Natural Source of Vanadium

Vanadium is a soft metal that is one of the metals on the Periodic Table of Elements. It was discovered by mineralogist Andres Manuel del Rio in 1803 in Mexico, who called it panchromium, because it took on many colors but resembled chromium, and later erythronium, because its salts turned red after being heated. When his claims were disputed, the mineralogist withdrew his findings. Vanadium was re-discovered in 1831 by Swedish chemist Nils Gabriel Sefström, who isolated it from iron oxides. Sefström named the material after the northern Germanic tribe goddess of beauty and fertility, Vanadis. An interesting property of vanadium is that an oxide film coats samples found in the Earth, so it is protected from compounds that corrode many other elements.

Identification

Vanadium is a silvery to grayish metal that is resistant to corrosion from alkaline substances, sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid and salt water. It has a melting point of 3,470 degrees F and a boiling point of 6,165 degrees F. Vanadium has an atomic number of 23 on the Periodic Table. Despite its resistance to many harsh compounds, vanadium will react with excess oxygen when heated, and form vanadium oxide.

Geology

Vanadium is not a free metal, but is found inside 65 different minerals, including carnotite, roscoelite, vanadinite, mottramite and patronite. It is found in some crude oil and other carbon deposits such as coal, oil shale and tar sands. Abundant in crustal rock on Earth, vanadium can be found to some extent in sea water and streams. The metal is found in abundance in mines of South Africa, Russia and Australia, but is prevalent in most soils.

South African Production

South Africa produced 25 metric tons of vanadium in 2002, and is the only producer of the metal in Africa. Production is mainly run by Highveld Steel, which operates the Vantra mine, located near Brits; and Vanadium and Strategic Minerals Corporation, which closed its operation because of an oversupply of vanadium oxide worldwide. The mining facility near Brits can produce 12 million pounds of vanadium oxide annually. Another company, Xstrata, had two mining operations, one which was closed in 2003.

Australian Production

Vanadium production in Australia is growing. In Western Australia, the Windimurra project has access to reserves of 106 metric tons, which makes it the world's largest vanadium mine. It supplies 10 percent of the global demand from its annual production of vanadium pentoxide. Another mine in Western Australia is operated by Dominion Mining, which is in the process, as of 2009, of developing the Balla Balla Vanadium project in the Pilbara region. Estimates anticipate an initial production range of up to 6,800 tons.

Function

Vanadium is used as a steel additive. When used in manufacturing, it yields rust-resistant springs and steels that are beneficial for use in tools. With its structural strength, vanadium foil is used to bond titanium to steel. Vanadium pentoxide can be used as a chemical catalyst in ceramics applications, while various vanadium compounds aid in the process of dyeing and printing fabrics. In the technology sector, a vanadium-gallium mixture aids in production of superconductive magnets.

References

• Vanadium
• Lenntech Solutions
• Los Alamos National Labs

Resources

• Information on vanadium mining operations

Photo Credit

Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Sherrie Thai