Niobium

Overview

Niobium is a transition metal that strengthens alloys, including at low temperatures. Alloys containing niobium are used in jet engines and rockets, in beams and girders for buildings and oil rigs, and in oil and gas pipelines. Niobium is also a superconductor and is used in superconducting magnets for particle accelerators and MRI scanners.¹ The element was first named columbium, and US publications kept that name until the 1950s.¹

Its main use is in steel. Very small additions refine the grain structure of steel and raise its yield and tensile strength without making it brittle.²

Niobium is critical because supply is extremely concentrated: Brazil accounts for about 93% of world mine production.³ It is on the US List of Critical Minerals and the EU list of critical raw materials, but it is not one of the EU's strategic raw materials.⁴⁵

Where it comes from

Most of the world's identified niobium resources are pyrochlore in carbonatites, igneous rocks made up mostly of carbonate minerals. Most of these deposits are outside the United States.³ Niobium also occurs with tantalum in columbite, and the two elements are mined together from that mineral.¹

World mine production was an estimated 112,000 t of niobium content in 2025, unchanged from 2024. Brazil produced about 93% and Canada about 5%. Smaller amounts came from Congo (Kinshasa), Russia and Rwanda.³

• Brazil104,000 t · 93%
• Canada6,000 t · 5%
• Congo (Kinshasa)970 t · <1%
• Other countries660 t · <1%

World total is the USGS rounded figure; the country estimates add up to 111,630 t. "Other countries" includes Russia, Rwanda and China. Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Niobium (Columbium)

Brazilian supply is dominated by CBMM, which reports capacity to produce 150,000 t of niobium products a year and supplies customers in more than 50 countries.⁶

Brazil also holds about two-thirds of known reserves. China reports the second-largest reserves, although it mines very little niobium.³ World resources are considered more than adequate to supply projected needs.³

• Brazil14,000,000 t · 66%
• China6,500,000 t · 30%
• Canada640,000 t · 3%
• United States210,000 t · <1%
• Russia3,000 t · <1%

World total shown is the sum of USGS country estimates; USGS gives it only as more than 21 million t. Reserves for Congo (Kinshasa), Rwanda and other producers are not available. Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Niobium (Columbium)

What it is used for

Steel is the dominant use. In the United States, steels took about 77% of niobium consumption in 2025 and superalloys about 23%. Steelmakers use it mostly as ferroniobium, while the aerospace industry uses niobium alloys and metal.³

{{chart:end-uses}}

In high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) and other microalloyed steels, niobium is effective from about 100 parts per million (0.010% by weight). Typical products include rebar, plate, beams and sections for construction.² Outside steel, niobium-based superconductors are used in MRI and NMR magnets. Niobium oxide added to glass raises its refractive index, so corrective lenses can be made thinner.¹

Grades and forms

Most niobium is traded as ferroniobium. By niobium content, 68% of US niobium imports were ferroniobium, 22% niobium metal, 9% niobium oxide and 1% ores and concentrates.³ USGS assumes ferroniobium contains 65% niobium. Niobium pentoxide contains 69.9% niobium by weight.³

Trade and policy

The United States has not reported significant niobium mine production since 1959 and imports all of its supply. Apparent consumption was an estimated 9,900 t in 2025. In 2021–24, Brazil supplied 67% of US imports and Canada 28%.³

Brazil exported 92,000 t of ferroniobium in 2024 and 63,200 t in January–August 2025. Its main buyers were China (49%), the Netherlands (17%) and Singapore (9%), followed by the Republic of Korea and the United States (8% each).³

A niobium, scandium and titanium project in Nebraska continued to seek financing in 2025. In August 2025 the company received a US Department of War award for scandium alloy supply. If it goes ahead, the site would be the only niobium mine and primary niobium-processing plant in the United States.³ For fiscal year 2025, the US National Defense Stockpile plan listed 136 t of ferroniobium as a potential acquisition. The fiscal year 2026 plan was not released.³

Recycling and substitution

Niobium is recycled when niobium-bearing steels and superalloys are recycled, but scrap is rarely recovered for its niobium content. The amount is not known, but it may be as much as 20% of US apparent consumption.³

Substitutes usually cost performance or money. Molybdenum and vanadium can replace niobium in HSLA steels. Molybdenum, tantalum and titanium can replace it in stainless and high-strength steels. Ceramic matrix composites, molybdenum, tantalum and tungsten can replace it in superalloys.³

Sources

1. Niobium: element information, properties and uses. Royal Society of Chemistry, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. Niobium integration in construction: enhancing strength and efficiency. CBMM (niobium.tech), accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩²

3. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Niobium (Columbium). U.S. Geological Survey, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴

4. Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals. Federal Register, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

5. Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 (Critical Raw Materials Act). EUR-Lex, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

6. Niobium by CBMM. CBMM (niobium.tech), accessed 2026-10-03. ↩