Zinc

Zinc makes up an average of 65 grams (2.3 ounces) of every ton of Earth’s crust. The chief zinc mineral is the sulfide sphalerite (zinc blende), which, together with its oxidation products smithsonite and hemimorphite, constitute nearly all of the world’s zinc ore. Native zinc has been reported from Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, and the leading early 21st-century producers of zinc are China, Australia and Peru.

The major uses of zinc metal is to galvanise steel or iron – that is, to apply a zinc coating to stop it rusting. Galvanised steel is used in buildings, cars, white goods and electronics.

The strength and flexibility of zinc alloys mean they are widely used to create die casts for industrial uses – for example, in the production of car or machine parts. Zinc is also used to make brass and bronze.

Zinc oxide is mainly used in the production of rubber, while zinc sulphide has uses such as X - ray screens, in optics, and as a pigment.