Vanadium is a hard, ductile and malleable transition metal, found only in chemically combined form in nature. It is found naturally in a number of minerals and in fossil fuel deposits. It is most used in the production of steel alloys like high speed tool steels.
Generally vanadium is produced from the flue dust of heavy oil; and as a by-product of uranium mining. In China and Russia, it is produced from steel smelter slag. Silver-gray in color, vanadium is a hard metal with good resistivity to corrosion. These properties make the mineral important in the production of high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steels, which are increasingly in demand as the energy, transport, and construction industries are in a lookout to maximize the strength while minimizing the weight of their products.
Vanadium pentoxide, the major industrial vanadium compound is used as a catalyst for the production of sulfuric acid.
Some salts of vanadium have moderate toxicity and are hence used by some life forms as an active center of enzymes.
The World Map of Vanadium Producers shows a list of the major countries that produce vast quantities of vanadium. As the data in the map shows, China leads the world in the production of vanadium producing over 23,000 metric tonnes of the mineral annually.
South Africa is the second-largest vanadium producer with an annual production of 18,000 metric tonnes. The third place is occupied by Russia; the country produces an approximate 14,000 metric tonnes of vanadium every year.
Major Vanadium Producers of the World-2010
| Country | Production in Metric Tonnes |
| China | 23,000 |
| South Africa | 18,000 |
| Russia | 14,000 |
| Other Countries | 1,000 |