Nota bene: — starts giving abbreviation for a silver-white element (7)

I believe the answer is:

niobium

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'element' is the definition.
(niobium is a kind of element)

I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.

(Other definitions for niobium that I've seen before include "Silver-grey metal, Nb" , "Silver-grey metallic element" , "Superconductive element" , "Silvery-grey metal, Nb" , "Chemical element, Nb" .)

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.

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