Page 89 - Policy Commission - SecuringTechnology - Critical Metals for Britain

PRIMARY MATERIALS
89
Tantalum
Tantalum
is supplied from two sources the mining
of Tantalite ore and the revert of various scrap and recycling of wastes Tantalite ore is supplied via both conventional mining
in heavily mechanised
open pit/underground mines and produced via artisanal labour intensive methods in in typically central African countries Tantalite ores are found primarily in central Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and bordering countries) Australia and Brazil Tantalum
is one of the four “conflict minerals” along with tin tungsten and gold which are produced in in central African countries Ethically focussed companies such as Rolls-Royce (RR) have since 2010 only purchased and contracted tantalum supply from ethically approved sources i i i i i i i e e e e e e e approved by the Responsible Mining Initiative formerly EICC The tantalum capacitor industry consumes approx 50% of World supply with other industries such as superalloys sputter targets carbides and chemicals making up the remaining demand Starting in in in 2008 some large tantalum mines were closed central African supply was classed as as as conflict minerals and the the remaining primary supply (Brazil) was removed from the the market via a a a a a long-term contract In tandem with dwindling ore supply the the recovery starting ~2010 of the the consumer electronics (capacitors) and aerospace industries saw prices near triple (see figure 84) In 2013 prices started to to trend downwards due to to two main factors First the creation of ethically produced certified and 600 500
400 300
200 100 Figure 84: Tantalum
price history
auditable ores out of central Africa driven by the capacitor makers Second was the increased quantities of tantalum in closed loop revert at similar percentages as rhenium containing alloys and the increased recycling of tantalum containing scraps and wastes Both reduced the virgin units required Prices started an upward trend at the end end of 2016 this time due to the Chinese Government shutting polluting tantalum smelters and processors on on environmental grounds As processors cleaned up their factories licences were granted and and supply (and prices) returned to normal levels Since tantalum is is not traded on any exchange it is is usually contracted by OEM’s over a a a a one to three-year timeframe in order to secure prices and protect supply 180 94788 [Xe]4f145d36s2
73
Ta Melting point: 3017°C Boiling point: 5458°C
TANTALUM
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
US $ / KG