Vanadium: Extraction
A common metal that is never concentrated
What this tab covers How it is mined, drilled or grown, and processed into a tradeable form: the main methods compared, their unit economics, by-products, and the companies that do this work globally and in India.Vanadium is common but dilute. USGS says it makes up less than 2% of its host rocks: titaniferous magnetite, phosphate rock and uraniferous sandstone. It is also present in bauxite, coal, crude oil and tar sands. Most supply is a co-product of steelmaking. Chinese and Russian plants smelt vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite, and the vanadium collects in a slag that is roasted and leached to vanadium pentoxide. About 85% of supply arrives this way. Primary mines in South Africa and Brazil add the rest. US output now comes only from secondary sources, such as petroleum residues, spent catalysts and utility ash.
Vanadium is spread thinly through magnetite, phosphate rock, uranium-bearing sandstone, bauxite, coal and heavy oil. Most supply is a co-product of steelmaking from vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite in China and Russia, where the metal is recovered from converter slag. A few mines in Brazil and South Africa extract vanadium as the main product by salt-roasting magnetite concentrate. A growing share comes from secondary sources such as spent refinery catalysts and oil residues. All routes end in vanadium pentoxide, which is turned into ferrovanadium for steel or purified for chemicals, master alloys and battery electrolyte.
Methods compared
| Method | Share of supply | Typical scale | Recovery / efficiency | By-products | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Co-product of steelmaking from titanomagnetite (slag route) | China (82,000 t) and Russia (21,000 t) supplied about 94% of 2025 mine output, most as steel co-product (USGS) | Large integrated steelworks such as Pangang (China) and EVRAZ Nizhny Tagil (Russia); company volumes not published in sources used | n/a | Vanadium is the co-product; iron and steel are the main products, and titanium is recovered at some sites | Low incremental cost because mining and smelting are paid for by steel; no sourced figure |
| Primary mining of vanadiferous magnetite + salt-roast leaching | Brazil 5,300 t and South Africa 5,000 t in 2025, about 9% of world output (USGS) | Largo Maracas Menchen: 9,150 t V2O5 equivalent in 2025 (about 5,100 t V), guidance 10,500-12,000 t for 2026 | Largo global recovery 80.1% (2025), at 0.50% effective ore grade | ilmenite (titanium) at Largo; PGMs at some South African sites | Largo cash operating cost $4.84/lb V2O5 including royalties ($4.53 excluding) in 2025, against a European V2O5 benchmark of $5.13-5.86/lb by quarter (Largo FY2025 MD&A) |
| Secondary recovery from spent catalysts, petroleum residues and fly ash | US production from these sources rose from 3,200 t (2021) to about 7,500 t (2025) (USGS) | Plants in Arkansas, Delaware, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas (USGS) | n/a | molybdenum, nickel, cobalt | n/a |
| Uraniferous sandstone mining (Colorado Plateau) | None in 2025 (USGS) | n/a | n/a | uranium | n/a |
How each method works
Co-product of steelmaking from titanomagnetite (slag route)Vanadium-bearing magnetite is smelted in blast furnaces. The hot metal is blown with oxygen to oxidise vanadium into a slag holding several percent V2O5. The slag is salt-roasted or calcium-roasted and leached to make V2O5. Steel economics decide how much slag is produced.
Cheapest supply; output follows Chinese steel policy, not vanadium prices.
USGS MCS 2026; Nassar, Graedel and Harper (2015) Primary mining of vanadiferous magnetite + salt-roast leachingMagnetite ore is mined by open pit, magnetically concentrated, roasted with sodium carbonate or sulphate at high temperature, leached in water, and the vanadium precipitated as ammonium metavanadate and calcined to V2O5.
High-purity product suited to aerospace and batteries; thin margins when Chinese and Russian supply is ample.
Largo Q4/FY2025 release (5 Feb 2026); Largo FY2025 MD&A (SEC 40-F); USGS MCS 2026 Secondary recovery from spent catalysts, petroleum residues and fly ashSpent hydroprocessing catalysts from oil refineries, ash from oil-fired power plants and petroleum coke residues are roasted and leached to recover vanadium, along with molybdenum and nickel. The vanadium content varies with the crude oil used.
Turns waste into supply outside China and Russia; volumes are limited by refinery residues.
USGS MCS 2026 Uraniferous sandstone mining (Colorado Plateau)Vanadium and uranium were co-mined from sandstone ores in Utah and processed at a mill. US production from this route ceased in early 2020 and was not restarted in 2025.
A swing source that runs only when uranium and vanadium prices are both high.
USGS MCS 2026 Unit economics are indicative ranges from the sources named; costs vary widely by deposit, region and year.By-product supply
About 85% of vanadium supply comes as a co-product, mainly of iron and steel made from titanomagnetite (Nassar et al. 2015). In 2025 China produced most of its vanadium this way during steelmaking (USGS). Because the slag output depends on steel production and Chinese industrial policy, supply does not rise quickly when vanadium prices rise, and USGS notes that resources overstate available supply for this reason.
Share produced as a by-product
About 85% of primary supply comes as a by-product of iron (titanomagnetite) (Nassar, Graedel & Harper 2015, approximate).Who does it: global
| Company | Country | Activity | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largo Inc. | Brazil / Canada | primary mining and V2O5 production (Maracas Menchen) | 9,150 t V2O5 equivalent | 2025 | Largo Q4 and full-year 2025 operational results (5 Feb 2026) |
| Pangang Group Vanadium Titanium Volume not found in sources consulted; China produced about 82,000 t V in 2025 (USGS). | China | co-product from titanomagnetite steelmaking (Panzhihua) | not published | 2025 | |
| HBIS Chengsteel Volume not found in sources consulted. | China | co-product from steel slag | not published | 2025 | |
| EVRAZ Volume not published; Russia produced about 21,000 t V in 2025 (USGS). | Russia | co-product from steel slag (Nizhny Tagil) | not published | 2025 | |
| Glencore (Rhovan) Vanadium output not reported in the production report. | South Africa | primary vanadium mining and ferrovanadium | not published | 2025 | Glencore Full Year 2025 Production Report |
| Bushveld Minerals (Vametco) Volume not found in sources consulted; South Africa produced about 5,000 t V in 2025, down from 8,050 t (USGS). | South Africa | primary mining, nitrovan and FeV | not published | 2025 |
Who does it: India
India's vanadium output is negligible, about 0.04% of world production in 2024 (World Mining Data), and its steel industry imports ferrovanadium. Vanadium is on India's 2023 critical minerals list. No Indian producer volumes were found.