The Discovery of Cobalt
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Cobalt was discovered by a Swedish chemist, George Brandt in 1730. George Brandt was analyzing a dark blue pigment found in a copper ore, when he stumbled across the an undiscovered mineral. Further analyzing proved that the ore did not just contain Copper or Bismuth which is what many believed this mineral was at the time. Brandt attempted his best to prove that it was not Bismuth. Later in the year of 1735 George Brandt finally proved that the dark blue pigment that he found in the Copper ore was a transition metal and was able to stain specific glasses and objects with a blue colour. He named this blue metal Cobalt . The name originating from the mischievous spirits called the Kolbalds. The miners term, Cobalt was used to describe that the
mineral was very difficult to mine and was damaging to their health. When the
mineral was heated it gave off an offensive gas that caused illness. The gas
that affected the miners was Arsenic Trioxide (AS 4 O 6)
Where is it mined?
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Cobalt is found as a by-product in the mining and refining process of nickel, silver, lead, copper and iron.Meteorites that have landed on Earth before may contain traces of Cobalt. Cobalt ores are most likely to be found in Morocco, Zaire, Canada for the most significant amounts. A geological survey also reports that Cobalt may also be found at the bottom of the north Pacific Ocean near the Hawaiian islands and other U.S Pacific territories.