Where is zinc found in nature?

Zinc, slightly more abundant than copper, constitutes about 65 grams per ton of the Earth's crust. It is widely distributed, with over 40% of the world's output originating in North America and Australia. The chief zinc mineral is sphalerite (zinc blende) along with its oxidation products smithsonite and hemimorphite, which constitute nearly all of the world’s zinc ore. Zinc ores are recovered through both open-pit mining and underground methods, with the most common underground method being cut-and-fill stoping. Native zinc has been reported in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. China, Australia, and Peru are the leading producers of zinc.

What are some common uses for zinc?

Zinc is a versatile element with varied applications. Approaching 50% of zinc consumption goes to the corrosion protection of iron and steel through galvanization . Zinc is also alloyed with copper to create brass, and with aluminum for die-casting alloys. Zinc oxide is a key ingredient in pharmaceuticals , cosmetics, and rubber production . Zinc sheets can be found in dry-cell batteries and roofing. Zinc dust is used in paint and alkaline batteries .

How is zinc obtained or produced for industrial use?

Zinc is obtained through mining and beneficiation of zinc ores, such as zinc blende or sphalerite, marmatite, and smithsonite. After the ore is extracted using either open-pit or underground mining techniques, it undergoes a process called flotation separation to isolate the zinc sulfide minerals. The ore is crushed, mixed with water, and ground into fine particles, forming a slurry. This slurry is agitated in flotation cells with chemical reagents, causing the mineral particles to attach to air bubbles and float to the surface, where they are skimmed off. To extract the metallic zinc, either pyrometallurgy or electrolysis is used. Pyrometallurgy involves heating the zinc oxide with carbon to produce zinc vapor, which is then condensed into liquid metal. Electrolysis involves leaching zinc oxide calcines in sulfuric acid, purifying the solution, and then electrolyzing it to deposit zinc onto cathodes. The zinc is then stripped from the cathodes, melted, and cast into ingots.

What are the physical and chemical properties of zinc?

Zinc (Zn) is a chemical element and a widely used metal that has considerable commercial importance. Physical Properties: * Bluish-silver color when freshly cast but oxidizes in air to form a grayish protective oxide film * Density of 7.13 grams per cubic centimetre * Melting point of 420 °C (788 °F) * Boiling point of 907 °C (1,665 °F) Chemical Properties: * In chemical compounds, zinc exhibits almost exclusively a +2 oxidation state * Highly resistant to corrosion and provides sacrificial protection to iron * Forms an impervious coating of its oxide on exposure to the atmosphere * Used to galvanize iron and steel against corrosion and to make brasses and alloys for die-casting

zinc

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A labeled diagram of the periodic table entry for zinc, showing its atomic number 30, symbol Zn, atomic weight 65.38, electron configuration, name, hexagonal crystal structure, solid state at room temperature, and classification as a transition metal.

Large zinc-coated galvanized metal ventilation ducts with a vent and joints are mounted near a ceiling inside an industrial or commercial building.

Large rolls of shiny sheet steel galvanized with zinc are lined up on the floor of a factory warehouse, with industrial equipment in the background.

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At a Glance

zinc summary

zinc

chemical element

Also known as: Zn

Written and fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 18, 2026 •History

Top Questions

What is zinc?
Zinc (Zn) is a chemical element, a low-melting metal in Group 12 of the periodic table, and is essential to life. It has an atomic number of 30 and an atomic weight of 65.39.

Zinc is slightly more abundant than copper, making up 65 grams of every ton of the Earth’s crust. The chief zinc mineral is the sulfide sphalerite. China, Australia, and Peru are the leading producers of zinc.

The major uses of zinc metal are in galvanizing iron and steel against corrosion and in making brasses and alloys for die-casting. It is also an essential trace element in the human body.
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Where is zinc found in nature?
Zinc, slightly more abundant than copper, constitutes about 65 grams per ton of the Earth's crust. It is widely distributed, with over 40% of the world's output originating in North America and Australia.

The chief zinc mineral is sphalerite (zinc blende) along with its oxidation products smithsonite and hemimorphite, which constitute nearly all of the world’s zinc ore. Zinc ores are recovered through both open-pit mining and underground methods, with the most common underground method being cut-and-fill stoping. Native zinc has been reported in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. China, Australia, and Peru are the leading producers of zinc.
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What are some common uses for zinc?
Zinc is a versatile element with varied applications. Approaching 50% of zinc consumption goes to the corrosion protection of iron and steel through galvanization. Zinc is also alloyed with copper to create brass, and with aluminum for die-casting alloys. Zinc oxide is a key ingredient in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and rubber production. Zinc sheets can be found in dry-cell batteries and roofing. Zinc dust is used in paint and alkaline batteries.
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2. zinc: History
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Why is zinc important for the human body?
Zinc is an essential trace element vital for the human body. It is a component of some enzymes that digest protein in the gastrointestinal tract. Zinc plays a structural role in proteins and regulates gene expression. It is present in high concentrations in red blood cells as part of the enzyme carbonic anhydrase, which promotes reactions relating to carbon dioxide metabolism. The zinc in the pancreas may help store insulin.

Symptoms of zinc deficiency may include skin lesions, diarrhea, increased susceptibility to infections, night blindness, reduced taste and smell acuity, poor appetite, hair loss, slow wound healing, low sperm count, and impotence. Zinc is mostly found in protein-rich foods like red meat and shellfish.
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How is zinc obtained or produced for industrial use?
Zinc is obtained through mining and beneficiation of zinc ores, such as zinc blende or sphalerite, marmatite, and smithsonite. After the ore is extracted using either open-pit or underground mining techniques, it undergoes a process called flotation separation to isolate the zinc sulfide minerals. The ore is crushed, mixed with water, and ground into fine particles, forming a slurry. This slurry is agitated in flotation cells with chemical reagents, causing the mineral particles to attach to air bubbles and float to the surface, where they are skimmed off.

To extract the metallic zinc, either pyrometallurgy or electrolysis is used. Pyrometallurgy involves heating the zinc oxide with carbon to produce zinc vapor, which is then condensed into liquid metal. Electrolysis involves leaching zinc oxide calcines in sulfuric acid, purifying the solution, and then electrolyzing it to deposit zinc onto cathodes. The zinc is then stripped from the cathodes, melted, and cast into ingots.
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2. zinc processing: Mining and concentrating
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What are the physical and chemical properties of zinc?
Zinc (Zn) is a chemical element and a widely used metal that has considerable commercial importance.

Physical Properties:
* Bluish-silver color when freshly cast but oxidizes in air to form a grayish protective oxide film
* Density of 7.13 grams per cubic centimetre
* Melting point of 420 °C (788 °F)
* Boiling point of 907 °C (1,665 °F)

Chemical Properties:
* In chemical compounds, zinc exhibits almost exclusively a +2 oxidation state
* Highly resistant to corrosion and provides sacrificial protection to iron
* Forms an impervious coating of its oxide on exposure to the atmosphere
* Used to galvanize iron and steel against corrosion and to make brasses and alloys for die-casting
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1. zinc processing
2. zinc
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zinc (Zn), chemical element, a low-melting metal of Group 12 (IIb, or zinc group) of the periodic table, that is essential to life and is one of the most widely used metals. Zinc is of considerable commercial importance.

Element Properties
atomic number	30
atomic weight	65.39
melting point	420 °C (788 °F)
boiling point	907 °C (1,665 °F)
density	7.133 grams/cm³ at 25 °C (68 °F)
oxidation state	+2
electron configuration	[Ar]3d¹⁰4s²

Occurrence, uses, and properties

A little more abundant than copper, zinc makes up an average of 65 grams (2.3 ounces) of every ton of Earth’s crust. The chief zinc mineral is the sulfide sphalerite (zinc blende), which, together with its oxidation products smithsonite and hemimorphite, constitute nearly all of the world’s zinc ore. Native zinc has been reported from Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, and the leading early 21st-century producers of zinc are China, Australia and Peru. For zinc’s mineralogical properties, see native element.

Zinc is an essential trace element in the human body, where it is found in high concentration in the red blood cells as an essential part of the enzyme carbonic anhydrase, which promotes many reactions relating to carbon dioxide metabolism. The zinc present in the pancreas may aid in the storage of insulin. Zinc is a component of some enzymes that digest protein in the gastrointestinal tract. Zinc deficiency in nut-bearing and fruit trees causes such diseases as pecan rosette, little leaf, and mottle leaf. Zinc functions in the hemosycotypsin of snails’ blood to transport oxygen in a way analogous to iron in the hemoglobin of human blood.

Metallic zinc is produced by roasting the sulfide ores and then either leaching the oxidized product in sulfuric acid or smelting it in a blast furnace. Zinc is won from the leach solution by electrolysis or is condensed from the blast furnace gas and then distilled of impurities. For specific information on the mining, recovery, and refining of zinc, see zinc processing.

The major uses of zinc metal are in galvanizing iron and steel against corrosion and in making brasses and alloys for die-casting. Zinc itself forms an impervious coating of its oxide on exposure to the atmosphere, and hence the metal is more resistant to ordinary atmospheres than iron and corrodes at a much lower rate. In addition, because zinc tends to oxidize in preference to iron, some protection is afforded the steel surface even if some of it is exposed through cracks. The zinc coating is formed either by hot-dip galvanizing or electrogalvanizing.

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Hot-dip galvanizing is the most common procedure for coating steel with zinc. This may be a batch process known as general galvanizing or a continuous coating of coils of steel strip. In general galvanizing, steel is pickled in acid, treated with fluxing agents, and then dipped in a bath of molten zinc at about 450 °C (840 °F). Layers of iron-zinc alloy are formed on the surface and are topped with an outer layer of zinc. Objects so treated range from small nuts and bolts to steel window frames and large girders used in construction. An ordinary grade of zinc containing up to 1.5 percent lead is normally used in this process.

In electrogalvanizing, zinc is deposited on a steel strop in as many as 20 consecutive electrolytic coating cells. There are several successful cell designs; the simple vertical cell is discussed here to explain the principle. The strip, connected to the negative side of a direct current through large-diameter conductor rolls located above and between two cells, is dipped into a tank of electrolyte by a submerged sink roll. Partially submerged anodes, opposing the strip, are connected to the positive side of the electric current by heavy bus bars. Zinc cations (i.e., positively charged zinc atoms) present in the electrolyte are converted by the current into regular zinc atoms, which deposit on the strip. The bath is supplied with zinc cations either by zinc anodes, which are continuously dissolved by the direct current, or by zinc compounds continuously added to the electrolyte. In the latter case the anodes are made of insoluble materials, such as titanium coated with iridium oxide. The electrolyte is an acidic solution of zinc sulfide or zinc chloride with other bath additions to improve the quality of the coating and the current efficiency. Coating thickness is easier to control than in the hot-dip process because of the good relationship between electrical current and deposited zinc.

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The negative electrode (outside can) in one common type of electric dry cell is composed of zinc. Another important series of alloys are those formed by the addition of 4 to 5 percent aluminum to zinc; these have a relatively low melting point but possess good mechanical properties and can be cast under pressure in steel dies. Considerable quantities of zinc in the rolled form are used for roofing, particularly in Europe; small additions of copper and titanium improve creep resistance—i.e., resistance to gradual deformation.

Freshly cast zinc has a bluish silver surface but slowly oxidizes in air to form a grayish protective oxide film. Highly pure zinc (99.99 percent) is ductile; the so-called prime western grade (99.8 percent pure) is brittle when cold but above 100 °C (212 °F) can be rolled into sheets that remain flexible. Zinc crystallizes in the hexagonal close-packed structure. When iron and zinc together are exposed to a corrosive medium, they constitute an electrolytic cell, and the zinc is attacked (oxidized to the Zn²⁺ ion) preferentially because of its higher electrode potential. This so-called sacrificial protection, coupled with the much greater corrosion resistance of zinc under atmospheric conditions, is the basis for galvanizing.

Natural zinc is a mixture of five stable isotopes: ⁶⁴Zn (48.6 percent), ⁶⁶Zn (27.9 percent), ⁶⁷Zn (4.1 percent), ⁶⁸Zn (18.8 percent), and ⁷⁰Zn (0.6 percent).

zinc

Occurrence, uses, and properties

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