Cobalt

Cobalt

1. What are its properties? (http://www.chemicool.com/elements/cobalt.html)
 * Classification: || Cobalt is a transition metal ||
 * Color: || bluish-white ||
 * Atomic weight: || 58.9332 ||
 * State: || solid ||
 * Melting point: || 1495 oC, 1768 K ||
 * Boiling point: || 2930 oC, 3203 K ||
 * Shells: || 2,8,15,2 ||
 * Electron configuration: || [Ar] 3d7 4s2 ||
 * Density @ 20oC: || 8.90 g/cm3 ||
 * Atomic volume: || 6.7 cm3/mol ||
 * Structure: || hcp: hexagonal close pkd ||
 * Hardness: || 5.0 mohs ||

It is a hard lustrous gray metal.
2. How is it used?

Used as an alloy with iron, nickel, and other metals to make Alnico. Used to make magnetic steels and stainless steels. Used in jet turbines and gas turbine generators. Used in electroplanting. Combined with salts to make blue porcelien, glass, pottery, tiles, and more. Compounds of Cobalt can be used as paint pigments.

3. How much is used in the US annually?

The U.S. is the largest consumer of Cobalt in the world. There are no Cobalt mines in the U.S., so we rely 100% on Cobalt exports. We import about 7,512 metric tons per year.

4. What are the sources, and how is it extracted?

More than half the world’s supply of Cobalt is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. It is found as a byproduct of copper mining and refining in those countries, and in other countries it is a byproduct of nickel refining and mining. This means that Cobalt production is dependent on the production of copper and nickel.

5. How rare is it? (i. e. how much "reserves"?)

Cobalt is very rare because there are limited reserves. The U.S. has deemed it a “critical rare industrial metal”. We have only been recycling 15% of the Cobalt used.

6. Are there substitutes?

There are many different forms of Cobalt, so scientists are trying to find different substitutes for each form. However, they have not made much progress because Cobalt has very unique characteristics.