Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal. The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an oxide layer (passivation) somewhat stabilizes the free metal against further oxidation.
In the middle of this month, a major clash between India and China took place along the border between the two ancient giants. The clash happened when the Chinese patrolling party tried to enter the Indian territory of Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. This is the first such acknowledgement from both military forces for over a year. While China’s arrogance towards its neighbours has seen a new spike recently, this move on politically and militarily equal power like India is different in several respects.
Today’s Chinese dictators are so made and greedy for Power, Legacy and Resources. They remind me of King Mudbeard, also known as Leonard, a character that appears in the Angry Birds series. The earliest backstory for the franchise takes place on the fictional piggy island, where a flock of rare birds, known as the Angry Birds, protect three eggs The Angry Birds (especially their de facto leader, Red) take their duty very seriously, as they think that those eggs will eventually hatch and bring peace to the island. However, their eggs are constantly stolen by the Piggy kingdom, a political faction composed of pigs, whose monarch, King Pig Smooth Cheeks, seeks to eat them due to the ancient laws that force all monarchs to eat eggs at least one time in their life.
In short, every single character of the Pigs in the series was shown as greedy and offering free goodies and stuff just to fool the birds and conquer their precious resources (EGGs). Find me any differences in the nature and character of the green pigs and today’s Chinese Communist Regime. There could be very few.
About 80% of the vanadium produced is used as a steel additive. Vanadium-steel alloys are very tough and are used for armour plate, axles, tools, piston rods and crankshafts.
A major loophole in Chinese socialism and economical politics:
China is the world’s most populous country dominated by cheap labour who makes low-cost counterfeit products. This kind of social welfare and development agenda can sustain until there are sufficient resources. China has been keen on destroying the weaker countries with mind-boggling promises and huge loans. These countries cannot afford to repay and become China’s unofficial colonies. Thus Chinese companies have major advantages over earthly minerals and strategic assets. There are several examples like several countries in Africa. Failed State Pakistan, Economically collapsed SriLanka. Just to name a few. This strategy has made China a more influential country in recent decades.
The report found that China’s growing affluence has made it the world’s largest consumer of primary materials (such as construction minerals, metal ores, fossil fuels and biomass), with domestic material consumption levels four times that of the USA. And hold your breath. This report was published in 2013 by UNEP organisations. While US and Russia still maintain dominance in terms of natural resources like oil and gas. China has become the major producer, export and also the biggest consumer of metals used for construction purposes. The biggest steel-producing country is currently China, which accounted for 57% of world steel production in 2020. In 2020, China became the first country to produce over one billion tons of steel. It ranks number one to date and still growing rapidly in this sphere. Meanwhile, China’s real competition is with not America but with India.
Vanadium alloys are used in nuclear reactors because of vanadium’s low neutron-absorbing properties. Vanadium(V) oxide is used as a pigment for ceramics and glass, as a catalyst and in producing superconducting magnets. Vanadium is essential to some species, including humans, although we need very little.
The Next door neighbour with similar population density, far more superior culturally, far more diverse and super friendly in the eyes of the world. The weight of the ancient elephant’s supremacy is very visible and has become a proper alternative against more versatile and power-hungry China. India recently replaced Japan to become the 2nd largest consumer of steel. India is the 2nd largest consumer of finished steel in 2021 (106.23 MT), preceded by China as the largest steel consumer as per the World Steel Association.
Steel production and consumption can propel India into a US5$ trillion economy by 2025 as per the EY CII report. The Indian steel industry is growing at 6 per cent year on year.
So what this has to do with China’s assertion on Arunachal Pradesh?
While India and China compete in being major growth engines of the world with their steel industry. India can hit the jackpot in Arunachal Pradesh which will dwarf China in this sector. Resource-hungry China has been the largest user of one of the most expensive and rare earthly resources called Vanadium. China is the largest producer and consumer of high-quality value metal.
Arunachal Pradesh, considered a sleeping hydropower giant, could be India’s prime producer of vanadium, a high-value metal used in strengthening steel and titanium.
vanadium (V), chemical element, silvery white soft metal of Group 5 (Vb) of the …
Boiling point: 3,380 °C (6,116 °F)
Melting point: 1,890 °C (3,434 °F)
In short terms, this means India will not just be the completion for China in regards to scale and control of the global steel market. But also can become the world’s largest producer of high-quality steel and titanium at much cheaper or at least on par with China. Strategically located in the middle of East and West with vast sea shores, India can become a major destination for both the production and service sectors.
Importance of Vanadium :
India consumed 4% of about 84,000 metric tonnes of vanadium produced across the globe in 2017. China, which produces 57% of the world’s vanadium, consumed 44% of the metal. Vanadium mineralisation in Arunachal Pradesh is geologically similar to the “stone coal” vanadium deposits of China hosted in carbonaceous shale. This high vanadium content is associated with graphite with a fixed carbon content of up to 16%.
The expected grade of vanadium mineralisation in Arunachal Pradesh is comparable to the important vanadium deposits of the world. The largest deposits are in China, followed by Russia and South Africa.
An SR-71B from NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, capable of flying at more than 2,200 mph and at altitudes of over 85,000 feet. A titanium-aluminum-vanadium alloy is used for jet engines and for high-speed aircraft. (Photo credit: NASA)
Vanadium alloys are durable in extreme temperatures and environments and are corrosion-resistant. Its addition improves the tensile strength of steel and of reinforcing bars used for buildings, tunnels and bridges.
Apart from increasing fuel efficiency in automotive and aviation industries due to its high strength-to-weight ratio, the metal forms an integral part of vanadium redox batteries that have the least ecological impact in energy storage.
“The global demand for vanadium has been skyrocketing but there was a deficit of 17,300 metric tonnes between demand and supply in 2017. The vanadium found in Arunachal Pradesh could help boost the local and national economy,” the GSI specialist said as per the report published in the Hindu too.
Vanadium-gallium tape is used in superconducting magnets.
Vanadium pentoxide is used in ceramics and as a catalyst for the production of sulfuric acid.
The first extensive industrial use of vanadium metal was over a century ago in the vanadium-steel alloy chassis of the Ford Model T car.
A 1908 advertisement for the Model T read, “Vanadium steel, the strongest, toughest and most enduring steel ever manufactured, is used throughout the entire car.”
China’s military arrogance is not a blind shot but a sharp-sighted slinger shot. The research and mining of resources in India have been slowly improving. Arunachal Pradesh is now a more important target for China not just for keeping PLA-occupied Tibet. But also due to rare earth minerals which are now found to be in tons and $ trillions worth.
High time for India to be on its heels and sharp sight at anything moving across the border.
