Editing Zinc (section)

===Occurrence===
{{See also|:Category:Zinc minerals|l1=Zinc minerals}}
Zinc makes up about 75&nbsp;[[Parts per million|ppm]]&nbsp;(0.0075%) of [[Earth's crust]], making it the 22nd-most abundant element.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Emsley |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2EfYXzwPo3UC&q=24th+most+abundant+element&pg=PA626 |title=Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements |date=2011-08-25 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-960563-7 |language=en}}</ref> It also makes up 312 ppm of the Solar System, where it is the 22nd most abundant element.<ref>{{Citation |last=Brugger |first=Joël |title=Zinc |date=2018-07-18 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Geochemistry: A Comprehensive Reference Source on the Chemistry of the Earth |series=Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series |pages=1521–1524 |url=https://research.monash.edu/en/publications/zinc |access-date=2024-06-21 |publisher=Springer |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-39312-4_212 |isbn=978-3-319-39311-7}}</ref> Typical background concentrations of zinc do not exceed 1 μg/m<sup>3</sup> in the atmosphere; 300&nbsp;mg/kg in soil; 100&nbsp;mg/kg in vegetation; 20 μg/L in freshwater and 5 μg/L in seawater.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rieuwerts|first=John|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/886492996|title=The Elements of Environmental Pollution|publisher=Earthscan Routledge|year=2015|isbn=978-0-415-85919-6|location=London and New York|pages=286|oclc=886492996}}</ref> The element is normally found in association with other [[base metal]]s such as [[copper]] and [[lead]] in [[ore]]s.<ref name="Lehto1968p822" /> Zinc is a [[Goldschmidt classification#Chalcophile elements|chalcophile]], meaning the element is more likely to be found in minerals together with [[sulfur]] and other heavy [[chalcogen]]s, rather than with the light chalcogen [[oxygen]] or with non-chalcogen electronegative elements such as the [[halogen]]s. [[Sulfide]]s formed as the crust solidified under the [[redox|reducing]] conditions of the early Earth's atmosphere.<ref name="Greenwood1997p1202">{{harvnb|Greenwood|Earnshaw|1997|p=1202}}</ref> [[Sphalerite]], which is a form of zinc sulfide, is the most heavily mined zinc-containing ore because its concentrate contains 60–62% zinc.<ref name="Lehto1968p822" />

Other source minerals for zinc include [[smithsonite]] (zinc [[carbonate]]), [[hemimorphite]] (zinc [[silicate]]), [[wurtzite]] (another zinc sulfide), and sometimes [[hydrozincite]] (basic [[zinc carbonate]]).<ref name="Emsley2001p502" /> With the exception of wurtzite, all these other minerals were formed by weathering of the primordial zinc sulfides.<ref name="Greenwood1997p1202" />

Identified world zinc resources total about 1.9–2.8&nbsp;billion [[tonne]]s.<ref name="USGSMCS2015">{{cite web|last=Sai Srujan|first=A.V|date=2021|title=Mineral Commodity Summaries 2021: Zinc|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-zinc.pdf|access-date=June 21, 2021|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Erickson|first1=R. L.|title=Crustal Abundance of Elements, and Mineral Reserves and Resources|journal=U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper |issue=820|date=1973|pages=21–25}}</ref> Large deposits are in Australia, Canada and the United States, with the largest reserves in [[Iran]].<ref name="Greenwood1997p1202" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etdb.org/StrategiesAndResearch/Countries/CSPReports/ReportsLibrary/CPS%20Report%20-%20Islamic%20Republic%20of%20Iran.doc |title=Country Partnership Strategy—Iran: 2011–12 |access-date=June 6, 2011 |publisher=ECO Trade and development bank |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026135641/http://www.etdb.org/StrategiesAndResearch/Countries/CSPReports/ReportsLibrary/CPS%20Report%20-%20Islamic%20Republic%20of%20Iran.doc |archive-date=October 26, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iranconmin.de/en/leftnavigation/market|title=IRAN&nbsp;– a growing market with enormous potential|access-date=March 3, 2010|publisher=IMRG|date=July 5, 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217181730/http://www.iranconmin.de/en/leftnavigation/market|archive-date=February 17, 2013}}</ref> The most recent estimate of reserve base for zinc (meets specified minimum physical criteria related to current mining and production practices) was made in 2009 and calculated to be roughly 480 Mt.<ref name="USGSMCS2009">{{cite web|last=Tolcin|first=A. C.|date=2009|url=http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/zinc/mcs-2015-zinc.pdf|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|access-date=August 4, 2016|title=Mineral Commodity Summaries 2009: Zinc|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702053035/http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/zinc/mcs-2015-zinc.pdf|archive-date=July 2, 2016}}</ref> Zinc reserves, on the other hand, are geologically identified ore bodies whose suitability for recovery is economically based (location, grade, quality, and quantity) at the time of determination. Since exploration and mine development is an ongoing process, the amount of zinc reserves is not a fixed number and sustainability of zinc ore supplies cannot be judged by simply extrapolating the combined mine life of today's zinc mines. This concept is well supported by data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), which illustrates that although refined zinc production increased 80% between 1990 and 2010, the reserve lifetime for zinc has remained unchanged. About 346 million tonnes have been extracted throughout history to 2002, and scholars have estimated that about 109–305&nbsp;million tonnes are in use.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gordon|first=R. B.|author2=Bertram, M. |author3=Graedel, T. E. |title=Metal stocks and sustainability|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=103|date=2006|pmid=16432205|pmc=1360560|doi=10.1073/pnas.0509498103|issue=5|bibcode = 2006PNAS..103.1209G|pages=1209–14 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gerst|first1=Michael|title=In-Use Stocks of Metals: Status and Implications|journal=Environmental Science and Technology|date=2008|volume=42|issue=19|pages=7038–45|doi=10.1021/es800420p|pmid=18939524|bibcode=2008EnST...42.7038G}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Meylan|first1=Gregoire|title=The anthropogenic cycle of zinc: Status quo and perspectives|journal=Resources, Conservation and Recycling|volume=123|date=2016|pages=1–10|doi=10.1016/j.resconrec.2016.01.006}}</ref>
[[File:Sphalerite4.jpg|thumb|[[Sphalerite]] (ZnS)|alt=A black shiny lump of solid with uneven surface]]