Cobalt(II) carbonate Like most transition metal carbonates, cobalt carbonate is insoluble in water, but is readily attacked by mineral acids: Cobalt carbonate is a precursor to cobalt carbonyl and various cobalt salts. It is a component of dietary supplements since cobalt is an essential element. It is a precursor to blue pottery glazes, famously in the case of Delftware. The moderately rare spherocobaltite is the natural form of cobalt carbonate, with good specimens coming especially from the Republic of Congo. "Cobaltocalcite" is a name used for a cobaltiferous calcite variety that is quite similar in habit to spherocobaltite. The compound is harmful
Cobalt radiation therapy. Cobalt-57 (Co-57 or Co) is a cobalt radioisotope most often used in medical tests, as a radiolabel for vitamin B uptake, and for the Schilling test. Cobalt-57 is used as a source in Mössbauer spectroscopy and is one of several possible sources in X-ray fluorescence devices. Nuclear weapon designs could intentionally incorporate Co, some of which would be activated in a nuclear explosion to produce Co. The Co, dispersed as nuclear fallout, is sometimes called a cobalt bomb. Cobalt is essential to the metabolism of all animals. It is a key constituent of cobalamin, also known as vitamin