Where is niobium commonly found

It is in greatest demand in industrialized countries, like the United States, because of its defense-related uses in the aerospace, energy and transportation industries. Niobium is used mostly to make high-strength, low-alloy HSLA steel and stainless steel.

HSLA steels are used in large-diameter pipes for oil and natural gas pipelines and automobile wheels. About 70 percent of U. Niobium-bearing microalloyed steels are used in automobiles, bridges, buildings, and oil and gas pipelines in applications where the strength-to-weight ratio is an important engineering consideration.

Niobium-bearing HSLA steels permit designers to reduce weight and fabrication cost. Niobium is used in cobalt-, iron- and nickel-base superalloys for jet-engine components, rocket subassemblies, and combustion equipment in applications where strength at high temperature is an important engineering consideration.

In nature, niobium is closely associated with tantalum in igneous carbonate rocks, most commonly carbonatite. It is usually found in the interior parts of zoned alkaline igneous complexes, commonly associated with minerals containing thorium, titanium, uranium and rare earth elements. It has chemical properties very similar to Tantalum Ta making it difficult to distinguish the two and it was only confirmed as a separate element by Charles Hatchett in It is most commonly found as pyrochlore - Na,Ca 2Nb2O6 OH,F and most of the niobium mined is sold as ferroniobium, an alloy of niobium and iron.

These high strength steels are mostly used in structures, pipelines and automotive applications. Its superconducting properties also make it an important element in the production of components for superconducting magnets, used in products such as MRI scanners and in particle accelerators including the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The RSC has been granted the sole and exclusive right and licence to produce, publish and further license the Images.

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Jump to main content. Periodic Table. Glossary Allotropes Some elements exist in several different structural forms, called allotropes. Discovery date Discovered by Charles Hatchett Origin of the name The name comes from Niobe from Greek mythology, who was the daughter of king Tantalus. This was chosen because of niobium's chemical similarity to tantalum Allotropes. Glossary Group A vertical column in the periodic table.

Fact box. Glossary Image explanation Murray Robertson is the artist behind the images which make up Visual Elements. Appearance The description of the element in its natural form. Biological role The role of the element in humans, animals and plants.

Natural abundance Where the element is most commonly found in nature, and how it is sourced commercially. Uses and properties. Image explanation. The propeller blades in the icon reflect the use of niobium and its alloys in the aviation industry. A silvery metal that is very resistant to corrosion due to a layer of oxide on its surface. Niobium is used in alloys including stainless steel.

It improves the strength of the alloys, particularly at low temperatures. Alloys containing niobium are used in jet engines and rockets, beams and girders for buildings and oil rigs, and oil and gas pipelines. This element also has superconducting properties. Niobium oxide compounds are added to glass to increase the refractive index, which allows corrective glasses to be made with thinner lenses. Biological role. Natural abundance.

The main source of this element is the mineral columbite. This mineral also contains tantalum and the two elements are mined together. Columbite is found in Canada, Brazil, Australia, Nigeria and elsewhere. Some niobium is also produced as a by-product of tin extraction. Help text not available for this section currently.

Elements and Periodic Table History. When examining minerals in the British Museum in , Charles Hatchett was intrigued by a specimen labelled columbite. He suspected it contained a new metal, and he was right. He heated a sample with potassium carbonate, dissolved the product in water, added acid and got a precipitate. However, further treatment did not produce the element itself, although he named it columbium, and so it was known for many years. Others doubted columbium, especially after the discovery of tantalum which happened the following year.

These metals occur together in nature, and are difficult to separate. In the German chemist Heinrich Rose proved that columbite contained both elements and he renamed columbium niobium. A sample of the pure metal was produced in by Christian Blomstrand who reduced niobium chloride by heating it with hydrogen gas. Atomic data. Glossary Common oxidation states The oxidation state of an atom is a measure of the degree of oxidation of an atom. Oxidation states and isotopes.

Glossary Data for this section been provided by the British Geological Survey. Relative supply risk An integrated supply risk index from 1 very low risk to 10 very high risk. Recycling rate The percentage of a commodity which is recycled. Substitutability The availability of suitable substitutes for a given commodity. Reserve distribution The percentage of the world reserves located in the country with the largest reserves.

Political stability of top producer A percentile rank for the political stability of the top producing country, derived from World Bank governance indicators. Political stability of top reserve holder A percentile rank for the political stability of the country with the largest reserves, derived from World Bank governance indicators. Supply risk. Relative supply risk 7. Young's modulus A measure of the stiffness of a substance. The 2. One such use for a superconducting magnet is in magnetic resonance imaging MRI or spectroscopy MRS , according to a patent.

The superconducting magnet uses niobium-titanium wire coils to create an initial magnetic field and additional coils of niobium-tin wire to create a secondary magnetic field. The two fields combine to create a stronger magnetic field that the more traditional niobium-titanium superconducting magnet. Live Science. Rachel Ross.