumption is in antimony alloys. Antimony
is mixed with other metals, such as lead, to make the lead
harder and stronger for use in storage batteries.
Antimony is also used in cable sheating, in collapsible tubes
and foil, in medicines, in ceramics enamels, in pottery, in
sheet and pipes, in fireworks, for pigments in plastics, paints,
rubber, and in the semiconductor industry (in the production
of diodes, infrared detectors, and hall-effect devices for
example).
Links:
-World
Bureau of Metal Statistics - Statistics 2000 - 2003
-IAOIA-The
International Antimony Oxide Industry Association
Antimony Production
Thousand Tonnes
| |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
| Europe |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Turkey |
|
8.000 |
10.000 |
14.000 |
17.000 |
20.107 |
| total |
|
8.000 |
10.000 |
14.000 |
17.000 |
20.107 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Africa |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| South Africa |
|
6.347 |
4.872 |
4.700 |
4.200 |
5.300 |
| total |
|
6.347 |
4.872 |
4.700 |
4.200 |
5.300 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Asia |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| China |
83.000 |
90.000 |
92.400 |
62.400 |
70.000 |
100.000 |
| Kyrgyzstan |
1.320 |
1.505 |
1.500 |
1.324 |
1.308 |
1.504 |
| Russia (Asia) |
4.000 |
5.000 |
3.000 |
2.900 |
2.700 |
2.500 |
| Tajikistan |
1.000 |
1.200 |
2.500 |
2.700 |
3,480 |
3.700 |
| Thailand |
|
77 |
40 |
3 |
38 |
52 |
| total |
89.320 |
97.705 |
99.400 |
69.324 |
77.526 |
107.756 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| America |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Bolivia |
2.790 |
1.907 |
2.072 |
2.200 |
2.585 |
2.633 |
| Canada |
|
364 |
234 |
143 |
88 |
94 |
| Guatemala |
|
60 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Mexico |
|
52 |
81 |
155 |
434 |
503 |
| Peru |
|
461 |
274 |
356 |
616 |
800 |
| United States |
|
340 |
300 |
290 |
1.571 |
1.800 |
| total |
2.790 |
3.184 |
2.961 |
3.144 |
5.294 |
5.830 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oceania
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Australia |
1.800 |
1.800 |
1.500 |
1.300 |
1.800 |
2.000 |
| Australia |
1.800 |
1.800 |
1.500 |
1.300 |
1.800 |
2.000 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| WORLD
TOTAL |
93.910 |
101.412 |
102.972 |
72.824 |
69.873 |
250.749 |
Source: Österreichisches Bundesministerium für
Wirtschaft und Arbeit (Federal Ministry for Economics and Labour
of the Republic of Austria), World Mining Data, April 2006
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