Editing Group 12 element (section)

==Production==
Zinc is the fourth most common metal in use, trailing only [[iron]], [[aluminium]], and [[copper]] with an annual production of about 10 million tonnes.<ref name="ZincUSGS2006">{{Cite journal |url=http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/zinc/myb1-2006-zinc.pdf|page=Table 15|title=Zinc: World Mine Production (zinc content of concentrate) by Country|journal=2006 Minerals Yearbook: Zinc|date=February 2008|access-date=2009-01-19 }}</ref> Worldwide, 95% of the zinc is mined from [[sulfide|sulfidic]] ore deposits, in which sphalerite (ZnS) is nearly always mixed with the sulfides of copper, lead and iron. Zinc metal is produced using [[extractive metallurgy]].<ref name="Rosenqvist1922">{{Cite book|title=Principles of Extractive Metallurgy|last=Rosenqvist|first=Terkel|pages=7, 16, 186|edition=2|year=1922|isbn=978-82-519-1922-7|publisher=Tapir Academic Press}}</ref><!-- page 7 --> [[Roasting (metallurgy)|Roasting]] converts the zinc sulfide concentrate produced during processing to zinc oxide.<ref name="Zinchand">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=laACw9i0D_wC|title=Zinc Handbook|first=Frank C.|last=Porter|publisher=CRC Press|year=1991|isbn=978-0-8247-8340-2}}</ref> For further processing two basic methods are used: [[pyrometallurgy]] or [[electrowinning]]. Pyrometallurgy processing reduces zinc oxide with [[carbon]] or [[carbon monoxide]] at {{convert|950|C|F|abbr=on}} into the metal, which is distilled as zinc vapor.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bodsworth|first=Colin|title=The Extraction and Refining of Metals|page=148|year=1994|isbn=978-0-8493-4433-6|publisher=CRC Press}}</ref> The zinc vapor is collected in a condenser.<ref name="Zinchand"/> Electrowinning processing leaches zinc from the ore concentrate by [[sulfuric acid]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Hydrometallurgy in Extraction Processes|last1=Gupta|first1=C. K.|last2=Mukherjee|first2=T. K.|page=62|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-0-8493-6804-2|year=1990}}</ref> After this step [[electrolysis]] is used to produce zinc metal.<ref name="Zinchand"/>

Cadmium is a common impurity in zinc ores, and it is most isolated during the production of zinc. Some zinc ores concentrates from sulfidic zinc ores contain up to 1.4% of cadmium.<ref name="Cd-Trend">{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=okArAAAAYAAJ| title = Trends in Usage of Cadmium: Report|publisher = National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences-National Academy of Engineering|author = ((National Research Council, Panel on Cadmium, Committee on Technical Aspects of Critical and Strategic Material))|year = 1969|pages = 1–3}}</ref>  Cadmium is isolated from the zinc produced from the flue dust by [[vacuum distillation]] if the zinc is smelted, or cadmium sulfate is [[precipitate]]d out of the electrolysis solution.<ref>{{cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9yzN-QGag_8C&pg=PA104 | pages= 104–116 | title = Mercury, cadmium, lead: handbook for sustainable heavy metals policy and regulation | isbn = 978-1-4020-0224-3 | author1 = Scoullos, Michael J | date = 2001-12-31| publisher= Springer }}</ref>

The richest mercury ores contain up to 2.5% mercury by mass, and even the leanest concentrated deposits are at least 0.1% mercury, with cinnabar (HgS) being the most common ore in the deposits.<ref>{{cite journal |doi= 10.1007/s00254-002-0629-5|title=Mercury from mineral deposits and potential environmental impact |author=Rytuba, James J. |journal=Environmental Geology|volume=43|issue=3|pages=326–338|year=2003|bibcode=2003EnGeo..43..326R |s2cid=127179672 }}</ref>
Mercury is extracted by heating cinnabar in a current of air and condensing the vapor.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4AV2Wds_NZAC&pg=PA865 |pages=865–866 |title=Fundamentals of air pollution |isbn=978-0-12-373615-4 |author1=Vallero, Daniel A. |year=2008|publisher=Elsevier }}</ref>

[[Superheavy element]]s such as copernicium are produced by bombarding lighter elements in [[particle accelerator]]s that induces [[fusion reaction]]s. Whereas most of the isotopes of copernicium can be synthesized directly this way, some heavier ones have only been observed as decay products of elements with higher [[atomic number]]s.<ref name=fusion>{{cite journal|last1=Barber|first1=Robert C.| last2=Gäggeler| first2=Heinz W.| last3=Karol| first3=Paul J.| last4=Nakahara| first4=Hiromichi| last5=Vardaci|  first5=Emanuele|last6=Vogt| first6=Erich|title=Discovery of the element with atomic number 112 (IUPAC Technical Report)|journal=Pure and Applied Chemistry| volume=81| issue=7| page=1331| year=2009| doi=10.1351/PAC-REP-08-03-05|s2cid=95703833|url=http://doc.rero.ch/record/297412/files/pac-rep-08-03-05.pdf}}</ref> The first fusion reaction to produce copernicium was performed by GSI in 1996, who reported the detection of two decay chains of copernicium-277 (though one was later retracted, as it had been based on data fabricated by [[Victor Ninov]]):<ref name="Hoffman"/>

:{{nuclide|link=yes|lead|208}} + {{nuclide|link=yes|zinc|70}} → {{nuclide|copernicium|277}} + {{SubatomicParticle|link=yes|Neutron}}