Element number 23 (symbol V) is a hard, silver-gray transition metal. Its primary use is in steel. Adding a small percentage of vanadium improves tensile strength and reduces weight. Steelmakers have been using vanadium in ferro-alloys for over 100 years.

Vanadium has multiple oxidation states and its compounds have a variety of colors. Unfortunately they are all toxic! The metal does not occur free in nature but once isolated it is very stable as it forms an oxide layer, much like aluminum.

The world produces about 100,000 tons of vanadium per year. It’s obtained as a by-product from steel-making slag and from uranium mining.

There is only one primary producer of vanadium in the United States. That company, Energy Fuels, also produces the bulk of U.S. uranium! They don’t just dig the stuff up, they also mill and process it into marketable form. Their White Mesa Mill in San Juan County, Utah is also the only place in the country that handles uranium ore. The mill looks like this and employs 150 people: