http://www.vanadiumsite.com/vanadium-spot-price What Dictates The Vanadium Price

In basic market-based economic theory, the price of a material is based on production costs and fluctuates according to the laws of supply and demand. In this respect, vanadium is no different than any other commodity. Basic price is determined by production cost, and fluctuations occur based upon varying demands for the resource and changes in the available supply.


Where Does Vanadium Come From?

Vanadium is a metal, and it is a relatively common one. When viewed as an elemental component of the Earth, vanadium is as common as zinc or nickel. Unlike zinc or nickel, however, this resource doesn’t naturally occur as a pure metal or even as a metal oxide. Instead, it is a very small component of many separate minerals.

Since vanadium is present only in small quantities in the minerals in which it is found, it has never been very profitable to extract. It becomes profitable when these minerals are mined and processed for other purposes, since the mining cost has already been absorbed. Magnetite and carnatite are the two most commercialized of these minerals.

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Magnetite is important as an iron ore, but it also contains small percentages of vanadium. When it is processed in an ironworks, the first and most basic product is pig iron. The molten pig iron is typically poured directly from the blast furnace, where it is produced, into an electric arc furnace. Inside the arc furnace, excess carbon compounds are burned off and the alloy composition is adjusted to make specific blends of steel.

Most integrated ironworks and steelworks facilities interrupt the molten pig iron transfer to blow oxygen over the surface of the liquid metal. The oxygen oxidizes silicon, titanium, manganese and vanadium into slags that are less dense than the molten iron. Vanadium hardens steel, and if too much vanadium is allowed into the mixture, the resulting steel will be too hard to easily machine. Samples are taken of the molten iron until the vanadium concentration is at the specified content, and at that point the oxygen flow is stopped. The floating slag layer is scraped off the top of the molten iron, and the iron is poured into the electric arc furnace.

The slag typically has 15 percent vanadium as vanadium pentoxide concentration at this point, which is far purer than its occurrence in any natural mineral. It is cooled, crushed, and sent on for further refining.



Carnatite, the other commercialized vanadium-containing mineral, is typically mined for its uranium content. Vanadium is not a by-product of the process; it is obtained through additional extraction techniques that are not relative to the uranium processing. The economics of both processes becomes feasible only when the profits from both products are considered together.


Where Is Vanadium Used?

Vanadium is a crucial element in the construction industry. Concrete is often poured over a three dimensional lattice (LTTC 0.10 ↑0.00%) of steel rebar to create reinforced concrete. In certain situations, something stronger than typical low carbon steel is required. Low carbon steel alloys, such as manganese-steel can be used in these situations. Low carbon steel manganese alloy rebar is strong, but it is typically produced by a process known as Quench and Self Temper. This process hardens the exterior of the rebar but
does not alter the core.

Vanadium Steel Rebar

Vanadium steel alloy is a much stronger material. It contains stable vanadium carbides and vanadium nitrides throughout the body of the rebar. It is often sold as seismic grade rebar, and the market for seismic rebar has exploded in recent years following the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake in the eastern Sichuan province of China. This disaster revealed that enforcement of seismic building codes in rural areas of that country was lax. The codes are being strictly enforced in all current construction and reconstruction. Extensive construction activities following the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan have also increased the use of vanadium steel in that country.

Vanadium steel is also used for any critical application where high stress is anticipated. It can be formulated as vanadium high-carbon steel, with less than 0.25 percent vanadium, or as vanadium high-speed tool steel containing up to five percent vanadium.

The chemical formula for vanadium pentoxide is V2O5. In the most common processing technique, the recovered vanadium-rich slag from an iron blast furnace is mixed with sodium carbonate to create a sodium metavanadate intermediate, which is then acidified with sulfuric acid to precipitate V2O5.

Most V2O5 is used to produce ferrovanadium, which is an iron alloy with a high percentage of vanadium. Percentages of 40 to 50 percent are common. Ferrovanadium is used, in turn, to produce specialty vanadium-steel alloys. Although vanadium can be incorporated into steel through other methods, ferrovanadium is preferred because it improves the steel’s grain.

Vanadium pentoxide is also an important industrial chemical. It is used in the production of sulphuric acid and in the production of maleic anhydride.

Market demand for vanadium is also increasing as the demand for high energy density vanadium redox batteries increases. These batteries store electrical energy as chemical potential through the oxidation states of vanadium. As the vanadium is oxidized, electrons flow from the battery to produce current. When the battery is recharged, electrons flow back into the battery and reduce the vanadium, storing electrical potential again. Because these batteries have such a high storage capacity, they are important for wind turbine and photovoltaic panel energy generating facilities.


Vanadium Stocks And Price Fluctuations



In 2010, the U.S. imported 2,500 metric tons, or roughly 69 percent of apparent consumption, of vanadium pentoxide. South Africa holds the world’s largest known vanadium reserves, but China also controls large supplies of vanadium. With construction demands for vanadium increasing in China, and expected to remain strong for the next 10 to 20 years, expectations are that supply will be limited and the vanadium price will increase.
Investin In Vanadium

Investing in vanadium stocks requires knowledge and experience, because vanadium is not currently mined in exclusive vanadium-producing operations. Stocks are typically held for uranium or iron mines, and investing in these ventures provides interest in the subsequent vanadium price margin.