Zirconium

Zirconium is a lustrous silver-gray metal being very strong, malleable, ductile, easy to weld, easy to form and is extremely corrosion resistant. Zirconium type 702 is a minimum of 99.2% pure and Type 705 contains 2.5% niobium with both having chemical and physical properties similar to those of titanium. Currently, the nuclear power industry uses nearly 90% of the zirconium produced each year. Zirconium is also used as an alloying agent in steel and as a getter - a material that combines with and removes trace gases from vacuum tubes.