ORIGINAL PAPER
Niobium – a critical and conflict raw material of great economic significance – the state of the art
1
Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences
2
AGH University of Krakow, Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection
Submission date: 2024-01-03
Final revision date: 2024-03-28
Acceptance date: 2024-05-14
Publication date: 2024-06-24
Corresponding author
Gospodarka Surowcami Mineralnymi – Mineral Resources Management 2024;40(2):47-67
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
Scientific background of mineral resource managementResearch on mineral raw materials marketsOptimization of resources and reserves managementRational and efficient development and utilization of mineral resourcesMineral policyImpact of mineral raw materials industries on the environmentEconomics of mineral industriesRational use of mineral raw materials
ABSTRACT
The economic importance, global market, primary resources and secondary sources of niobium are discussed in this paper. Niobium concentrate is the first commercial product of the enrichment process; however, the overwhelming majority of the niobium concentrate supply is processed into ferroniobium, which dominates international trade. In this form, niobium raw materials are used in the steel industry as an alloying agent (alloy additive). The production of \oxides and other compounds of niobium, such as carbides, alloys and metallic niobium are currently of much less commercial significance. The addition of a very small amount of niobium, of the order of 0.01%, changes the properties of steel fundamentally, increasing its strength, resistance to atmospheric factors or high temperatures, etc. The addition of niobium in other products also changes their properties, e.g. permanent magnets become superconductors. As a result, niobium is currently widely used around the world as a component of sustainable technologies, which has a large positive impact on the environment by reducing the energy and material consumption of the manufacturing processes. The increase in the spectrum of niobium applications in advanced technologies, considered to be the technologies of the future, means that the widely recognized critical importance of niobium continues to grow. It can be assumed that the war between Ukraine and Russia will cause significant disturbances in the global metals market, including that for niobium.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to thank the anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful and constructive comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.
The article was prepared under the statutory research subvention of Polish Academy of Sciences and AGH University of Krakow, Poland (16.16.140.315).
METADATA IN OTHER LANGUAGES:
Polish
Niob – krytyczny i konfliktowy surowiec o dużym ekonomicznym znaczeniu – stan wiedzy
złoża kopalin, rynek niobu, minerały konfliktowe, bezpieczeństwo surowcowe
W artykule omówiono znaczenie gospodarcze, rynek światowy, surowce pierwotne i wtórne niobu. Koncentrat niobu jest pierwszym komercyjnym produktem procesu wzbogacania, jednak zdecydowana większość dostaw koncentratów niobu jest przetwarzana na żelazoniob, który dominuje w handlu międzynarodowym. W tej postaci niob jest stosowany w przemyśle stalowym jako dodatek stopowy. Produkcja tlenków i innych związków niobu, takich jak węgliki, stopy i niob metaliczny ma obecnie dużo mniejsze znaczenie komercyjne. Dodanie bardzo małej ilości niobu, rzędu 0,01%, zmienia zasadniczo właściwości stali, zwiększając jej wytrzymałość, odporność na czynniki atmosferyczne, wysokie temperatury itp. Obecność niobu w innych produktach zmienia także ich właściwości, m.in. magnesy trwałe stają się nadprzewodnikami. Dzięki temu niob jest obecnie szeroko stosowany na całym świecie jako składnik zrównoważonych technologii, który ma duży, pozytywny wpływ na środowisko, zmniejszając energochłonność i materiałochłonność procesów produkcyjnych. Zwiększenie spektrum zastosowań niobu w zaawansowanych technologiach, uznawanych za technologie przyszłości, powoduje, że powszechnie uznawany jest za surowiec krytyczny. Można przypuszczać, że wojna między Ukrainą a Rosją spowoduje istotne zaburzenia na światowym rynku metali, w tym niobu.
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