Discovery of Zinc

Zinc ores have been used to make brass (a mixture of copper and zinc) and other alloys since ancient times.

A zinc alloy comprising 87.5% zinc was discovered in an ancient site in Transylvania.

Zinc smelting began in the 12th century in India by reducing calamine (zinc carbonate, ZnCO₃) with wool and other organic materials.

The element name is reported to come from the old German word ‘zinke’ meaning pointed; a reference to the sharp pointed crystals formed after smelting.

Credit for isolating the metal is usually given to Andreas Marggraf in 1746, in Berlin. He heated a mixture of calamine ore and carbon in a closed vessel without copper to produce the metal.