Zinc, also known as spelter, is a metallic element which is used all across modern communities. Aside from being an important industrial metal, the commodity is also an important mineral to the human body, as a zinc deficiency can cause major health problems. The metal is typically found with other base metals, like copper, and is also a founding component in the Earth’s crust. Estimates of zinc resources total to approximately 1.9 billion tonnes worldwide, making this important metal an abundant resource. In fact, zinc is the fourth most popular common metal in use, with a global annual production of around 10 million tonnes. As an investment, zinc has steadily gained popularity as a way to play global markets due to the fact that this metal is so commonly used in not only the industrial world, but other aspects essential to everyday life [see also Commodity Investing: Physical vs. Futures].