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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).
Link: IAOIA-The
International Antimony Oxide Industry Association
World Mine Production
Tonnes
| |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
| Europa:
Russia/total |
16.000 |
12.800 |
12.800 |
12.000 |
| Africa:
South Africa/total |
3.808 |
4.783 |
4.672 |
5.023 |
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| Asia |
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| China |
99.300 |
92.440 |
121.547 |
126.000 |
| Kyrgyzstan |
1.624 |
1.700 |
1.300 |
1.398 |
| Tajikistan |
3.500 |
3.500 |
3.500 |
3.480 |
| Thailand |
69 |
60 |
– |
56 |
| Turkey |
38 |
30 |
30 |
24 |
| Other Asia |
500 |
500 |
500 |
500 |
| Asia
total |
105.031 |
98.230 |
126.877 |
131.458 |
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| America |
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| Bolivia |
1.907 |
2.072 |
2.343 |
2.165 |
| Canada |
660 |
660 |
660 |
660 |
| Guatemala |
400 |
400 |
400 |
400 |
| Mexico |
109 |
93 |
208 |
441 |
| Peru |
374 |
384 |
384 |
400 |
| USA |
450 |
504 |
500 |
504 |
| America
total |
3.900 |
4.113 |
4.495 |
4.570 |
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| Oceania |
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| Australia/total |
1.800 |
1.800 |
1.800 |
1.800 |
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| World/total |
130.539 |
121.726 |
150.644 |
154.851 |
Note:
This table shows the recoverable antimony content of ores and
concentrates produced.
Source: World Bureau
of Metal Statistics - World Metal Statistics, February 2004,
p. 32
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