Vanadium is a trace element (120 parts per million in the Earth's crust, by weight) found in combination with many minerals, as well as in deposits of fossil fuels. Discovered in 1801 by Mexican metallurgist Andres Manuel del Rio, it was mistakenly dismissed as an impure sample of chromium. Vanadium was rediscovered in 1831. In celebration of its ability to oxidize into a wide array of colors, it was named for the Norse goddess of beauty, Vanadis.
Vanadium is a ductile metal that offers several attractive qualities to metallurgists, including a strong resistance to deterioration from exposure to alkalis, hydrochloric and sulfuric acids and saltwater. Able to remain stable at high temperatures (it oxidizes in air at 660 degrees Celsius, 1,220 degrees Fahrenheit) vanadium's principal application is as an alloy of steel.
Because vanadium steel performs well under stress, it is a common choice in the manufacture of crank shafts, axles and gears (Henry Ford used vanadium steel in his hugely successful Model-T), as well as in the legs of offshore platforms, bridge components, pipeline valves and turbine castings. Vanadium steel is also used in any number of tools and dies.
China is emerging as the world's leading manufacturer of steel. And, as it increases export, it must increase import of vanadium. Known reserves are principally located in South Africa, Russia and in China itself, with lesser reserves found in Kazakhstan and Australia. Little vanadium is currently mined in the United States, although the U.S. has historically been the largest user of vanadium steel.