Niobium: Characteristics
How a few hundredths of a per cent strengthen steel
What this tab covers The supply and physical characteristics of the commodity. Supply: current production, inventories and stocks, capacity utilisation, geographic and producer concentration, how fast supply responds to price, the project pipeline and capital spending, and logistics and export flows. Material: the physical and chemical properties that set its grade, price and end uses (for example purity and conductivity for metals, API gravity, sulfur and energy content for fuels, moisture, protein and fibre quality for crops).Supply volume characteristics
| Characteristic | Figure | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current production volume | about 112,000 t Nb (2025e), flat on 2024 | Brazil mined 104,000 t (about 93%) and Canada 6,000 t. Brazil exported 92,000 t of ferroniobium in 2024. | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Inventory and stock levels | no exchange stocks; US stockpile planned to buy 136 t ferroniobium (FY2025) | CBMM holds stocks and spare capacity to keep customers supplied, which damps prices. Mill and trader stocks are not reported. | USGS MCS 2026; content_v2 supercycle |
| Capacity utilisation | not published; CBMM keeps capacity ahead of demand | CBMM reports production capacity in its sustainability report, but utilisation is not in the sources used. The industry deliberately runs with spare capacity to win long-term contracts. | content_v2 supercycle; CBMM sustainability report 2021 |
| Geographic and producer concentration | Brazil 92.5%, top-3 99.1% (Brazil, Canada, DR Congo), HHI 8,580 (2024) | One company dominates: CBMM (Araxa) made an estimated 100,000 t of niobium products in 2025, CMOC's Niobras 10,348 t Nb and Magris's Niobec in Quebec most of the rest. | World Mining Data 2026; content_v2 |
| Supply elasticity | high in the short run thanks to spare capacity; new mines take about 10 years (indicative) | CBMM can raise output quickly from existing capacity and reserves of about 135 years at current output. New deposits, such as a niobium-scandium-titanium project in Nebraska, need long financing and permitting. | USGS MCS 2026; lead time indicative |
| Project pipeline and CapEx | Nebraska Nb-Sc-Ti project (financing); CBMM capacity growth | The Nebraska project got a $10 million US Department of War award in August 2025 for scandium; once built it would be the only US niobium mine. CPM Group expects non-steel demand to grow about 11% a year to 2035. | USGS MCS 2026; CPM Group via content_v2 |
| Logistics and export flows | ferroniobium exports $2.96 billion (2023); Brazil 76.2%; China took 38% of imports | Ferroniobium is packed in drums or big bags, trucked from Minas Gerais and Goias to Santos and other ports, then shipped. Brazil's 2024 exports went to China (49%), the Netherlands (17%), Singapore (9%), Korea and the US (8% each). | UN Comtrade 2023 (HS 720293); USGS MCS 2026 |
Material characteristics Metal / hard commodity
Niobium is used mostly as ferroniobium in tiny doses, around 0.01-0.1%, to refine grain and raise strength and toughness in pipeline, automotive and structural steels. Purer grades go into nickel superalloys and niobium-titanium superconductors. Value depends on niobium content and on low levels of phosphorus, lead and tantalum for high-end uses.
| Property | Value / specification | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ferroniobium grade | standard FeNb about 65% Nb (range 60-70%); vacuum-grade FeNb and NiNb with very low impurities for superalloys | Standard grade sets the price for steel mills; vacuum grades carry premiums for jet-engine alloys | USGS MCS 2026 (65% factor); ASTM A550 |
| Microalloying effect | about 0.01-0.1% Nb in HSLA steels (indicative) | Lets pipelines, car bodies and bridges use thinner, stronger steel; steel takes about 90% of niobium | CPM Group 2025 via content_v2; range indicative |
| Melting point and density | 2,477 C; 8.57 g/cm3 | Refractory behaviour suits rocket nozzles and high-temperature alloys such as C-103 | CRC Handbook (standard value) |
| Superconductivity | Nb critical temperature 9.2 K; Nb-Ti about 10 K; Nb3Sn about 18 K | Nb-Ti wire is the standard for MRI magnets and particle accelerators | CRC Handbook; standard values |
| Ductility and corrosion resistance | pure Nb is very ductile and resists many acids (indicative) | Used in chemical plant and medical implants; niobium oxide anodes are emerging in fast-charging batteries | ASM Handbook (indicative) |