Lead is a soft, malleable, ductile, dense metallic element, extracted chiefly from the mineral galena and found in ore that also contains zinc, silver and copper. The chemical properties of lead mean that its principal use today is for power storage and delivery applications.
The primary use of lead is in lead-acid batteries for motor vehicles (80% of total use), but it is also used in a variety of different applications, such as stationary batteries (for backup power), pigments and ammunition.