Description
Niobium (Nb) is named after Niobe, a daughter of Tantalus, a son of Zeus. the Ore is found in diverse locations around the worlds such as Canada, Brazil, Nigeria, Zaire, and Russia. The ore is used in its pure and alloyed forms in superconductors, street lights, rocket boosters, as well as other aerospace applications. It is very popular for use in jewelry construction as it is hypoallergenic and nickel free.
Niobium is slow to work harden, so annealing is generally not necessary. It cannot be soldered so must be joined with cold work techniques, such as rivets, nuts and bolts, adhesives or special settings. Findings can be Fusion welded with Sparkie Welders. Our favorite thing to do with Niobium is to anodize it to cause color formations, something the metal is well known for.
