Antimony

Antimony can sometimes be found in its native state in the form of thin and small sheets. In most cases it is not common at all that a big deposit can be found however a few grains can be found sometimes in a gold pan or a dredge. In its native state, antimony has a tin white color to it, its hardness is of 3 to 3.5, and it has a specific gravity of 6.6 to 6.7. Antimony is frequently used in the form of an alloy. Lead antimony alloys used to be very widely used for solder, ammunition, fishing tackle, covering for electrical cables, low melting alloys, and batteries. These types of uses are now diminishing though due to the severe health problems that lead can cause. Antimony and its compounds are also used in transistors, the production of ceramics and glass, as well as in the production of plastic.

It is linked to stibnite, galena, cinnabar, and barite. Stibnite is the main ore of antimony. This is a mineral that has been located in a number of states in the U.S.A. and some of the finest crystals have been found in the mines in Manhattan, Nevada. It can often times be found in quartz where low temperature veins have formed. It is crystalline and is unusual because its crystals are bent on some occasions. In nature stibnite has a steel grayish color to it and has luster that is metallic, has a hardness of 2, its specific gravity is of 4.5 to 4.6.