Boron:

Boron was discovered by Joseph Gay-Lussac and Louis Thénard, French chemists,  and independently by Sir Humphry Davy, a British chemist, in 1808 
Boron is a hard, brittle semi_metallic element.

Chemical Symbol :  B
Atomic number   :   5
Atomic weight    :  10.81
Melting Point      :  2348 K 
Boiling Point       :  4273 K

Boron Minerals:

Boron does not occur in nature as free element, crude borax occurs in nature as a mineral with associated clay and other impurities.There are over 200 naturally occuring boron containing minerals but the most commercially important and frequently traded minerals (salts, known as borates) are tincal  colemanite, ulexite and kernite . These ores can be refined into a pure chemical  compounds of commercial importance are:

Boric acid                 H₃BO₃
Anhydrous boric acid  B₂O₃
Anhydrous borax        Na₂B₄O₇
Borax pentahydrate    Na₂B₄O₇.10H₂O
Borax decahydrate     Na₂B₄O₇.5H₂O
Sodium Perborate       Na₂B₄O₇.5H₂O
 

some commercially important boron minerals

Tincal           Na₂B₄O₇.10H₂O
Kernite          Na₂B₄O₇.4H₂O
Colemanite     Ca₂B₆O₁₁.5H₂O
Ulexite          NaCaB₅O₉.8H₂O
Datolite         Ca₂B₂O₅.Si₂O₅.H₂O
Hydroboracite  CaMgB₆O₁₁.6H₂O

Turkey is the largest producer of boron ore in the world.  İmportant boron minerals of Turkey's are tincal, colemanite and ulexite. Boron minerals contain different amount of B₂O₃ in their structures. The important factor for industrial application of boron minerals are B₂O₃ content, so they can replace each other in use . This means that one boron mineral can be trade competiter the other one.

Boron minerals can be used in some sectors in the industry as crude minerals. In general, their applications after refining and end-products are wider than crude ones. Borates find use in a different sectors, however the principal markets are: Agriculture, detergents and soaps, flame retardants,glass, glazes, frits , enamels and insulation.

Boron Reserves
In the world, Turkey, USA and Russia have the important boron mines. In terms of total reserve basis, Turkey has a share of %72.20, the other important country USA is %6.8.
Total world boron reserves on the basis of B₂O₃ content are 369 million tons proven. 807 million tones probable and possible, as a total of 1,176 million tons. With a share of %72.20, Turkey has a total boron reserves of  851 million tons on the basis of B₂O₃ content .

World Boron Reserves  (Thousand Tons - B₂O₃)