Cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in chemically combined form except for some alloys of natural meteoric iron. Pure Cobalt is produced by reductive smelting. Cobalt is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal once it has been freed from its original compound source. The main source Cobalt is as a by-product of copper and nickel mining. The amount of Cobalt in the earths crust doesn't even approach 1%.
Cobalt is primarily used in the preparation of magnetic, wear-resistant and high-strength alloys such as jet engine blades. Cobalt compounds have also been used for centuries to impart a rich blue color to glass, glazes, and ceramics.
Cobalt has a melting temperature of 1495C (2723F).
