Abstract:Niobium (Nb) is widely used and greatly demanded in modern industrial production. Although Nb ore reserve is considerably high in China, its utilization is limited by its generally low ore-grade and difficulties in the mining processes. In this study, advanced mineral identification and characterization system (AMICS) was used to study a Nb deposit in the Zhuxi section, Hubei province. The analytical results clearly illustrated that Nd is mainly hosted by aeschynite, ferrocolumbite and Ilmenite-Mn in the trachytic-pyroclastic rock. It is thus indicted that the ‘AMICS’ method is advanced in tiny minerals’ identification and characterization, providing useful and reliable information for the mineral separation procedure during the mining processes.