In Greek myth, Niobe claimed that having fourteen children made her a better mother than the goddess Leto, who had just two. Leto, enraged by Niobe's boast, sent those two children, Apollo and Athena, to murder Niobe's offspring.
Niobe's hubris perhaps tells us that quality triumphs over quantity.
The metal that bears her name faces its own tussle between quantity and quality. It adds astonishing qualities to steel, batteries, and alloys.
But with one near-monopoly producer and just three mines in production globally, the metal might be too scarce for its own good.
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Niobium had the highest criticality score of any mineral in , published in November by the British Geological Survey (BGS)-led UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC).
According to the CMIC assessment, 90% of the niobium supply comes from Brazil, 6% from Canada and just under 1% from Nigeria.
Most of the supply comes from Brazil's privately held , the world's dominant niobium miner and refiner.
德州撲克遊戲 spoke to two companies with nascent niobium prospects at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada's (PDAC) 2025 conference about the future of this actually rare metal and what it is like operating under the shadow of CBMM.
Capacitor Metals
"This is where the opportunity is," said Dave Hodge, chairman of Capacitor Metals Corp.
Hodge is a big presence on the PDAC floor, attracting attention with a booming laugh and a bowler hat decorated with a bright orange feather.
He said there had been a lot of interest in the project at PDAC, although he was hesitant to ascribe it all to niobium's allure. "You know, I'm a fairly well-known, attractive guy," he said.
Capacitor is a private company, for the time being, with plans to list on the CSE in 2025. Hodge, in his previous capacity as head of Zimtu Capital, had listed 15 companies on the exchange.
Hodge said Capacitor is sitting on a niobium and tantalum deposit with "proven pre-feasibility economics".
In 2024, Capacitor bought the Upper Fir Tantalum-Niobium project, formerly known as the Blue River Project in British Columbia, Canada, . The deposit has "a significant historical indicated resource" of 778,000t contained niobium and 96,000t contained tantalum.
A surface carbonatite ore body, Hodge said it could "start mining it in ore right away". "We will go underground in that process but that has its environmental benefits, so we're pretty cool with that."
"We're raising money to do a bankable feasibility study and then go on to supply the world with both tantalum and niobium," he said. "Hopefully, it won't go to Trump."
"We do have an exciting deposit, and certainly at this time, tantalum and niobium are right up there in terms of their criticality in building a strong future in both electronics and and steel construction."
NioBay
NioBay Metals president and chief executive Jean-Sébastien David told 德州撲克遊戲 on the PDAC floor that finding off-take partners is vital for smaller producers of a specialist mineral like niobium.
"First, you need to prove that you have a deposit and you need to look after your environment, and infrastructure. But before starting the mine, you need to know who you will deal with," he said. "If you don't have a client, you're not moving the project forward."
NioBay has niobium projects in Canada, the Crevier niobium/tantalum deposit in Quebec and the "pure niobium play" James Bay deposit in Ontario.
David has experience with niobium, working at Niobec, the Quebec-based mine that has .
NioBay has "a small pilot plant" in Quebec City, . David said the Canadian government had contributed half a million dollars to the plant "because they love it".
The plant is key to NioBay's hopes for the project. "It shows that you can process your material and you can send material to potential clients," he said.
"We shipped 10t of material, and we're starting to process material for potential clients. My first shipment would be at the end of this month [March], and that's going to be niobium concentrate that we're going to ship in Europe," he said.
David said he intends to ship niobium oxide, used in batteries, to one of two potential clients in the UK. At present, only CBMM produces niobium oxide. David said the niobium has attracted interest from people in Germany, South Korea, Japan, Finland, the UK and France.
"I'm going back in the field this summer. I'm going to retrieve 100t of material," he said. "The speed of moving this project forward will depend on the kind of joint venture or agreement with the potential client."
Niobium's turning point
What will the turning point be for niobium?
Niobium's main uses are high-strength, low-allow steel (83%), superalloys (8%), and chemicals (3%), according to the BGS. It has also found an application in superconducting magnets.
CBMM's mine and production facilities near Araxá, Minas Gerais, have a capacity of 150,000t "of niobium products a year", which . That year it sold 92,000t of "ferroniobium equivalent".
Just two other mines are "primary niobium producers". China Molybdenum's (CMOC) Catalão mine, also in Brazil, , while privately held Magris Performance Material's Niobec mine in Quebec, Canada claims to supply "10% of the global niobium market". Analysts estimate Niobec's production lies between 7,000-9,000tpa of niobium.
Other niobium projects are showing potential.
At PDAC, 德州撲克遊戲 spoke to Shandong Xinhai Mining Technology and Equipment's board secretary John Zhang about its recent equity investment in St George Mining.
Xinhai will develop the Araxá niobium prospect in Brazil, which neighbours CBMM's claim, for a 15% stake in the company.
"We will help them from the feasibility study to the engineering and then the construction. We can make sure the production will come as soon as possible," Zhang said.
Zhang believed the St George Araxá mine could be the second or third largest niobium producer in the world.
Securing niobium supply for special steel could prove revolutionary for a firm like Xinhai, which already manufactures its own equipment.
Life under CBMM
"CBMM is leading on everything. They are doing a very good job, [especially] in R&D for niobium," said David.
The Brazilian company runs and advertises the metal on the .
But David also noted the problem with CBMM's near-monopoly. "They fix the price, and they also make sure to keep their clients."
Hodge meanwhile said that he believed CBMM was "concerned about being accused of having a monopoly".
CBMM's messaging certainly downplays the extent to which it controls to market, with its 'niobium myths' page . Relying on a single supplier is a risky proposition for any industrial application, no matter how wonderful the properties of the metal.
"CBMM is very aware of the strength of their position, and are certainly monitoring all of the potential sites elsewhere in the world. They visited our deposit 10 years ago," Hodge said.
CBMM was approached for comment.
Batteries beckon
But the Brazilian miner's dominance did not worry David or Hodge, with the rise of new end-users for the metals.
Ten years ago, the only clients for niobium were in the steel and alloy industry. Today the metal is finding more applications, particularly in the battery industry.
University of Cambridge offshoot Echion Technologies uses niobium for its anodes, creating lithium-ion batteries with "".
In November, CBMM and Echion opened a niobium-based anode production facility at Araxá "", its active anode material technology.
Other possible new end users are taking note.
"I'm not phoning people. They're phoning me because they want to have a different source of supply," David said.
Hodge meanwhile looked at the concentration of supply in Brazil as a boon for Capacitor's prospects. He predicted "great demand for our Canadian product".
