Not Your Grandfathers Mining Industry, Nova Scotia, Canada

FAST FACTS!

• Indium is a soft metal (in fact it is one of the softest metals on the periodic table), so it is easily bent and cut even with a knife.
• When indium is bent, it makes a crunching sound due to the repositioning of crystals inside the metal.
• Indium was isolated in 1863 by German chemists Ferdinand Reich and Hieronymous Theodor Richter. Funnily enough, indium was named after the color indigo even though Reich was color blind – he needed Richter to confirm its colour in a spectroscope and that indium was indeed a newly-discovered element.
• When it is in its pure form, indium is very sticky and tends to stick to other metals. Because of this, and its low melting point, it is often used as a solder, meaning it is used to hold other materials together.

Indium is used in touch screens.

USES OF INDIUM

Most indium is used to make indium tin oxide, which is an important part of touch screens, flatscreen TVs and solar panels. This is because indium conducts electricity, bonds strongly to glass and is transparent.

Indium nitride, phosphide and antimonide are semiconductors used in transistors and microchips.

Indium can be used to make mirrors that are as reflective as silver mirrors but do not tarnish as quickly. Indium metal sticks to glass and can be used to give a mirror-finish to windows of tall buildings.

It is used as a protective film on welders’ goggles.

It has also been used to coat ball bearings in Formula 1 racing cars because of its low friction.

Indium’s stickiness, and its low melting point, make it a very good solder, meaning it is used to hold other materials together.

An indium alloy has been used for fire-sprinkler systems in shops and warehouses because of its low melting point.

(Photo credit: https://www.digitaltrends.com/android/android-and-ios-accessibility-can-...)

INDIUM IN NOVA SCOTIA

Ore from the East Kemptville tin-indium deposit.
(Photo credit: http://avalonadvancedmaterials.com/projects/east_kemptville/)

Indium typically occurs along with zinc, iron, lead and copper ores and it is known to be present in significant quantity in East Kemptville, Yarmouth County.

The East Kemptville tin-indium deposit was an operating tin mine from 1985-1992 and was North America’s only large primary tin producer, before closing prematurely in 1992 due to a collapse in tin prices. Increasing global demand for tin and tightening supplies have resulted in higher tin prices, creating an opportunity for the East Kemptville mine to return to production. This time, hopefully indium can also be extracted and this important metal provided for our use.

INDIUM AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Indium helps the environment in various ways. Indium serves as a:

• replacement for mercury in batteries.
• photovoltaic cell coating in solar panels.
• very effective ingredient in soldering for manufacturing solar panels and other products. It is also a lower temperature solder that requires less energy input.
• thermal interface management material for high-end device cooling, reducing operating temperatures by up to 10°C.
• compound semiconductor material ingredient to manufacture LED light bulbs which use less energy than traditional lighting sources.
• an ingredient in flat panel displays resulting in monitors and television screens that are much thinner and easier to recycle and dispose of.
• architectural glass coating - used on buildings to help reduce the heat energy transfer in and out of the buildings, which reduces both heating and cooling costs and energy requirements.  It also keeps out ultra-violet energy, reducing the fading of fabrics like upholstery, carpeting, and curtains.
• gasket used in hermetic, cryogenic, and other mechanical seals. The indium can be easily removed and replaced during the maintenance process.  The removed indium can be recycled and reused.

Indium is an important part of solar panels and reducing our environmental footprint.