The aluminothermic reaction is used for the production of several ferroalloys, for example ferroniobium from niobium pentoxide and ferrovanadium from iron, vanadium(V) oxide, and aluminium. The process begins with the reduction of the oxide by the aluminium:
:3 VO  +  10 Al  →   5 AlO  +  6 V
Other metals can be produced from their oxides in the same way.
Aluminothermic reactions have been used for welding rail tracks on-site, useful for complex installations or local repairs that cannot be done using continuously welded rail.  Another common use is the welding of copper cables (wire) for use in direct burial (grounding/earthing) applications. It is still the only type of electrical connection recognized by the IEEE (IEEE, Std 80–2001) as continuous un-spliced cable.