Indium

What it is and where it is found
It is a silvery, shiny, very soft and ductile material with a low melting point of 156°C and a boiling point of 2,000°C. The specific weight is 7.31 g/cm³. Zinc blende with 0.05 ppm is the most important raw material source for indium, but copper sulphides also contain indium.

What it is used for
As a metal, it has good gliding qualities and is therefore used as foil on common friction bearing metals.
Of great interest is its use for semi-conductors in the electronics industry and as fusible alloy (In, Bi, Sn, Pb). The principal fields of application for which about 85 % of it is used are coatings, some 9 % is used for alloys and electroplating, and some 5 % for electrical components and semi-conductors. The coatings are found as ITO (indium-tin-oxide) layer in every flat TV screen/laptop, etc.

How it is traded
Indium is traded in the form of ingots or bars with a purity of at least 99.99 % as standard quality. Material with a purity of 99 % and even 99.9999 %, however, also has its market.

Indium