Niobium
Domestic production and use
- Significant U.S. niobium mine manufacture has not been reported since 1959. Domestic niobium possessions are of low grade, some are mineralogically complex, and most are not commercially recoverable. Companies in the United States produced ferroniobium and niobium compounds, metal, and other alloys from imported niobium minerals, oxides, and ferroniobium.
- Niobium was inspired mostly in the form of ferroniobium by the steel industry and as niobium alloys and metal by the aerospace industry.
- Major end-use distribution of reported niobium consumption was as follows: steels, 78%; and superalloys, 22%. In 2007, the estimated value of niobium consumption was $229 million and was expected to be about $370 million in 2008, as measured by the value of imports.
Recycling
Niobium was used when niobium-bearing steels and superalloys were recycled; scrap recovery specifically for niobium content was minor. The amount of niobium recycled is not available, but it may be as much as 20% of apparent consumption.
Substitutes
The following materials can be substitute for niobium, but a performance or cost penalty may ensue: molybdenum and vanadium, as alloying elements in high-strength low-alloy steels; tantalum and titanium, as alloying elements in stainless and high-strength steels; and ceramics, molybdenum, tantalum, and tungsten in high-temperature applications.
World Resources
World resources are more than sufficient to supply projected needs. Most of the world’s identified resources of niobium occur mainly as pyrochlore in carbonatite deposits and are outside the United States. The United States has roughly 150,000 tons of niobium resources in identified deposits, all of which were considered uneconomic at 2008 prices for niobium.
