Vanadium is the 22nd common element in abundance in continental crust, with chemical symbol V and atomic number 23; the average abundance of vanadium in continental crust is about 60 parts per million (ppm). Vanadium is rare in nature as a single mineral, occurring only in the form of compounds in approximately 65 different minerals and fossil fuels. It is mainly associated with metal minerals such as iron, titanium, uranium, molybdenum, copper, lead, zinc, aluminum, or with carbonaceous and phosphate minerals. Vanadium is also commonly found in petroleum and its processed products. As a mineral resource, the raw materials of industrial vanadium ore mainly come from the following four mineral types: vanadium titanium magnetite (VTM), sandstone vanadium ore (SSV), shale vanadium ore and vanadate type vanadium ore; vanadium containing waste catalysts and secondary resources such as vanadium containing steel slag produced by vanadium titanium ore metallurgy are also valuable vanadium rich raw materials.

Vanadium is an important strategic rare metal element, green metal, and energy metal. For a long time, it has been listed as a critical metal by major developed economies in the world, such as Europe and America. The safety of key minerals is related to national economic security, national defense security, and development security. In the context of competition among major countries, industrial issues have risen to national strategic issues.

(Source: Chen Donghui, "Opportunities and Challenges of the Vanadium Industry under the Background of Carbon Peak")