OCCURRENCE AND ABUNDANCE Despite their close chemical similarity, the elements do not occur together mainly because

their ions are of different size. Lithium is the thirty-fifth most abundant element by weight and is Table 9.2 Abundance of the elements in the earths crust, by weight Abundance in earths crust (ppm) Li Na K Rb Cs 18 22700 18400 78 2.6 (%) 0.0018 2.27 1.84 0.0078 0.00026 35 7 8 23 46 Relative abundance

Mainly obtained as silicate minerals, spodumene LiAl(SiO3)2, and lepidolite Li2Al2(SiO3)3(FOH)2. Word production of lithium minerals was 7800 tonnes in 1988. The main source are the USSR 42%, and Zimbabwe, China, Canada and Portugal 11% each. Sodium and potassium are the seventh and eight most abundant elements by weight in earths crust. NaCl and KCl occur in large amounts in sea water. The largest source of sodium is rock salt (NaCl). Various salts including NaCl, Na2B4O7.10H2O (borax), (Na2CO3,NaHCO3.2H2O) (trona), NaNO3 (saltpetre) and Na2SO4 (mirabilite) are obtained from deposits formed by the evaporation of ancient seas such as the Dead Sea and Great Salt Lake at Utah USA. Sodium chloride is extremely important, and is used in a larger tonnages than any other chemical. Word production was 179.6 millions tonnes in 1988. The main sources are the USA 19%, China 10%, USSR 9%, India 7%, West Germany 8%, Canada 6%, the UK and Australia 5% each, and France and Mexico 5% each. In most place it is mined as rock salt. In the UK (the Cheshire salt field) about 75% is extracted in solution as brine, and similarly in Germany over 70% is extracted as brine. Solar salt is obtained by evaporating sea water in some hot countries. Ninety-two percent of the salt produced in India is by evaporating, and 26% of that from Spain and France. This method is also used in Australia. Potassium occurs mainly as deposits of KCl (sylvite), a mixture of KCl and NaCl (sylvinite), and the double salt KCl.MgCl2.6H2O (carnalite). Soluble potassium salts are collectively called potash. Word production of potash was 32.1 million tones in 1988, measured as K2O. the main sources are from mined deposits (the USSR 35%, Canada 25%, East Germany 11%, West Germany 7%, France and USA 5% each and Israel 4%). Large amounts are recovered from brines such as the Dead Sea (Jordan) and Great Salt Lake (Utah

USA), where the concentration may be 20-25 times higher than in sea water, but it is not economic to recover potassium salts from normal sea water. There is no convenient source of rubidium and only one of caecium and these elements are obtained as by-products from lithium processing. All of the elements heavier than bismuth (atomic number 83) 83Bi are radioactive. Thus francium (atomic number 89) is radioactive, and as it has a short half life period of 21 minutes it does not occur appreciably in nature. Any that existed when the earth was formed will have disappeared, and any formed now from actinium will have a transitory existence.