What is vanadium? Why is it in the news?

 

The Geological Survey of India recently found reserves of vanadium ore in Arunachal Pradesh. What is vanadium, and why is its discovery in India significant? Let’s see.

Vanadium is a medium-hard, silvery grey, malleable metal, which is rarely found as a free element (a chemical element that is not combined with other elements) in nature. It has to be isolated from naturally occurring minerals such as magnetite, vanadinite and carnotite, and fossil fuel deposits. It is also derived from mined iron ore, carbonaceous shale or phyllite (rocks rich in carbon), and steel slag.

Myriad uses

Although not well-known, vanadium is a metal we cannot do without. It has several uses in the manufacturing sector on account of its corrosion-resistant quality, and ductile and malleable properties. The demand for vanadium is linked to the demand for steel as vanadium helps strengthen steel, which in turn is used to make industrial tools, heavy equipment, military armour, auto parts, medical devices and more. Vanadium alloys are used in spacecraft and nuclear reactors. Vanadium can be used in the process of refining uranium, the main fuel for nuclear reactors. It’s widely used in green technology applications. The Vanadium Redox Battery is a sustainable energy storage battery.

Vanadium in India

For the first time, vanadium concentrations were found in various sites of the eastern Himalayan State of Arunachal Pradesh during an exploration by the Geological Survey of India earlier this year. Geologists discovered promising concentrations of vanadium in the palaeoproterozoic (period spanning 2,500 to 1,600 million years ago) carbonaceous phyllite rocks in the Depo area, following which they felt encouraged to expand their search to other areas in the State. A good quantity of the metal was found in the Lower Subansiri district, and some quantities in Siang and West Kameng districts. India, which has so far been relying on vanadium imports, can now tap into its indigenous source. According to the GIS data, India consumed 4% of the global production of the metal in 2017. The discovery of vanadium in Arunachal Pradesh is expected to boost the country’s economy.

 

Picture Credit : Google