Among Brazil’s abundant mineral wealth – from iron ore and gold to gems and copper – is a niche steel that no country can claim to produce on a giant scale: niobium.
The dominant producer, Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração (CBMM), is exploring new programs and believes chemical detail has a key role in electric batteries, for cars such as buses and trucks.
CBMM estimates that its mining and production complex in Araxá, Minas Gerais, supplies three-quarters of the world’s niobium supply.
For decades, this steel was basically used in the manufacture of steel alloys. Very small amounts result in higher toughness, corrosion resistance, and superior melting points.
Niobium, found in everything from bodies to pipelines to atomic reactors, is also used in high-tech apparatus such as jet engines and MRI scanners for hospitals.
Amid a foreign flood of raw fabrics considered important for modern technologies, the strategic and geopolitical aspects of niobium are receiving increasing attention, not least because production is concentrated in a few places.
This bright gray steel ranks second among “critical minerals” according to the U. S. Geological Survey, which estimates that 90% of total production comes from Brazil.
“Our country can position itself as a very important supplier of fabrics for the energy transition,” says Ricardo Lima, CEO of CBMM. “The greatest vital asset we can provide is fast charging,” he explains. “In the battery industry, we have a wonderful opportunity to succeed. “
Founded in the 1950s and controlled through the Moreira Salles business dynasty, CBMM’s other shareholders come from a Japanese-Korean organization and a consortium of Chinese steelmakers.
The other committed niobium mine in Brazil was acquired through the Chinese company CMOC in 2016. China is the main destination for Brazilian exports of this metal.
A report published this year through the Washington, DC-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) raises Chinese involvement and the possibility of this substance being in military equipment as reasons why U. S. policymakers want to be on alert. “On the grand chessboard of defense geopolitics, niobium occupies a place of paramount importance,” the researchers write.
With its fashionable use in the aerospace and astronautics industry, from NASA’s Apollo program to SpaceX rockets, they described steel as “indispensable” for critical parts of hypersonic missiles. Capable of traveling five times faster than sound, this weaponry is evolving across a number of countries, including the United States and China.
Henry Ziemer, one of the authors of the CSIS report, says the U. S. government will have to act to avoid any long-term disruption to niobium supply. “Niobium went unnoticed,” he says. There has been no systematic effort in the United States to secure the chain of origin, align incentives, and sound the alarm,” he adds, referring to the degree of Chinese ownership of niobium mines.
CBMM alleviates considerations about potential source issues. According to the company, its capacity to produce 150,000 tons a year of ferroniobium alloy (the main form in which steel is sold) exceeds global demand, according to the company. “If there are limits to production [or] there may soon be shortages,” said Rafael Mesquita, head of lead generation. “There are other deposits in the world. “
“All our business is managed here,” adds Lima. It doesn’t come from Chinese shareholders, but from us. I don’t see any consideration for the Chinese. As for niobium’s role in defense, CBMM executives say it’s not a target market.
However, while the metal industry is expected to remain CBMM’s largest customer, the company needs to build new retail spaces that account for 30% of its total profits through 2030, up from 10% today. He sees promising spaces such as complex glass for solar panels. , fungicides, and special magnetic materials.
“Niobium is a new component compared to others such as iron, chromium and molybdenum, so there are still many programs to be developed,” says Mesquita. “Instead of a bigger [market] share, we need to have a bigger pie. “
The use of niobium oxide suitable for advertising car batteries is key to CBMM’s approach. Next month, it will unveil the world’s first electric vehicle with a battery containing this compound: a prototype bus in partnership with Volkswagen and Toshiba. The versions will be on the roads until 2025.
At the anodic (negative) end of a battery, niobium can upgrade the graphite, allowing for faster charging while also reducing the risk of overheating and explosion, CBMM explains. “Compared to graphite, it’s more expensive,” Lima says. But, because the battery life is longer, if you can drive a greater distance, the final property charge for the visitor is better. »
On the cathodic (positive) end of nickel-based batteries, the company claims that small amounts of niobium can meet the need for cobalt. Amnesty International reports that their exploitation in Africa has led to forced evictions of communities and other human rights violations. Some electric car brands have now committed to reducing the use of cobalt.
“Cathodes can be a pretty big futures market for niobium,” says Andrew Matheson of metals consultancy CPM Group. “As far as anodes are concerned, it’s still too early to say that there will be mass adoption, but it’s a solid outlook. Mining trucks can account for as much as the amount of steel in existence. “