66th General Assembly

Who was Anders G. Ekeberg?
Anders Gustaf Ekeberg was born in 1767 in Sweden. He was a Swedish scientist, mathematician, and poet. He became a professor at Uppsala University in 1794 and initially made his

Gallery: Niobium minerals
Minerals containing Niobium (Nb). All photos copyright T.I.C. 2019/2020

Further information
Tantalum and Niobium: Deposits, Resources, Exploration Methods and Market (Simandl et al, 2018)
British Geological Survey (BGS) profile on niobium and tantalum
Geology, Exploration and Mining: 101 website resources
KEMET

Harmonised system commodity codes
Developed by the World Customs Organization (WCO), this is a six-digit figure for describing internationally traded goods. Individual countries may further extend this code with an additional two or four

Superalloys (Nb)
Superalloys are a group of polymetallic high performance alloys that possess very high melting temperatures, high strength, and considerable resistance to wear in corrosive and oxidizing environments.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) makes an immeasurable contribution to improving human health. Every day MRI machines help medical professionals save and improve countless lives around the world. It is estimated

Applications for niobium
Niobium consumption is dominated by its use as additive to high strength low alloy steel and stainless steel for oil and gas pipelines, car and truck bodies, architectural requirements, tool

Processing: extraction and refining
Two separate processing schemes are utilized for niobium production. Those companies that mine pyrochlore convert the niobium oxide units into HSLA ferroniobium through the aluminothermic reduction process or by reduction

Production of raw materials
The primary mineral from which niobium is obtained is known as pyrochlore. The world’s largest deposit is located in Araxa, Brazil and is owned by Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e