WORD OF THE DAY

What is niobobaotite, the new mineral that will revolutionize transportation

BUSINESS
October 16, 2023
By Nation World News Desk


In the mining region of Bayan Obo in Inner Mongolia, a mineral was discovered that could revolutionize transportation. It is niobobaotite.

This black mineral is rich in niobium, a rare metal used to make rockets or combat aircraft engines. It has superconducting properties that make batteries cheaper and more efficient than current ones.

The mines of Bayan Obo, located 90 kilometers south of the China-Mongolia border, make it easy for China to become the world leader in the rare metal market. Rare metals are hard to find in their pure form, but they are found in most of the technology we use every day: cell phones, flat screens, speakers…
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To date Brazil has 90% of the known reserves of niobium. China imports nearly 95% of niobium for the steel industry, something that could change with the new discovery. By providing a large amount, China can become self-sufficient.

Usually in alloys

Niobium is often used in alloys such as steel to improve its strength. It resists corrosion and deformation at high temperatures, something important for the construction of rockets or jet engines such as those used in fighter aircraft.

Their superconducting qualities can also provide more efficient batteries without lithium, an endangered material.

The director of the Brazilian Metallurgy and Mining Company, which has Chinese participation and owns 70% of the world’s niobium reserves, said in May that his company made a strategic shift and stopped focusing on the production of steel to use the metal in the development of batteries with research centers and manufacturers in China.
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As Singaporean engineering professor Antonio H. Castro Neto explained to a Hong Kong media outlet, the newly developed niobium-graphene batteries “can last 30 years or more ” (10 times higher than conventional batteries). safer, because they do not contain flammable substances, charge faster and have greater performance thanks to their conductive properties.