Antimony
The element
Antimony is element 51 on the periodic table. This raw material is perfect for combining with other metals, such as lead, to improve its strength and use it at as alloy in batteries. Â It, also, commonly used in the production of plastic, glass and pigments.
Antimony can be found in numerous mineral species but is mainly associated with mercury, silver and gold. This said, in the European Union, its presence is very scarce since non of these metals are produced here. In fact, we depend 100% on imports to supply it. Mostly, it is imported from Turkey (62%), but it is mainly produced in China (74%).
Applications
Despite the fact that Antimony is scarce in the EU, it has many applications in our daily lives. It is mainy used in the form of an oxide, used as a fire retardant in plastic insulations as well as in electronic devices and household appliances