announced the discovery of a never-before-seen type of ore deposit in Inner Mongolia containing potentially vast amounts of the superconductive rare earth element. According to Antonio Castro Neto, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the National University of Singapore speaking with the, the new resource trove could even be so large that it would make China self-sufficient in its own niobium needs.
The elementIn addition to its many current uses, niobium is of particular interest to researchers hoping to further the development of niobium-graphene and niobium-lithium batteries.are currently the most widespread rechargeable power sources, but remain restricted in terms of charge times and lifespans, as well as safety concerns.