Group 9 element Group 9 element Group 9, numbered by IUPAC nomenclature, is a group of chemical element in the periodic table. Members are cobalt (Co), rhodium (Rh), iridium (Ir) and perhaps also the chemically uncharacterized meitnerium (Mt). These are all transition metals in the d-block. All known isotopes of meitnerium are radioactive with short half-lives, and it is not known to occur in nature; only minute quantities have been synthesized in laboratories. Like other groups, the members of this family show patterns in electron configuration, especially in the outermost shells, resulting in trends in chemical behavior; however, rhodium deviates from the pattern.
Cobalt B, the primary biological reservoir of cobalt as an ultratrace element. Bacteria in the stomachs of ruminant animals convert cobalt salts into vitamin B, a compound which can only be produced by bacteria or archaea. A minimal presence of cobalt in soils therefore markedly improves the health of grazing animals, and an uptake of 0.20 mg/kg a day is recommended because they have no other source of vitamin B. In the early 20th century, during the development of farming on the North Island Volcanic Plateau of New Zealand, cattle suffered from what was termed "bush sickness". It was discovered that