Boron is a chemical element; it has symbol B and atomic number 5. In its crystalline form it is a brittle, dark, lustrous metalloid; in its amorphous form it is a brown powder. As the lightest element of the boron group it has three valence electrons for forming covalent bonds, resulting in many compounds such as boric acid, the mineral sodium borate, and the ultra-hard crystals of boron carbide and boron nitride.
Boric acid, more specifically orthoboric acid, is a compound of boron, oxygen, and hydrogen with formula B(OH)3. It may also be called hydrogen orthoborate, trihydroxidoboron or boracic acid. It is usually encountered as colorless crystals or a white powder, that dissolves in water, and occurs in nature as the mineral sassolite. It is a weak acid that yields various borate anions and salts, and can react with alcohols to form borate esters.
A borate is any of a range of boron oxyanions, anions containing boron and oxygen, such as orthoborate BO3−3, metaborate BO−2, or tetraborate B4O2−7; or any salt of such anions, such as sodium metaborate, Na+[BO2]− and borax (Na+)2[B4O7]2−. The name also refers to esters of such anions, such as trimethyl borate B(OCH3)3 but they are alkoxides.
Borax and tincar ) is a salt, a hydrated or anhydrous borate of sodium, with the chemical formula Na2H20B4O17. It is a colorless crystalline solid that dissolves in water to make a basic solution.
Boron is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, United States. Boron is 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Red Rock Mountain at an elevation of 2,467 feet (752 m). The population was 2,086 at the 2020 census, up from 2,025 at the 2000 census. Boron is named after the element boron and is the site of the world's largest source of the boron compound boric acid.
Ulexite sometimes called TV rock or TV stone due to its unusual optical properties, is a hydrous borate hydroxide of sodium and calcium with the chemical formula NaCaB5O6(OH)6·5H2O. The mineral occurs as silky white rounded crystalline masses or in parallel fibers. Ulexite was named for the German chemist Georg Ludwig Ulex (1811–1883), who first discovered it.
Outokumpu Oyj is a group of international companies headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, employing 10,600 employees in more than 30 countries. Outokumpu is the largest producer of stainless steel in Europe and the second largest producer in the Americas. Outokumpu also has a long history as a mining company, and still mines chromium ore in Keminmaa for use as ferrochrome in stainless steel. The largest shareholder of Outokumpu is the Government of Finland, with 26.6% ownership, including the shares controlled by Solidium, The Social Insurance Institution of Finland, Finnish State Pension Fund and Municipality Pension Agency.
Outokumpu is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region, 48 kilometres (30 mi) west of Joensuu and 92 kilometres (57 mi) east of Kuopio. The municipality has a population of 6,406 and covers an area of 584.05 square kilometres (225.50 sq mi) of which 138.22 km2 (53.37 sq mi) is water. The population density is 14.37 inhabitants per square kilometre (37.2/sq mi). The most important road connection in the locality is Highway 9.
Colemanite (Ca2B6O11·5H2O) or (CaB3O4(OH)3·H2O) is a borate mineral found in evaporite deposits of alkaline lacustrine environments. Colemanite is a secondary mineral that forms by alteration of borax and ulexite.
Boliden AB is a Swedish multinational metals, mining, and smelting company headquartered in Stockholm. The company produces zinc, copper, lead, nickel, silver, and gold, with operations in Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Ireland.
The Borate Minerals are minerals which contain a borate anion group. The borate (BO3) units may be polymerised similar to the SiO4 unit of the silicate mineral class. This results in B2O5, B3O6, B2O4 anions as well as more complex structures which include hydroxide or halogen anions. The [B(O,OH)4]− anion exists as well.
Searles Lake is an endorheic dry lake in the Searles Valley of the Mojave Desert, in northwestern San Bernardino County, California. The lake in the past was also called Slate Range Lake and Borax Lake.
Francis Marion Smith was an American miner, business magnate and civic builder in the Mojave Desert, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Oakland, California. He was known nationally and internationally as "Borax Smith" and "The Borax King", as his company produced the popular 20-Mule-Team Borax brand of household cleaner.
The Pacific Coast Borax Company (PCB) was a United States mining company founded in 1890 by the American borax magnate Francis Smith, the "Borax King".
Boron compounds are compounds containing the element boron. In the most familiar compounds, boron has the formal oxidation state +3. These include oxides, sulfides, nitrides, and halides.
Kurnakovite is a hydrated borate of magnesium with the chemical composition MgB3O3(OH)5·5H2O. It is a member of the inderite group and is a triclinic dimorph of the monoclinic inderite.
Allkem Limited, known as Orocobre Limited until 30 November 2021. Headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Allkem's portfolio includes lithium brine operations in Argentina, a hard-rock lithium operation in Australia and a lithium hydroxide conversion facility in Japan. Allkem is dual listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange. In May 2023, Allkem agreed terms to merge with Livent. In January 2024, Allkem and Livent merged to form the NYSE-listed Arcadium Lithium.
Borax Lake is a 10-acre (4.0 ha) alkaline lake in the Alvord Desert of southeastern Oregon in the United States. The lake is fed by geothermal springs 100 feet (30 m) below the surface that range in temperature from 104 to 300 °F. Surface water temperatures usually range from 61 to 100 °F but occasionally go higher. The springs lie along the Steens fault zone, which runs north–south through the Alvord Valley east of Steens Mountain.
The Rio Tinto Boron Mine in Boron, California is California's largest open-pit mine and the largest borax mine in the world, producing nearly half the world's borates. Ore reserves are sufficient for production through at least 2050. It is operated by the Borax division of the Rio Tinto Group.
The Eti Soda Inc. is a chemical industry company in Ankara Province, Turkey producing natural soda ash and baking soda from trona. It was founded in 1998, and the production started in 2009. The company's main shareholder is Ciner Group.
