Cobalt

**Symbol:** Co **Atomic number:** 27 **International name:** Cobalt **Relative Atomic Weight:** 58.933 **Description:** Cobalt is a shiny, very hard, solid grey metal with ferromagnetic properties, exhibiting spontaneous magnetization. **Applications:** Cobalt is used for alloying steel and the production of various alloys, magnets and jewelry. **Occurrence:** Cobalt is relatively rare in the Earth's crust. The most important minerals containing cobalt are smaltite (CoAs₃) and cobaltite (CoAsS). It is also a biogenic element (trace element) and is an essential component of vitamin B₁₂. **Structure:** Cobalt crystallizes in a hexagonal crystal system with a primitive unit cell configuration.