Niobium is used in the production of high-temperature resistant alloys and special stainless steels, as well as high strength low alloy carbon steels. Its uses include sophisticated applications in the construction, automotive, aerospace, shipbuilding and oil and gas industries, such as the construction of bridges, steel structures for buildings and pipelines.
In its pure metal form, niobium is incredibly versatile. It goes into superconducting magnets such as those used to propel trains powered by magnetic levitation (maglev), hospital magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners, and even the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva. Niobium is increasingly used in mobile phone circuitry and as an additive to the glass used in camera and spectacle lenses. It is completely inert inside the human body, making it a key ingredient in hypo-allergenic jewellery and heart pacemakers.
Demand for niobium is strengthening, mainly on the back of increased use in steel-making and electronics. China takes about one-third of Anglo American’s output. Globally, demand for standard grade ferroniobium is expected to grow by 6-7% per year, to around 80,000 tonnes a year by 2017. With the market for mobile phones and computers expanding, niobium could also become the element of choice in micro-capacitors.
