-Chromium, a steely-gray, lustrous,

hard metal that takes a high polish and has a

high melting point, is a silvery white, hard,
and bright metal plating on steel and other
material. Commonly known as chrome, it is
one of the most important and indispensable
industrial metals because of its hardness and
resistance to corrosion. But it is used for
more than the production of stainless steel
and nonferrous alloys; it is also used to
create pigments and chemicals used to
process leather.Chromite, the only ore of chromium, was first discovered in the United States
sometime about 1808 on the farm of Isaac Tyson, Jr., just north of Baltimore, Md. Scattered
deposits of chromium minerals in an area of northeastern Maryland and southeastern
Pennsylvania were the source of nearly all of the chromium products in the world between 1828
and 1850. Currently, the only domestic commercial chromium supply source is from recycling,
although the United States does have small chromite resources, primarily in Oregon. The
Stillwater complex of Montana also hosts chromite resources associated with platinum
and nickel resources.

Where Does Chromium Come From?Chromite, an oxide of iron, magnesium, aluminum, and
chromium, is the only ore mineral of chromium. In nature, chromite deposits are generally of
two major types: stratiform (layered) and podiform (pod shaped). Both types are associated with
ultramafic igneous rocks. The world's largest stratiform chromite deposits are found in South
Africa, in what is known as the Bushveld complex. This is a layered igneous intrusion
containing more than 11 billion metric tons of chromite resources. Podiform deposits are found
in layered igneous sequences that developed in oceanic crust below the sea floor. We can now
access these resources where parts of the ocean floor have been pushed over continental rocks
by tectonic forces. In the United States, podiform deposits are scattered along the Pacific Coast
from the Kenai Peninsula in southern Alaska to southern California and along the Appalachian
Mountains from northern Vermont to Georgia.

-Molybdenum is a silvery-white metal that is ductile and highly resistant to corrosion. It has
one of the highest melting points of all pure elements — only the elements tantalum and
tungsten have higher melting points. Molybdenum is also a micronutrient essential for life.As a
transistion metal, molybdenum easily forms compounds with other elements. Molybdenum
comprises 1.2 parts per million (ppm) of the Earth's crust by weight, but it is not found free in
nature. The main molybdenum ore is molybdenite (molybdenum disulfide), but can also be
found in wulfenite (lead molybdate) and powellite (calcium molybdate). It is recovered as a by-
product of copper or tungsten mining. Molybdenum is mined primarily in the United States,
China, Chile and Peru. World production is around 200,000 tons per year, according to
the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). The soft black mineral molybdenite (molybdenum
sulfide) was often mistaken for graphite or lead ore until 1778 when an analysis by German
chemist Carl Scheele revealed it was neither one of these substances, and was in fact, a totally
new element. But since Scheele did not have a suitable furnace to reduce the white solid to
metal, it would still be a few years before the element was actually identified, according
to Chemicool. In fact, Scheele later became known as "hard luck Scheele" because he made a
number of chemical discoveries — including oxygen — but the credit was always given to
someone else.For the next few years, scientists continued to assume that molybdenite contained
a new element, but it still proved very difficult to identify, since no one had been able to reduce
it to a metal. Some researchers did convert it to an oxide, however, upon which when added to
water, formed molybdic acid, but the metal itself remained elusive.Eventually, Swedish chemist
Peter Jacob Hjelm ground molybdic acid with carbon in linseed oil to form a paste. The paste
allowed for close contact between the carbon and the molybdenite. Hjelm then heated the
mixture in a closed crucible to produce the metal, which he then named molybdenum, after the
Greek word "molybdos," meaning lead. The new element was announced in the autumn of 1781,
according to the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Uses

Most commercial molybdenum is used in the production of alloys, where it is added to increase
hardness, strength, electrical conductivity and resistance to wear and corrosion. Small amounts
of molybdenum can be found in a wide variety of products: missiles, engine parts, drills, saw
blades, electric heater filaments, lubricant additives, ink for circuit boards and protective
coatings in boilers. It is also used as a catalyst in the petroleum industry. Molybdenum is
produced and sold as a gray powder, and
many of its products are formed by
compressing the powder under extremely high
pressure, according to the Royal Society of
Chemistry. Due to its high melting point,
molybdenum performs incredibly well under
very high temperatures. It is particularly
useful in products that need to stay lubricated
under these extreme temperatures. So in cases
where some lubricants and oils might
decompose or catch on fire, lubricants with
molybdenum sulfides can handle the heat and
still keep things moving along.

-Vanadium is a medium-hard, steel-blue metal. Although a lesser-known metal, it is quite

valuable in the manufacturing industry due to its malleable, ductile and corrosion-resistant
qualities.

Vanadium rarely exists as a free element in nature but can be found in about 65 different
minerals, including magnetite, vanadinite, carnotite and patronite. It also can be found in
phosphate rock and some crude oils. Vanadium is usually obtained by heating crushed ore in the
presence of carbon and chlorine to produce vanadium trichloride, which is then heated
with magnesium in an argon atmosphere, according to Jefferson Lab. Around 98 percent of
mined vanadium ore comes from South Africa, Russia, and China. Vanadium makes up 150
parts per million (ppm) of the Earth's core and comprises 0.019 percent of the Earth's crust,
according to PeriodicTable.com. The cosmic quantity of vanadium in the universe is about
0.0001 percent. Vanadium can be detected spectroscopically in the Sun's rays and occasionally
in the light of other stars.

Uses

Around 80 percent of the vanadium produced is alloyed with iron to make a shock- and
corrosion-resistant steel additive called ferrovanadium, according to Jefferson Lab.
Ferrovanadium contains between 1 to 6 percent vanadium.

Vanadium-steel alloys are used to make extremely tough tools such as axles, armor plates, car
gears, springs, cutting tools, piston rods and crankshafts. Vanadium alloys are also used to make
nuclear reactors because of their low-neutron-absorbing properties, according to the Royal
Society of Chemistry. In fact, the first
widespread industrial use for vanadium
was in the steel framework of the
Model T Ford, which allowed for a
lighter weight frame that was also of
greater tensile strength.The compound
vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) is used as
a mordant (a substance that
permanently fixes dyes to fabrics), as a
catalyst in some chemical reactions
and in the manufacturing of ceramics. It can also be combined with gallium to form
superconductive magnets, according to Jefferson Lab. When mixed
with aluminum and titanium, vanadium can create a very strong alloy that is used for special
applications such as dental implants and jet engines.

-Manganese is a very hard, brittle, gray-

white transition metal that is naturally
found in a variety of minerals, but never
on its own. Manganese is one of the most
common elements in Earth's crust and is
widely distributed across the planet's
surface.

Manganese is vital to human and animal

life in metabolic functions. Many alloys
containing manganese are used in steel
production, glass making, and even to
make the aluminum in soda cans thinner and stronger.Manganese has been used since ancient
times, science writer John Emsley wrote in an article in Nature Chemistry. Cave artists in France
used the black ore (manganese dioxide or pyrolusite) at least 30,000 years ago. Pliny the Elder, a
Roman philosopher, wrote in the first century A.D. that it was also used in glass making to make
the glass clear and as a black pigment in pottery. One major research area involving manganese
is in health. It is known that manganese is essential for human systems to function properly and
too much is bad for you. Much research is being done investigating exposure to an excess of
manganese.One set of studies focuses on researching a potential link between manganese
exposure in children and their intellectual function. A study by a group of researchers in the
United States and Bangladesh published in 2011 in NeuroToxicology by Wasserman, et al.
expanded upon a previous study that only studied the effects of arsenic on children. The
researchers tested levels of manganese in 299 children between the ages of 8 and 11. The study
found that there is a significant link between a variety of manganese markers and perceptual
reasoning and memory skills.

Several additional studies following up on the previous one were published in subsequent years,
including one published in Environmental Health Perspectives in 2015 by Wasserman, et al.
with about 300 10-year-old children. Another one, published in Environmental Health in 2016
by Rodrigues, et al., studied over 500 children that were 2 to 3 years old. Both studies involved
teams of scientists from the United States and Bangladesh working with Bangladeshi children.
Blood samples were taken in both studies and levels of manganese and arsenic were measured
(as well as lead in the second study). As with the 2011 study, researchers found that that reduced
levels of manganese (as well as arsenic and lead) in the drinking water showed increased
working memory and other cognitive functions. Continued research will be conducted to
determine longer-term effects of high levels of manganese exposure in the intelligence of
children.

-Known for its use in the five cent coin,

Nickel is one of the most versatile
metals found on earth and is one of
many resources that allows us to live
and prosper in a the modern world. A
new nickel infographic from Mining
Global highlights the many uses and
benefits of this metal, including its use
in coins and stainless steel. There are
about 3,000 nickel-containing alloys in
everyday use, including 300,000 products for consumer, industrial, military, transport,
aerospace, marine and architectural applications.

As portrayed in the infographic, nickel is tough, corrosion resistant, hygienic and 100%
recyclable. It is essential to building and infrastructure, chemical production, communications,
energy supply, environmental protection and food preparation. Rarely used in its purest form,
nickel is combined with other metals to produce alloys with a combination of properties that
provide both ductility and strength at high temperatures. Through its ability to withstand high
heat, nickel minimizes corrosion, allowing the metal to be used for several decades without
replacement. Thus, nickel is used in harsh environments such as jet engines, offshore
installations and power generation facilities.Nickel is one of the most important components to
the U.S. stainless steel industry and as the steel industry continues to grow so too will the need
for nickel. To meet this increasing need for nickel, it is critical that changes are made to the U.S.
mine permitting process. Congress must reform the lengthy and duplicative permitting process
in order to ensure manufacturers better access to the materials they need here in the U.S., instead
of relying on imports.

Nickel-containing products play an important role in our daily lives. Compared with
other materials, nickel-containing products possess better corrosion resistance, greater
toughness, more strength at high and low temperatures, and a range of special magnetic
and electronic properties. Therefore, most nickel production is used for
alloying elements, coatings, batteries, and some other uses, such as kitchen wares, mobile
phones, medical equipment, transport, buildings, power generation and jewellery.