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The global niobium market rebounded quickly from the slump in consumption in 2009. By 2011, demand had returned to near peak levels.
Recovery slowed in 2012 but a return to long-term growth is certain, according to a new report by Roskill.
Niobium is used mainly as an alloying element for certain types of high-strength and stainless steel, where it is added in very small amounts per tonne. It also has applications in superalloys for aerospace and land-based power generation and in superconductors.
In most of the market segments, demand is very closely linked to overall economic trends. In the case of steel, however, a major driver of future demand could be growth in the intensity of use of niobium.
Several countries with large steel industries have high forecast rates of growth in production, notably China, India and Russia, but have intensities of use for niobium far below the world average and very much lower than the mature industrial economies. There is significant potential for an increase in niobium demand that is well-above the underlying economic trends that will govern total steel production.
Even with the anticipated growth in demand for niobium, there is little risk of supply moving into deficit. There is currently sufficient production capacity for ferroniobium and other products, such as high-purity niobium oxide, and that capacity will be increased further by the existing producers.
Niobium prices are historically very stable and demand-inelastic. A step increase in prices occurred from the mid-2000s, after which stability was restored.
Image: Dnn87, via Wikimedia Commons
