Antimony (Sb.) is a bluish white metal, crystalline and brittle, and so can be powdered easily. Its specific gravity is 6"7, and its melting point about 430° C. Its chief use is in the formation of serviceable alloys, such as Britannia metal, pewter, and Queen's metal, to which it imparts brittleness. The melted metal rapidly oxidises if exposed to the air, and if highly heated burns with a white flame, giving off fumes of antimony trioxide. Antimony is dissolved by hot hydrochloric acid, hot concentrated sulphuric acid, and aqua regia, and if treated with nitric acid forms a straw coloured powder known as antimonic acid. Commercial antimony contains impurities in the form of potassium, copper, iron, lead, etc. Antimony occurs native, but generally the metal is found in combination with others; the chief antimony ore is stibnite. The antimony is recovered from this ore by two distinct processes; by the first of these is separated the antimony sulphide, which is in its turn refined by the second process. In Germany, whence is obtained much of the commercial antimony, the ore is placed in covered pots having perforated bottoms, below which are receivers. Between the pots is the lire, the heat of which fuses the sulphide, which runs through the holes into the receivers.

Crucibles heated in circular wind-furnaces are employed to refine the sulphide in England. The charge is 401b. of sulphide and 201b. of scrap-iron, and the product is antimony and iron sulphide, which is again melted, this time with sulphate of soda and some slag, a product of the next process. The resultant metal is melted with pearlash and slag, and cast into ingots. Antimony can be produced by electro-deposition.