What is niobium alloys used for?

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.

What is niobium alloy made of?

The most common commercial niobium alloys are ferroniobium and nickel-niobium, produced by thermite reduction of appropriate mixtures of the oxides; these are not usable as engineering materials, but are used as convenient sources of niobium for specialist steels and nickel-based superalloys.

What is the price of niobium?

Currently, niobium prices range from US$45 per kilogram (US$45,000 per tonne) for standard ferroniobium metal and greater than US$50 per kilogram for niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5).

Where can I get niobium?

Niobium (Resource)

Location Distance Percentage ↥
Lung » Lung 3 (15ls) 15.48ly 1.5% Niobium
Luhman 16 » Luhman 16 A 1 (7ls) 6.57ly 1.5% Niobium
LHS 3595 » LHS 3595 E 8 (23ls) 23.02ly 1.5% Niobium
LHS 3531 » LHS 3531-I (20ls) 20.22ly 1.5% Niobium

Is niobium a precious metal?

While it’s not a precious metal (that honor goes to gold, platinum, palladium and silver), its value is more than that of silver and it’s definitely valued much higher than industrial metals such as tungsten, titanium or stainless steel.

Is niobium worth anything?

Pricing. Niobium is typically used in the structural steel industry, the chemical industry, or the super and master alloy industries. Currently, niobium prices range from US$45 per kilogram (US$45,000 per tonne) for standard ferroniobium metal and greater than US$50 per kilogram for niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5).

Where can you find niobium?

Sources. The element is found in niobite (or columbite), niobite-tantalite, parochlore, and euxenite. Large deposits of niobium have been found associated with carbonatites (carbon-silicate rocks), as a constituent of parochlore. Extensive ore reserves are found in Canada, Brazil, Nigeria, Zaire, and in Russia.

Is niobium a critical mineral?

Niobium is one of a suite of commodities identified by the Australian Government as critical minerals2, i.e., minerals (or elements) considered vital for the well-being of the world’s economies, yet whose supply may be at risk of disruption. Niobium is essential for advanced technology.

How much is niobium worth?

Can you hammer niobium?

Blanking and Punching. Dies and punches made of steels generally used for punching and blanking are satisfactory for niobium.