Zinc

Zinc is the 23rd most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. The most heavily mined ores (sphalerite) tend to contain roughly 10％ iron as well as 40－50％ zinc. Minerals from which zinc is extracted include sphalerite (zinc sulfide), smithsonite (zinc carbonate), hemimorphite (zinc silicate), and franklinite (a zinc spinel). . There are zinc mines throughout the world, with the largest producers being China, Australia and Peru. In 2005, China produced almost one－fourth of the global zinc output, reports the British Geological Survey. Zinc oxide is perhaps the best known and most widely used zinc compound, as it makes a good base for white pigments in paint. It also finds industrial use in the rubber industry, and is sold as opaque sunscreen. A variety of other zinc compounds find use industrially, such as zinc chloride (in deodorants), zinc pyrithione (anti－dandruff shampoos), zinc sulfide (in luminescent paints), and zinc methyl or zinc diethyl in the organic laboratory. Roughly one quarter of all zinc output is consumed in the form of zinc compounds.