English chemist Charles Hatchett discovered niobium in 1801 within a mineral sample sent from Connecticut. He initially named the element columbium after the poetic name for the United States, Columbia. The element's true identity remained elusive until 1846 when German chemist Heinrich Rose proved that tantalum ores contained a second element which he named niobium.
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry officially adopted niobium in 1949 despite the chronological precedence of the name columbium. German chemist Heinrich Rose named the element niobium after Niobe, the daughter of Tantalus, to reflect the close relationship between the two elements. The name columbium persists in American metallurgy to this day.
Out of 130,000 tonnes of niobium mined in 2006, an estimated 90% was used in high-grade structural steel. The element forms niobium carbide and niobium nitride to improve grain refining, retard recrystallization, and enhance toughness, strength, formability, and weldability. These microalloyed steels containing less than 0.1% niobium are widely used in modern automobiles and pipeline construction.
The C-103 alloy developed in 1961 became a cornerstone of the Space Race effort and was used for the descent engine of the Apollo Lunar Modules. This alloy composed of 89% niobium, 10% hafnium, and 1% titanium offered the best combination of formability and high-temperature properties. Wah Chang fabricated the first 1,000 pounds of C-103 in 1961 using electron beam melting and vacuum arc remelting.
American physicist Eugene Kunzler and his colleagues at Bell Labs discovered that niobium-tin continues to exhibit superconductivity in 1961. This discovery made it the first material to support the high currents and fields necessary for useful high-power magnets and electrical power machinery. In 1992 alone, more than one billion US dollars' worth of clinical magnetic resonance imaging systems were constructed with niobium-titanium wire.
Brazil is the leading producer of niobium and ferroniobium, controlling 85 percent of the world's niobium production. The largest deposit is hosted within a carbonatite intrusion in Araxá, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, while the other active Brazilian deposit is located near Catalão, state of Goiás. Together, those two mines produce about 88 percent of the world's supply.