Prices and production quadrupled before settling back to pre-war levels at the cessation of hostilities. The first spike in the antimony price was during the First World War, because of the extreme consumption of bullets and related ammunition. Antimony is traditionally recycled from batteries but not from flame retardants, although when plastic is recycled so is the antimony, if inadvertently. Some hydrocarbons and hydrate aluminium oxide are already used to reduce the usage of ATO in flame retardants. These “phase change devices” use an alloy of germanium, antimony and tellurium.Īntimony can be readily substituted in batteries, paints and pigments. Antimony compounds are also used in paints and pigments.Ī new generation of memory devices is being developed that will replace the flash drive memory devices presently used in computers and mobile phones. Sodium antimonate is used as a high temperature oxidant, in fire proofing, and in glass refining and decolourising. In general, more antimony is used in higher speed projectiles. For example, it is important in lead bullets as it allows the correct expansion of the bullet into the rifling, thus improving accuracy and range. However, the weight percent of antimony in a lead acid battery is in continuous decline and antimony metal use will also be impacted by alternative battery technologies.Īntimony metal is used in a number of other lead alloys. Antimony is added to strengthen and harden the lead. The antimony is sourced from new metal supply and from secondary antimonial lead from the recycling of batteries. Flame retardants account for about 50% of the world’s antimony consumption, and market share continues to grow.Īround 25% of world antimony consumption is in lead acid batteries. Retardants are mostly used in electronics and plastics, and also in fabrics such as clothing and upholstery. However the vast majority of antimony is consumed as antimony trioxide (“Sb2O3”, “ATO”), antimony metal, secondary antimonial lead and sodium antimonate.ĪTO is an important component of flame retardants. There are dozens of antimony compounds in industrial use today. This crystal cluster is for sale at for USD23,500.00 Stibnite from the Wuling Antimony Mine in China
A particularly beautiful example is shown below. For example, with regard to antimony, gallium antimonide is used in infrared detectors, LED’s and thermophotovoltaics and indium antimonide is used in thermal imaging sensors.Īntimony is a silvery grey colour that can exist in nature as the metal, but almost always occurs as the sulphide, stibnite (Sb 2S 3). Metalloids, or their compounds, can all be used as semiconductors. Related elements are boron, silicon, germanium, arsenic and tellurium. Antimony lies somewhere within the middle of the range and is often referred to as a metalloid that is, it is metallic looking, brittle and able to alloy with metals.
Within the periodic table of the elements, there is a continuum from non-metals to metals. It has also been used as a medicine and as a poison. References are also made to antimony plated objects in Egypt at around the same time.Īntimony was integral to the practice of alchemy, particularly in its later stages of the 17 th century. In other languages kohl was spelt “alcool” or “alkohol” and up until the Middle Ages “alcohol” referred to anything in the form of a fine powder.Ī number of references state that a vase dated at around 3,000BC was discovered at Tello, in Sumer, that was cast in “metallic” antimony. Much later its use as a cosmetic spread to many countries and it became known in Hebrew and Arabic as kohl. The sulphide was finely ground and applied to the eyes and eyelashes.
Antimony sulphide (stibnite) was used as a cosmetic, as long ago as 3,000BC, in Sumer (today’s south-central Iraq) and Egypt. Read the prologue to specialty metals and minerals here.Īntimony has been used for thousands of years.