Niobium:

Mining, Production and Applications

Niels Cautaerts Mikael Sandell Khalid Hannan Pengcheng Cao Miranda Jing

P r o c e s s E n g i n e e r i n g , K T H , 2 0 1 3

Materials Science, KTH, 2013

Mining, Production and Applications of Niobium

Niels Cautaerts, Mikael Sandell, Khalid Hannan, Pengcheng Cao, Miranda Jing
Abstract The process of mining, extraction and production of Niobium metal and its alloys are discussed. The worldwide economic impact of its applications is evaluated. The possibility of Sweden playing a role in Niobium production is investigated.

Contents
Introduction 1 Discovery, Mining and Processing (Khalid) 1 1

1. Discovery, Mining and Processing (Khalid)

1.1 Discovery Niobium was named after the character from Greek mythology Niobe, daughter of Tantalus, a character which could not drink. It was named so because of its occurrence with tantalum and sharing similar properties. Niobium belongs to group ve and sits just above tantalum in the periodic table. Niobium was rst discovered by English chemist Charles Hatchett in 1801. It was rst found in American ore which had been sent to England and it was named columbium. Later in 1846, German chemist Henrich Rose discovered it independently and named it niobium which is the name that later in 1950 was adopted by IUPAC. Since niobium shares very similar physical and chemical properties with tantalum they are hard to distinguish [4]. 1.2 Properties Niobium is a shiny, greyish white, ductile and paramagnetic metal. In air, it forms an oxide layer and due to this oxide layer it has good corrosion resistance properties. It also exhibits good superconductive characteristics. It has a very high melting (2468C) and boiling point (4930 C). Despite having a high melting point, it has lower density than other refractory metals [2].

1.1 Discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.2 Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.3 Natural occurrence, mining and processing . . . . . . . 1 2 Production Processes (Niels) 2 2.1 Ore concentration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2.2 Chemical separation from Tantalum . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2.3 Aluminothermic reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2.4 Other reduction and purication mechanisms . . . . . . 4 2.5 Forming and heat treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3 Properties and Applications (Miranda) 4 3.1 Physical Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3.2 Chemical Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3.3 Applications of Niobium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Superconducting Materials Numismatics Cathodic Protection

3.4 Properties of Niobium Alloys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3.5 Applications of Niobium Alloys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Arc Welding Superconducting Magnets Surgical Implants

Global consumption, Reserves, Environmental impact and other aspects of Niobium (Pengcheng) 5

4.1 Global consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4.2 Reserves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 4.3 Environmental Impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 4.4 Other aspects about Niobium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Price Recycling Health Impact

Producing Niobium in Sweden (Mikael)

7 7

References

Introduction
Niobium, a chemical element with the symbol Nb and atomic number 41, is a soft and rare transition metal which is used as an alloying agent in high grade steel production [1]. Steel alloyed with niobium becomes stronger, lighter in weight and can withstand highly corrosive environment. Thus, steel containing niobium has a wide range of use in automotive, gas pipeline and construction industries [2].

Figure 1. Niobium in its natural state

1.3 Natural occurrence, mining and processing Niobium, as an elemental metal, is not found in nature. Rather, it occurs in various minerals. Niobium containing minerals contain also tantalum and their oxides are present in earths crust. Niobium minerals in deposits are most often blended with igneous rocks [5]. Pyrochlore and columbite

Mining, Production and Applications of Niobium 2/8

Table 1. Different Niobium minerals Mineral Pyrochlore Niobite Euxenite Samarskite Chemical formula (Na, Ca)2 (Nb,Ta)2 O6 (OH,F) (Fe, Mn) (Nb,Ta)2 O6 (Y,Ca,Ce,U,Th)(Nb,Ta,Ti)2 O6 (Y,Ce,U,Ca,Fe,Pb,Th)(Nb,Ta,Ti,Sn)2 O6 Crystalline form Cubic Ortho-rhombic Ortho-rhombic Ortho-rhombic, dipyramidal Density g/cm3 4.3 5.3 5.0 5.0 % Nb2 O5 63.6 78.0 41.4 46.4

Table 2. Mine production in tons per year. [3] Country Brazil Canada World 2002 26000 3410 29900 2003 29000 3280 32800 2004 29900 3400 34000 2005 35000 3310 38700 2006 40000 4167 44500 2007 57300 3020 60400 2008 58000 4380 62900 2009 58000 4330 62900 2010 58000 4420 62900 2011 58000 4400 63000

(niobite) are the main minerals from which niobium is extracted. Other minerals containing niobium are Betate, Euxenite, Samarskite and Struverite [6]. Pyrochlore is mined for its niobium content. When columbite is mined, niobium can be extracted as a byproduct. The largest deposits of niobium were found in Brazil and Canada and both of these two countries account for most of niobium production (2001) [7]. Two of the worlds largest deposits namely the Arax a and the Catal ao deposits are located in Brazil and owned by CBMM and AngloAmerican. IAMGOLD Corporation owns the third largest deposit which is located in Quebec, Canada. Arax as reserve of pyrochlore is about 460 million tons which is sufcient to meet worlds demand for about 500 years. Mining of Arax as pyrochlore ore grades between 2-3% of Nb2O5. Catal ao has a reserve of 18 million tons of pyrochlore and its content of Nb2O5 is about 1.34%. Canadas Niobec mine has a reserve of about 18000 tons of pyrochlore. The largest niobite mining is in operation in Pitinga, Brazil. Reserves are estimated to 201 million tons at 0.223% of Nb2O5 [6]. Open pit mining is the method that is prevalent in Brazil while Niobec mine in Canada, is the only underground mine in the world. Open pit mining hardly exceeds 100 meters. When the deposit becomes too deep and open pit mining becomes very expensive then underground mining is used. Waste to ore ratio or strip ratio is another decisive factor for choosing underground mining. Open pit mining becomes economically less feasible once the ratio becomes large. Reason for using different mining process depends also on the physical and chemical properties of the ore mineral, the tonnage and grade, the shape, depth and geometry of the ore body [5]. Once the ore is mined, it is then ground nely and beneciated by otation and high intensity magnetic separation to get rid of the iron minerals [2]. Once separated from other minerals, the mixed oxides of tantalum and niobium are obtained and in a subsequent stage are treated with hydrouoric acid. Thus complex niobium and tantalum uorides are formed and these uorides are extracted from aqueous solution by using organic solvents. Later, these complex uorides can either be precipitated as potassium uoride complex or as pentoxides

by the addition of ammonia. These steps are followed by washing, ltration and calcination to oxide [8]. Nitric acid is used in Canada to remove apatite while in Brazil, reduction of barium, phosphorus and sulphur content is being done by a chloride leach process. After this physical processing, a pyrochlore concentrate grading 55-60% Nb2 O5 is achieved [2]. Two separate methods are used during niobium production; aluminothermic process or by reduction in an electric arc furnace. The company CBMM can produce very pure oxides which can be used to produce vacuum grade ferroniobium, nickelniobium as well as metal ingots after electron beam treatment [6]. Nb2 O5 can be used as the starting material for the production of a variety compounds such as niobium chloride (NbCl5 ), niobium carbide (NbC) or lithium niobate (LiNbO3 ). Niobium metal manufactured by aluminothermic reduction of the oxide is followed by electron beam rening. Niobium pulver can be prepared by the reduction of K2 NbF7 with sodium or by the reduction of niobium oxide with magnesium [6]. A simplied process steps for manufacturing of niobium in CBMM is presented in gure 2.

Figure 2. process steps in niobium production at CBMM facility

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2. Production Processes (Niels)

The type of processes following the mining of the mineral will depend heavily on the type of mineral, the types of rock present, as well as the purpose the Niobium will serve. 2.1 Ore concentration Physical and chemical processing of the ores will be mostly dependant on the type of mineral. Since 99% of Niobium mining is located in Canada and Brazil [5], and since in both of these locations the main source of Niobium is Pyrochlore, the focus here will be on Pyrochlore enrichment. Niobec, a mine and IAMGOLD company located in Quebec, Canada, produces ferroniobium bij mining pyrochlore, concentrating Nb2 O5 , then reducing the oxide by an aluminothermic reaction [9]. Their proces, detailed here, is comprised of a series of physical and hydrometallurgical steps summarized in gure 3. First the ore must go through a series of crushers and grinders to produce a ne dust. The crushed rock is then mixed with water to make a slurry, which is fed through a series of cyclones to remove slime comprised of very small particles of the order 10 m. This is done to facilitate the froth otation process that follows. The slime overow is sent to a water recovery unit. Some noibium is inevitably lost in this process. The underow, rid of slime, is mixed with sodium silicate and a specic fatty acid surfactant, and then fed to a oatation cell. First oatation is carried out to remove carbonates. The surfactant attaches preferably to the calcium carbonate particles and causes them to oat up so they can be scrapped off the surface, separating it from other particles. This oatation process must be repeated a number of times to achieve a good removal. Carbonate must selectively be removed rst, otherwise it would oat up along with the pyrochlore in a following step. What is left is then sent to oatation cells to oat of pyrochlore in the same manner. Here tallow diamine acetate is used as surfactant. Pyrochlore has very similar surface properties to other common minerals and rocks, therefore the choice of collector and pH must be very specic. Suldes still oat with the pyrochlore however; they must be oated of with another specic surfactant: PAX. The slurry is then sent into a tank where it is leached with HCl to remove trace phosphates. Another oatation for removal of suldes is then implemented before the slurry is sent to a dryer where all moisture is removed. If the ore also contains signicant amounts of iron, a magnetic separation step can also be inserted [5]. 2.2 Chemical separation from Tantalum Pyrochlore is a mineral that contains very little Tantalum, and thus for standard grade Ferroniobium this impurity is tolerable. In other minerals however, Niobium and Tantalum are often found together, and since some niche applications require very high purities in the metal, a chemical process must sometimes be employed to separate the two oxides. Both metals have very similar chemical properties so this is difcult to achieve. First the ore concentrates are dissolved in a mixture of hydrouoric

Figure 3. Pyrochlore concentration process

and sulfuric acid. Adding a substance like isobutyl ketone extracts both metals to the organic liquid phase. This has as added advantage that other impurities such as iron are left behind in the aqueous phase [5]. Adding sulfuric acid will remove the niobium from solution but not the tantalum [1]. Many more processes, both industrial and lab scale, exist, and they are detailed in Wilkinsons [10] and Ayanda and Adecolas work [11]. 2.3 Aluminothermic reduction After an oxide concentrate is obtained, there exist many ways to reduce it to the metalic form. The method used depends on the required purity for the application the Niobium will be used for. Since 75-80% by weight of worldwide Niobium production goes into making ferroniobium [2] (a concentrated alloy of iron and niobium) the focus here will be on the Aluminothermic process. At Niobec [9], to reduce the pyrochlore concentrate, it is added to the converter, together with aluminum akes and a source of iron oxide. Sodium nitrate is also added. It is an oxidizer that helps move the reaction forward. Calcium oxide is also added to reduce the fusion point of the slag that will be formed during the reaction. The slag will consist mostly of aluminum oxide. In gure 4 it can be seen that adding the right amount of calcium oxide reduces the melting point of aluminum oxide signicantly, allowing the slag to stay liquid longer which facilitates a better separation from the metal. The mixture of oxides and aluminum is then lit to reduce the Niobium and Iron into metallic form according to the following reactions. Fe2 O3 +2Al Al2 O3 +2Fe 3Nb2 O5 +10Al 5Al2 O3 +6Nb

Mining, Production and Applications of Niobium 4/8

Figure 4. CaO-Al2 O3 phase diagram (www.npl.co.uk) The intense heat generated in these reactions allows the mixture to be liquid sufciently long for the slag and metallic phase to separate. Upon solidication, the slag is dumped back into the ground and the ingot with 60-70% Nb is shipped off for further processing. The converter can then again be charged. 2.4 Other reduction and purication mechanisms There exist multiple methods of reducing the concentrated ore. The aluminothermic method sufces for ferroniobium but is insufcient for where higher grades of purity are required. Niobium can also be reduced with carbon for example [10]. First cokes are let to react under vacuum and at 1800C with niobium oxide to produce niobium carbide. This then is reacted again with niobium oxide to produce niobium metal. Nb2 O5 +5NbC 5CO+7Nb While the aluminothermic reaction produces a solid brittle ingot, the reduction with carbon produces a niobium sponge. There also exists an electrolytic way to reduce the Niobium. KCl, KF, K2 NbF7 and a small amount of Nb2 O5 are fused at 750C and a current is applied. The niobium then deposits as a solid onto the electrodes. The output from the aluminothermic method (without addition of iron) can also be subjected to electron beam rening to achieve higher purity. More detailed and less common ways of reduction are detailed in Wilkinsons work [10]. 2.5 Forming and heat treatments Once the metal has been made, either as niobium or ferroniobium, forming procedures and heat treatments may be employed. Ferroniobium ingots are often crushed into smaller

bits and these are then added to electric arc furnaces together with steel to produce HSLA steel used in construction. Niobium as trace alloying element in this application is its main worldwide use, even at concentrations of 0.1% by weight. Niobium forms a carbide which pins grain boundaries and thus acts as a grain rener. It can also form precipitates to improve strength [12]. The increase in strength is so signicant that a lot less steel has to be used than if Niobium wasnt an alloying agent. For example, the bridge connecting Sweden and Denmark contains .022% Niobium, but that meant that 15 kilotons of steel were saved. [2]. Typically, Niobium steels are subjected to controlled rolling, which is a process in which the forming and heat treatment are combined. In this process, recrystalization takes place and the Niobium precipitates form. Plates and bars are made for use in construction. These can be welded as well as joined mechanically with bolts or rivets [12]. Niobium not alloyed with steel is used in making superalloys, containing nickel, titanium, zirconium and other rare metals for aerospace applications. Details on workability and heat treatments of these alloys are difcult to nd, with some detailed in papers collected in reference [13]. Pure Niobium is almost never used, save for in niche applications such as jewelry.

3. Properties and Applications (Miranda)

Figure 5. A piece of niobium metal)

Niobium, formerly called Columbium(Cb), is a chemical element with the symbol Nb and its standard state is solid at 298K. 3.1 Physical Properties Being a transition metal in the group 5 of the periodic table, Niobium possesses the following properties: soft (it relies on the purity: purer means softer), lustrous and ductile. When a magnetic eld is applied, it will be attracted. This is called the property of paramagnetism. Generally, most of the transitional metal could be used as superconductor, as is the case with Niobium. When the

Mining, Production and Applications of Niobium 5/8

Table 3. Properties of Niobium [14] Symbol Atomic Number Atomic Weight Melting Point Boiling Point Density of Solid Crystal Structure Nb 41 92.91 2750 K 5017 K 8570 kg m3 Cubic

alloys are strong so they are used in pipe construction while others with high-temperature-resistance and high-stability are usually used for nuclear reactors, jets, missiles, cutting tools, supermagnets and welding rods [16].
3.5.1 Arc Welding

Acting as a stabilizer, Niobium is added in the welding material and forms a steady carbide to increase the welding ability and the corrosion-resistance of the welding line.
3.5.2 Superconducting Magnets

temperature is low enough to reach 9.2K, it becomes superconducting and the level of this depends on the purity. In addition, Niobium has another property that makes it being used in the nuclear industries: the low capture crosssection for thermal neutrons [3]. 3.2 Chemical Properties At a high temperature, Niobium begins to oxidize and when being exposed to the air for a long period, it takes on a color of light blue. Furthermore, it has the ability to withstand the chemical breakdown under specic environment by forming dielectric oxide layers. 3.3 Applications of Niobium
3.3.1 Superconducting Materials

Niobium alloys (mostly Niobium-Tin, Niobium-Germanium and Niobium-Titanium alloys) help to visualize the internal structures and image nuclei of atoms in MRI (magnetic resonance imaging ) and NMRI (nuclear magnetic resonance instruments). The other usage is in the particle accelerators, where these superconducting magnets accelerate the particle to a specic velocity under a certain time.
3.5.3 Surgical Implants

Niobium alloys are physiologically inert and thus hypoallergenic, so they are used in surgical implants since they have no reaction with human tissue.

Since having the property of superconductivity, Niobium is widely used in the particle accelerators. It can activate a huge accelerating electric eld with a relatively small amount of power and this superior property reduces the size of the accelerator [15].
3.3.2 Numismatics

4. Global consumption, Reserves, Environmental impact and other aspects of Niobium (Pengcheng)
4.1 Global consumption According to a report by the IAMGOLD Corporation, producers of Standard-Grade Ferroniobium hold a 90.2% share of the niobium market [2]. Standard-Grade Ferroniobium is applied mostly in steel production. Therefore, the steel industry is the major consumer of niobium. Figure 6 shows the market shares of different niobium products.

Mixed with gold and silver, Niobium is often used to make commemorative coins. Due to the typical and special color after oxidizing, it adds value and signicance to the coins.
3.3.3 Cathodic Protection

To prolong the service life of platinum-plated water tanks, Niobium is used in the anodes to form an electrochemical system. It is more active so that the cathode(Platinum) wont react with the air, in other words, the cathode can be protected. 3.4 Properties of Niobium Alloys Niobium is used mostly in alloys and it improves the strength of the steel although the content of Nb is normally less than 0.1%. Adding niobium to the steel results in the formation of niobium carbide and niobium nitride existing in the alloy and these compounds improve the grain rening, retardation of recrystallization, and the rate of hardening of the steel. These improvements further increase the toughness, strength, formability, and weld ability of the alloys. 3.5 Applications of Niobium Alloys Niobium is mainly used for the production of high-temperatureresistant alloys and special stainless steels. Some of these

Figure 6. Proportions of Niobium Market [2]) In 2011, the global consumption of Ferroniobium is over 90,718 tons, and it is growing at 5% to 7% per year [17]. The growth of global demand for niobium is driven by two

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main factors: First of all, since the steel industry is the major consumer of niobium, a demand for steel drives a demand for niobium. Chart 7 shows the ferroniobium consumption and steel production from 2000 to 2010. It is obvious that the ferroniobium consumption is tightly connected with steel production. This also means that economic growth plays an important role in niobium consumption because it is highly correlated with transportation, construction and oil and gas sectors, which are the largest consumers of steel.

Figure 7. Ferroniobium consumption and steel production, 2000-2010 [2]) Secondly, focusing on the amount of niobium used in every ton of steel, increasing quantity is being added in order to produce higher grade of steel. With developments of new technology, industrial standards, energy saving requirements, etc., consumers require steel products of higher quality. Therefore, steel producers have been increasing niobium addition into their products due to the benets from niobiums addition to the steels properties. In order to produce higher grades of steel, 40 grams of ferroniobium were added per ton in 2000 and it went up to 63 grams by 2008 [2]. Concerning the future of the niobium market, the steel industry will still be the major consumer for a long time. In the meantime, it is noteworthy that BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) will be an important element in the future niobium market, especially China, who has the fastest economic growth and largest steel production. In 2010, global GDP increased by 5.1% largely due to strong performance by the BRICS economies which grew 8.8% [2]. As is discussed above, a positive economic outlook guarantees high demand for steel products. The GDP growth of the BRICS countries is fuelling the demand for steel products and consequently inuences the demand for niobium. Chart 8 and Chart 9 indicate the percentage of BRICS steel production in 2012 and the rising trend from 2010 to 2013 based on statistics of World Steel Association. 4.2 Reserves Niobium resources mostly locate in Brazil and Canada. However, other countries also own unquantied niobium resources, including Egypt, Malawi, Greenland, Russia, Mongolia, Congo, Finland, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Mozambique and etc. Specially in some countries like Mozambique and Congo, the reserves were radioactive which were quite dangerous for mining. The total amount of global niobium ore reserves, in-

Figure 8. Compare of steel production between BRICS countries and the rest of the world in 2012 [18]) cluding proved and probable, are estimated to be 485 million tons with about 93 percent in Brazil. [5]. Table 10 indicates three major reserves and the total amount. 4.3 Environmental Impact Mining of columbite can environmental problems. For example, based on a research on Environmental effect of mineral exploitation in Nigeria [19], the mining of columbite has caused a number of environmental damages, including air, land and water pollution, damage of vegetation, ecological disturbance, landscape degradation, geological and radiation hazards. 4.4 Other aspects about Niobium
4.4.1 Price

Chart 11 presents the price performance of niobium from 2000 to 2010. It shows that the price uctuated between US$12.38 and 14.50 in the rst half of 2000s. After 2005, the price began to soar due to the rise of steel production. It peaked at US$36.75 in 2008 and remained at about US$32. Since the demand for niobium continues to boom, the price is not expected to have a distinct drop.
4.4.2 Recycling

20% of niobium consumption is estimated to be recycled. It is recycled from niobium-bearing steels and super alloys [20]. However, the amount of niobium recycled from scrap recovery is limited.
4.4.3 Health Impact

According to the website of Lenntech [16], inhaled niobium is retained mainly in the lungs and bones, interfering with calcium as an activator of enzyme systems. When people

Mining, Production and Applications of Niobium 7/8

Figure 11. Niobium price performance from 2000 to 2010 [2])

Figure 9. Percentages of BRICS steel production in the world from 2010 to 2013(Aug) [18])

Figure 10. Major niobium ore reserves and its total amount [5]) are exposed at 40mg/m3 of niobium nitride, it could lead to scarring of the lungs after inhalation. Meanwhile, tantalum and niobium minerals such as Coltan are considered to contain some levels of thorium and uranium, usually high enough to be considered radioactive. Figure 12. Map of Swedish deposits which contain niobium and tantalum ores)

ore is pegmatite. Holmsl attmyren contain betate ores which contain niobium, tantalum and uranium. However the amount of betate 5. Producing Niobium in Sweden (Mikael) ore in Holmsl attmyren is low due to the fact that the main ore in that deposit is made up of nepheline syenite. Also the In Sweden currently niobium is not produced. There are uranium makes the ores radioactive. several deposits available throughout the country containing Investigations of a deposit at Akersj on show a presence both niobium and tantalum ores [6]. Figure 12 shows deposits of alkaline ores as well as heightened levels of radioactivity. in Sweden where both niobium and tantalum ores are present. The presence of niobium has not been conrmed and what is The deposits in the area surrounding Ostersund and Sundsvall causing the radioactivity has yet to be established. contain ve deposits; R aggen, J arkvissle, Orrvik, GammodOlserum, one of the larger deposits, mainly consists of berget and Stockberget, which contain columbite mineralizamagnetite with a content of 300 ppm of niobium. Other than tion. R aggen and J arkvissle contain ore deposits of 200000 that the deposit also consists of 0,8 % rare metals, such as and 600000 tonnes respectively, however the percentage of cerium and yttrium, and some of the present ores contain niobium is not known. J arkvissles main ores are pegmatite, uranium and thorium. spodumene-petalite and cassiterite. Orrviks is almost the same but with spodumene instead of the micture spodumeneThe deposit at Ut o in the archipelago of Stockholm mainly petalite. R aggens, Gammodbergets and Stockbergets main consists of pegmatite but also some amount of niobium bear-

Mining, Production and Applications of Niobium 8/8

ing ores. Varutr ask consists mainly of pegmatite as well but contain some columbite enclosed in the other ores. Despite having these available deposits it is not economically viable to start mining it in Sweden both due to the fact that it is more cost efcient to import it from other countries and that the rening process of the ores in Sweden doesnt produce an acceptable percentage of niobium. A test mining was done on 20 kg of ore from Holmsl attmyren and after several trials using otation it was found that it was hard to nd an enrichment process that would obtain a product containing more than 20 % Nb2 O5 . This percentage is not economically feasible to mine and rene further. It is also a fact that the deposits that currently exist in Brazil will be enough to maintain the global needs for another 500 years so the economic incentive to start mining for niobium in Sweden is practically nonexistent. Other than the economic aspects, the radioactivity that is present in some of the deposits make up another problem that needs to be dealt with in order to commence the mining of niobium ores.

[13]

The science and technology of tungsten, tantalum, molybdenum, niobium and their alloys, 1963. Niobium: the essentials. webelements.com/niobium/. 2013-10-03. http://www. Accessed:

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T. F. Stromberg* D. K. Finnemore and C. A. Swenson. Superconducting properties of high-purity niobium. Phys. Rev., 149(1):231243, 1966. Niobium - nb. http://www.lenntech.com/ periodic/elements/nb.htm. Accessed: 201310-03. Brazil: Niobium, national mineral wealth at knock off prices. http:// globalvoicesonline.org/2011/10/29/ brazil-niobium-wealth-price/. Accessed: 2013-10-03. Crude steel production. http:// www.worldsteel.org/statistics/ Accessed: crude-steel-production.html. 2013-10-03. I Aigbedion and S. E Iyayi. Environmental effect of mineral exploitation in nigeria. International Journal of Physical Sciences, 2(2):033038, 2007. John F. Papp. Niobium (columbium). Technical report, U.S. Geological Survey, January 2013.

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