What is Niobium? A lump of gray shining crystals with hexagonal facetting Niobium is the chemical element with atomic number 41, it belongs in the d-block at the fisth group of periodic table. It is a soft, grey, crystalline, ductile transition metal. About the name It was formerly known as columbium because it was discovered by English chemist Charles Hatchett in 1801, in a mineral. So he named the mineral columbite and the element columbium, after Columbia. But the columbium discovered by Hatchett was probably a mixture of the new element with tantalum. When scientist studied columbiun were confused over the difference between columbium (niobium) and the closely related tantalum. So they decided to name every new substance they found in columbite or tantalite after Tantalus childen and family. The claimed new elements niobium, pelopium, ilmenium, and dianium were in fact identical to each other or mixtures of the new element with tantalum. So they kept the name Niobiu