Natural sources[edit]
Borax "cottonball"
Borax occurs naturally in evaporite deposits produced by the repeated evaporation of seasonal lakes. The most commercially important deposits are found in Turkey; Boron, California; and Searles Lake, California. Also, borax has been found at many other locations in the Southwestern United States, the Atacama desert in Chile, newly discovered deposits in Bolivia, and in Tibet and Romania. Borax can also be produced synthetically from other boron compounds. Naturally occurring borax, (known by the trade name Rasorite – 46 in the United States and many other countries) is refined by a process of recrystallization.[13]